Hands On Activities for Children with Autism & Sensory Disorders

Section III

SENSORY ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

In this section of the book, we look at fun activities for sensory desensitization and sensory immersion. We use desensitization techniques to slowly acclimate a child to sensations that irritate him such as loud noises, a light touch on the skin or the taste of food. We use immersion techniques to give a child enough sensory input to help an undersensitive child register input, satisfy the need for sensation in a child who craves it, and provide pleasant, calming input for the oversensitive child.

The desensitization techniques and some of the immersion techniques can be used as an extension of the environmental enrichment program. The remaining immersion activities such as working with fibers and wood are stand-alone activities that can help provide a child with specific sensations while teaching him basic skills useful for a hobby.

You can use immersion and desensitization activities:

1. As an extension to the environmental enrichment program or a maintenance program for it.

2. As a way to help sensitize children to sensory input so that they are able to handle the sensory demands of their day.

3. As a way to satiate the desire for sensory input in a child who craves it.

4. As a way to wake up the senses in a child who is undersensitive to sensory input.

5. As ideas for providing informal daily exposure to sensory input for all children.

6. As a source for activities within a sensory diet.

The next chapters of this section contain a range of immersion strategies for each of the senses. As in the environmental enrichment program, exercises and activities are graded by difficulty. Given that each child’s preferences for materials and activity type will differ, a number of approaches are presented for each sense in this section. Once you see the types of immersion activities offered for a particular sense, you will realize you can extrapolate from there and come up with your own ideas.

Who initiates these activities and when? Caregivers, educators and therapists will find these activities useful. Most exercises can be fit into a normal day and repeated as desired. The multi-day, multi-sensory projects in chapter 11 can be slowly completed over a week or two.

How much time do I spend? That will depend on the child and upon your opportunities.

We use sensory immersion techniques for children who crave certain types of sensory input or for children who have trouble feeling and registering sensation. Look for immersion activities that will provide a large quantity of sustained input. With touch, for example, you might engage the child in multi-day craft projects that provide strong input while producing an interesting object.

How much: Immerse the child in sensations he craves by giving him sense-specific activities for 15-30 minutes at a time, or until he appears to have had enough.

How often: Engage the child two or more times per week. An immersion activity can be considered to be the child’s “sensory break.” If it is calming, alerting and interesting to the child, it can help to reduce stress and increase motivation to engage in the next task. Use immersion activities also with children with autism who “stim.”

At what level of challenge: Consider working up to long projects that give the child:

1. A sense of rhythm with a constant activity

2. An activity that can be converted into a hobby

3. The satisfaction of creating something tangible

Other instructions: If you are working with multiple senses, look for multi-sensory activities. Optionally, rotate through sense-specific activities (i.e. bead a bracelet, listen to music) two or more times each week.

How do I select immersion activities? Immersion activities are chosen, first to satisfy sensory needs (both craving and poor registration) and, second to teach children new skills and hobbies that can be used to enrich their lives and, perhaps, their adult lives, too. For example, Aaron, who sniffs objects, might enjoy cooking, gardening or other activities that expose him to a rich set of odors and aromas. In turn, this might lead to a job as a florist or a cook or to a cooking hobby. Sabrina, who constantly touches things, might enjoy activities with wood, metal, clay or fabric.

A note about working with multiple senses: When doing immersion, make every intervention count by looking for simple ways to increase the essential sensory content. For example, Ben, who has autism, likes to touch things and also “stims on” visual input. We might give Ben daily touch activities that also stimulate him visually, thus working on two problems simultaneously.

When multiple types of sensory input are given to the child within the same activity, the child’s brain is able to integrate the interaction of those senses. That is, his brain will practice recognizing and tolerating each input simultaneously—and then in tandem. However, it is important that we do not overload and overwhelm the child’s sensory system with too much input. We try and give the child the just-right challenge. This important point is discussed in chapter 1.

A note about craving: Sensory craving is a common phenomenon in children with autism. A child may enjoy touching things that have interesting textures such as a fuzzy toy, another child’s hair, or the feel of cloth. He may enjoy the sound, sparkle and feel of water. Some children with autism wave their hands under a running faucet in the sink and fuss when they are asked to stop. Other children may enjoy sniffing things of all sorts and often do it inappropriately.

There are several strategies for working with cravings. The most straightforward method, when it works, is to allow the child to engage in a socially appropriate form of the behavior for a short period of time. Manage this by setting a timer—usually a visual timer—for 5-10 minutes. The child learns that when his time is up he must move on to other activities.

Desensitization is difficult work for the child. Look for activities that are fun and make it easier for her to shore up courage.

How much: Do however much the child can tolerate at a time. This may be just a minute or two with attention.

At what level of challenge: Grade the challenge so that the child can tolerate the input, but then gradually increase the level of input.

How often: In most cases, three times a day is not too much. At a minimum, do the activities three times a week.

Other instructions: Do a calming activity such as exhaustive play or, for older children, mindfulness. This may allow the child to tolerate longer and greater amounts of the sensory input. But honor the child’s limits.

The safest way to get started with desensitization is to introduce new sensations during play. We begin by giving the child small amounts of input and then gradually increasing the input as he is able to handle it. When possible, we give the child some control during these activities. This helps ensure that the pace is right for the child and it reduces the incidence of act-out behaviors. In addition, we provide calming techniques to help him stay regulated and keep fear under control.

To make a program:

1. Set up a daily or weekly schedule

2. Plan activities

3. Plan how you will increase the challenge

4. Stick to the plan