Engaging Your Child: Fun and Effective ActivitiesDiscover Simple Ways to Keep Your Child Active and Involved

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Staying active and engaged is vital for everyone, but it’s especially important for children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. By playing with your child and encouraging them to take part in different activities, you can help expand their universe a little bit at a time, stimulating their growth and development.

Here are some fun indoor and outdoor activities you could do together: 

Get Out and Explore 

  • Based on your child’s abilities and comfort level, you could go to the beach and search for seashells, walk in a forest and count trees or visit a botanical garden. 
  • If you have a yard, and your child is physically able, toss or kick a ball around or have a scavenger hunt. You could also set up a simple obstacle course using household items.  
  • If your child is fascinated by a specific object, such as a toy train, you could take them to a train museum or watch real trains going down the track (from a safe distance, of course).  

Stay Cozy Inside 

  • If it’s a rainy day or your child doesn’t feel like going outside, you could read them a book and ask them questions along the way to keep them interested.  
  • Sorting items can be a engaging activity. For example, they could put toys into different bins or help you match socks after doing laundry.  
  • Finger painting is a lot of fun too. Your child could get creative by mixing colors or dipping their hands in the paint to make a handprint keepsake to display in your home. 

Meet Your Child at Their Developmental Level 

Talk to your child about other activities they’d like to try. Give them lots of options so they feel personally involved in the decision. For example, joining a recreational sports team could be a healthy way for them to build social and motor skills – and learn valuable life lessons at the same time. If you’re concerned about them being overwhelmed by the social aspects of team sports, then perhaps they could try individual sports like swimming, biking or hiking. 

Whatever activities you choose, know that engaging your child in new experiences will help their mental and physical development and overall well-being. So, get creative and have some fun!