We’ve talked about identifying the symptoms of ASD here on MummyPages before, and given you some basic tips on how to make life easier for kids with autism in the home.
But what more can you do to make life a little easier for them and for you?
Well, some simple homemade games and toys can help teach valuable problem-solving skills, which can sometimes be difficult for children with ASD.
They can also help develop hand-eye coordination and even help calm an autistic child if things are starting to get too much.
If you are looking for a new ways to stimulate and help your child, the following homemade toys and the perfect weekend project.
1. These simple dragon cups
This very easy craft can be used as a tool to encourage calm breathing. If you feel like their energy is starting to build, ask them to see how long they can make the dragon breathe fire for, this will help slow their heart rate and bring their energy levels back down.
Stick some lengths of red and orange crepe paper to the end of a plastic cup. Then glue on some googly-eyes to bring it to life.
2. Cheerio stackers
This is great little game for developing hand-eye coordination. All you need is a plate, a small lump of Play-Doh, two straws, strands of spaghetti or anything long and narrow, and Cheerios of course.
Stick the two straws into your Play-Doh in the centre of a plate, surround it with a small amount of Cheerios and see how many they can stack onto the straws in a set amount of time.
3. Balance beam
A sense of balance and movement can be something of a problem for kids, so simple games like these can really disguise the skill building exercise in a fun way.
This is by far the easiest because it involves absolutely zero effort once you’ve sourced the item in question. All you need is a swimming noodle. Set it down on the ground and see if they can walk all the way across without falling off the “beam”.
4. Balance board
So once you have your swimming noodle, all you need to do is place something rectangular, sturdy and flat on top when the noodle. Place one foot on either side of the noodle and balance.
5. Stay on the line
This game is great for quite a few reasons. Firstly, hand-eye coordination: focusing the straw and following the ball while keeping an eye on the line really encourages focus. It also great for breathing techniques. Once you’ve got tape, a small ball and straw this is also a really easy game.
Just place your tape in a straight line on a flat surface, put your ball at the starting line and with a straw blow the ball along the line trying not to stray from the tape. You can up the difficulty of this one by having the line change directions.
6. DIY crash mat
Not really a game or a toy, but crash mats are really great for the times when kids need to get rid of some built up energy or when their temper flares up. Unfortunately, they are crazily expensive but not to fear as we have a simple version you can make at home.
All you need is a duvet cover (we’d go with a double size) with a zip closure. Once you’ve got that simply stuff it with anything soft: pillows, quilts, blankets, towels, old teddies (as long as they have nothing hard on them), old clothes, bean bags, body pillows, cushions… the options are endless. Easy!
Hopefully these easy games and DIY ideas will help make your life and the life of your child a little easier.
