Indoor Activities To Do With Your Child

When the weather cools off and you can’t spend as much time outside, it can be hard to keep any child occupied with indoor activities. As a parent of a child with autism, it can be especially difficult to find new pastimes that are entertaining, not overwhelming. To help you find the perfect balance, we’re talking about three of our favorite sensory-friendly indoor activities you can do with your child. As always, you know your child best, so you’ll likely want to modify these activities to fit their individual needs.

At-Home Sensory Activities

On those days you just don’t feel like leaving the house, bring the fun to you. There are tons of sensory indoor activities you can create with things around your house, and many of them can be easily modified to fit your child’s needs. Crafts like edible slime let your child interact with new textures and sensations, and you won’t have to worry about any harmful side effects if they happen to take a bite. Or, combine senses with this herb and spice playdough that’s fun to touch and smell (and is also safe to eat). Depending on your child’s interests, they can help you make the craft or simply enjoy the finished product.

Sensory-friendly Plays

Seeing a play is a great way to get out of the house, and most cities offer special, sensory-friendly performances. These shows keep the lights on, lower the sound, and alter the production to avoid jarring sounds, strobe lights, and spotlights. Some shows reduce noise even further by asking audience members to wave or flap their arms instead of clapping. Most theaters that offer sensory-friendly play performances also provide a break room for children and families to use if the show becomes too overwhelming. Look for “sensory-friendly plays near me” to see opportunities in your neck of the woods!

Museum Visits

An outing to a museum is interesting, educational, and inspiring. Children and adults alike can see and learn about corners of the world they’ve never heard of before and let their imaginations take flight. To make these indoor sensory-friendly experiences more accessible to all families, many museums now curate special events for children with autism. Although each event varies, you can expect to visit the museum before or after the museum closes, allowing your child to enjoy the experience without dealing with the crowds. Some museums even take an extra step to help children with autism enjoy their visit by dimming the lights, reducing noise, offering adaptive equipment like noise-reducing headphones, and adding in extra tactile and sensory activities that allow children to interact with the exhibit. Check for sensory-friendly museums near you to get a calendar of events and find out more information.

At-Home Sensory Activities

Sensory-friendly Plays

Museum Visits

Written by Joshua Sleeper, MBA, BCBA

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