Sensory play is a beneficial activity for all children. It can be especially important to the little kids on the autism spectrum. They often struggle with everyday experiences and activities, including using their motor skills, focus, or ability to understand social cues. Autistic children experience sensory overload from smells, movements, and sounds. Using educational toys has proven to be effective to help such children calm down and increase their tolerance to a variety of sensations around them.
The Importance of Sensory Play for Autism
Sensory play for autism can be a rewarding and motivating activity in itself. The alternative path that some parents take includes isolating their children from sensory overload. Often it happens because they don’t have the necessary resources or proper guidance to help their children cope.
Isolating your child from sensory experiences is not a path recommended by mental health and child development experts. Instead, encourage your child to try using sensory toys, including Pickler triangles, climbing arches, busy boards, and sensory panels.
Special needs teachers and child development experts have successfully used these educational toys in their practice and have created numerous guides widely available online or as printed books. You can use that information to create a healthy sensory experience for your child. It will help them develop into a more self-reliant, socially-adjusted person.
Some parents even create gyms with sensory equipment and obstacle courses in the safety and familiarity of their home environment. While children can resist this new experience at first, in most cases they get used to their new toys relatively fast, having fun and learning useful skills at the same time.
Benefits of Sensory Play for Autism
While sensory play may look new or odd to many people, this type of activity is recommended for cognitive developmental disorders, like autism. But ,what are the benefits of letting a child with autism engage in sensory play?
There is a wide variety of benefits associated with using educational toys and other forms of sensory activities.
- Sensory play has a positive effect on motivation.
- Frustration levels decrease over time.
- Sensory play trains the vestibular apparatus, which regulates the sense of balance.
- It can be used as a social activity, encouraging interaction with other children.
- Both gross and fine motor skills develop better and faster.
- Sensory play increases tolerance to failure and over-stimulation, resulting in fewer meltdowns.
- Children are learning to communicate.
- Can be a great bonding experience with siblings or other family members.
- Has all the benefits of physical exercises.
- Leads to reduced aggressive behavior, less apathy, and boredom.
- Sensory play can be used to teach children how to follow instructions.
- Can be combined with pretend play activities that encourage children to use their imagination.
- Can increase overall willingness to try new things, including food, clothes, toys.
- Helps with motivation to engage in daily activities, like going to a store, park, or visiting relatives.
Indeed, sensory play can help children with autism in many ways. Aside from the ones above, sensory play can promote good motor development for kids with ASD. You may learn more about autism motor development through reputable resources online. Hence, parents and caregivers should let children with autism engage in sensory play regularly to gain its benefits for good physical health and overall wellbeing.
Using a Sensory Board for Autism
Busy boards are one of the most popular tools that are used by parents and educators to help children with autism develop skills and get adjusted to their environment. A DIY busy board for autism is a great option if you have the time and equipment to build it. Otherwise, you can choose from a wide variety of affordable pre-made busy boards and sensory walls in online shops.
Sensory boards for children with autism are a common fixture in therapy centers and most preschools. If you are still deciding whether you need to have one at home, encourage your child to try a busy board or a sensory table at one of those places and observe their behavior.
You should also consider the most pressing needs that your child has. For example, if the child has extreme sensitivity to various sounds, use a busy board that has some noise-making equipment. Little by little the child will grow accustomed to sounds without going into a full breakdown mode.
Children that have touch sensitivity should be encouraged to play with sensory boards that offer different shapes and textures to interact with.
The biggest upside of using a busy board is the possibility of open-ended play. Just being in the playroom the board offers an option for your child to use it whenever they feel ready. It’s encouraging and non-intrusive.
Equipment for the best help
When choosing the equipment for children on the autistic spectrum, make sure that it is durable, built from non-hazardous materials, and has all the necessary certification to ensure its safety. Most of the educational toys and equipment are affordable and follow the strictest safety requirements. It can withstand years of active use and will help your child to become happier, healthier, and better adjusted.
Make sure to purchase the equipment from a legitimate supplier that follows industry standards. Create a shortlist of equipment suppliers and narrow down your options by reading customer ratings and testimonials on review sites or community forums. You can also interview co-parents with children having the same condition who bought the equipment from your prospective company.
Takeaway
Sensory play can help children with autism express their feelings and thoughts. Patients can divert their energy into a productive activity. Parents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals can take advantage of sensory play to monitor and communicate with the patient in a gentle way, improving care and overall quality of life.
