activities for 6-18yr olds with Autism

louloulouisa

Hi

I run a Autism group, and have been given £100 to spend on the kids in the group to help keep them entertained for the summer! :T

My idea was to hire a hall a handfull of times to spread the days out.

I need to think of free/very cheap activities for the kids to do!

There are about 20 children with Autism, plus their siblings! The ages range from my youngest who is 6, to kids who are 18!

I have a giant parachute, so will use that, plus thought they could do cooking and arts & crafts, but apart from that I'm running out of ideas, and time!

Any suggestions on activities that would be suitable for a wide age range as well as being very cheap/free would be gratefully appreciated :beer:

THANK YOU :beer:

kingfisherblue

Decorate biscuits.

Print dominoes and bingo cards from the internet (try the DTLK website - you can choose themes). They also do matching games.

Fold books into hedgehogs (cheap books from car boot sales or ask on Freecycle).

Bark rubbings.

Arrange free visits for smaller, similar aged, groups (try Farm to Fork at Tesco, Pets at Home, fire station, police station, local museum, Frankie and Benny's - ask about community group visits for free, Chef School at Toby Carvery)

Nature art - use what you can find in a local area to make a large artwork from natural products

Pond dipping with the council rangers

Geocaching using smartphones

Treasure hunt (can be simple or more difficult, according to ability)

Quiz

Scavenger hunt - try printed pictures from the internet, instead of written lists. Or use paint chip cards to find things in each shade of green, brown, orange, yellow.

Planting seeds - use egg boxes, as they can then be planted straight into the ground

Make masks - tribal, animal, carnival. Use cereal boxes or paper plates.

Make musical instruments (google has lots of ideas)

Make a table football game - free shoeboxes from shoe shops. Paint bottom green and cut out goals. Use skewers through the sides, and decorate pegs as players

Peg animals (lots of images on google)

Dens

Chalk games such as hopscotch

Bubbles, including bubble painting

Football, catch, etc

Playground games such as Dusty Bluebells, Captain's Coming, Keys, Bean Game (instructions are often found on Guiding and Scouting websites)

Make piggy banks from drinks bottles

Bunting

Glass paint jam jars

Make cards from whatever scraps you have

Board games afternoon, where everyone brings one along (or ask if your local library has some)

Visit from Guide dogs or other charity

Feely bags (put household object into a pillowcase and guess what it is from touch)

Paint smooth stones or pebbles

Pamper afternoon - hand massage with body lotions. Check for allergies first.

Card games

Simple snacks such as peppermint creams, cake in a mug, fruit kebabs, or pizza.

Puzzle pages from the internet - word search, colouring, mazes, spot the difference, etc

Collage

Pasta jewellery

Singing

Face painting (basic set around £10, but goes a long way).


A lot depends on the abilities and personalities involved, as well as the size of the group and whether you have any extra help. It's not too bad if some parents stay, but some activities will be too difficult without this.

Get what you can from donations of materials from local businesses or from Freecycle. Use the internet for further ideas - try Pinterest, Guiding and Scouting websites, and websites such as Activity Village, DTLK, Making Friends, Enchanted Learning, Nature Detectives.

If parents/carers are not there, make sure that you have at least two emergency numbers. Risk assess all activities (google can help). Think about insurance - what happens if something goes wrong?

Community centres are sometimes able to accommodate groups in the holidays when their regular clients don't meet. Ask if there is a discounted rate for not-for-profit or community groups. In my area, the council has community rooms in most libraries, and these are the chea[est form of room hire around. They are often quite small though.

Autism is such a variable condition, so make sure that you know what works for each child. Some like quiet activities, some just want to sit in a corner and watch until they feel comfortable with others. Some will run, flap, spin or rock, which can be problematic for others. I assume that you have some experience, so are probably aware of this anyway, so I apologise if you have already sorted all of this side of things out.

kingfisherblue

On the freebies board, I've just spotted that Halfords are doing free bike maintenance workshops. I've spoken to my local branch, and they're willing to do a group workshop for my Brownies in the Autumn. If you have some bike riding members of your group, it's another idea for your summer activities programme.

louloulouisa

THANK YOU SO MUCH kingfisherblue :beer:

Thank you for taking the time to write all of that really helpful advice :T:D

Your brownies must be thoroughly entertained :D:D they are lucky to have you:D

kingfisherblue

Let me know if you need any more.

Have a great summer.

mary_hinge

My son is 8 and has Autism, He is very sensory and loves when we make "feel and guess" boxes usually jelly/beans/bark chips/shaving foam etc.... we use shoe boxes lined with carrier bags and cut a hole out the top so the can't see in.

Bubbles always go down well
water play/apple bobbing
making fruit kebabs with chocolate to dip
crispie cakes are easy and no baking needed!
skittles made from juice bottles that they've decorated?
a "disco" with dancing? obviously tailored so not to loud/dark....
Sensory bottles made with water/oil/glitter? or rice/pasta/lentils to make shakers?

oystercatcher

There is a group locally who meet so children with autism can play with lego, they advertised in the local paper for lego and had lots donated.

Lego allows the children to play alongside each other but without fully interacting if they aren't ready for this.

Just a thought.