Helping School Aged Children Find Recreational Activities

Leisure skills are what you do with your free time, both at home and in the community. Play is still important in younger children, while activities and hobbies are important as they get older.

As an adult, no one is going to be there to structure their time, reminding them what to do when. We want to empower our children now to learn these skills so as an adult they’re filling their day with things they enjoy and learn from, and have opportunities to connect with others.

Being able to play independently gradually gives you the parent or guardian a little free time to get things done. It also helps your child figure out what brings them joy. Exposing our children to a variety of things helps them see what they enjoy.

Picking Activities and Encouraging Their Interests

For school age children, the goal is finding hobbies, activities and relationships with other children to whatever degree that is right for them.

Encourage their interests. Give opportunities for activities and see what they like so you and your child learn what really interests them. Allow them to sample activities so you know what is and is not of interest without being committed to long term classes. Revisit things at different ages as they may like things they didn’t have interest in at an earlier time.

For younger school aged children they still learn through play. Give them some play or activity options and tell your child to pick something they like.

Not everyone has access to a variety of activities, the time or ability to pay for them. There are activities you can do at home on the weekend or when you’re not working. For example, doing an art project, or playing simple games like Tic Tac Toe, Connect 4, Sorry, Twister or puzzles.

Get exercise by playing ball or tag in the backyard. Visit different parks or trails for outdoor walks looking for birds or other sights. There are activities you can do without materials, such as the game I Spy. You say "I spy" something you see that the other players have to identify. For example, "I spy a blue circle" and your child might say "I see a blue ball". You could sing songs, dance to your song or to music you play. Play a catch game where you pick a category like fruit and each time you throw the ball you name a new fruit.

Be aware that preferences as a person (i.e. drawn to music) vs. autism preferences (which tend to be most rigid) are both at play and should be honored.

Do not push into outdoor activities like sports if that is not their interest. Being outdoors can pose unique challenges for sensory issues like sounds, smells and insects buzzing, flying or crawling.

Know that a parent vs. child’s interests can be very different. If you loved to do an activity as a kid it can feel so satisfying to imagine your child doing so, but consider whether it fits their interests and needs.

Daily Schedule and Breaks

Think about how your child’s day is scheduled from when they wake up to how the day flows into evening and bedtime. Especially as they make each school year transition. What activities do they have after school, including therapy? If possible involve your child in planning the schedule and when they will take a break.

For some children it’s helpful to have a visual schedule on an iPhone, a wipe off board or a piece of paper. It gives them a sense of a routine, what to anticipate, and how to fit in different activities such as homework and choice time when they can pick what they want to do. It breaks down their schedule rather than an endless power struggle of huge amounts of open time. The Milestones Visual Support Tool Kit provides tips and advice.

Think about timing and how you manage activities for your neurotypical vs. autistic child. It can be challenging to give them each time. Of course you can engage your neurotypical siblings and other family members to play with and help with skill building for your autistic child but keep in mind how that may affect them.

Participating in activities by themselves builds independent interests and may be easier for your child and schedule than group activities. It provides an alternative to the TV or iPad/tablet. Social interactions with group activities are so important, but people also need to be able to do activities by themself. Balance that group versus independent activity time to what will work best for your child and family.

Help your child identify when they're getting overwhelmed and learn how to use coping strategies, so they have that self-awareness. Teach them to ask for help when something is difficult.

Preparation, Enrichment and Goals

Autistic children often struggle with or don’t seek out new activities. New can be challenging. Prepare your child for new activities and experiences with what to expect, using approaches like social stories or online videos.

Take an interest in your child’s activities or learn about your child’s interests. Watch for what is most interesting about the activity such as drawing certain types of pictures, playing a favorite app or game with your child.

Prepare (or prime) your child for what to expect and basics for how to handle an activity or situation interacting with other people. A helpful tool is a social story, which is a story with images that shows an activity or situation that you want to teach. You can give your child the visual step by step with pictures of each part of an activity.

Help your child learn by doing things together, such as fun activities, cooking or baking.

How can you use your child’s preferences, interests and strengths to build other skills you want them to learn? Are there opportunities for social skill, play, or other goals you have? For example, use Minecraft, trains or a favorite Manga like Sailor Moon to teach about how to share information with or talk to a friend.