( Everyday Life with Autism )

Summer is round the corner. This is an excellent time to expose ASD children to the outdoor settings and experiences.

The open settings can bring about what the children cannot express naturally in classrooms or at home.

Nature is one of the richest resources for learning opportunities. When we are close to nature, we are more connected to ourselves as well as others.

1- Find out about the possibility to send your child to a summer camp. This is a huge opportunity to learn about discipline, team spirit, and flexibility. This should be discussed with your child first and see if she/he is willing to try. Tell your child that is fine if she/he doesn’t want to continue the whole period of the camp. This will encourge her/him to to venture into something new.

2- If you have a relative or a friend who lives on a farm or a ranch and is willing to host your child even for a few days that would be fantastic. In “Thinking in pictures” Temple Grandin tells her experience about living with her aunt and uncle on a ranch and how she discovered all the creativity that resided in her brain. She invented her “squeezing machine” as well as an automated system to operate the ranch’s gate to replace a manual system. In the beginning she was so reluctant to leave home for a single day, then she ended up spending the whole summer on her aunt’s ranch. This summer was a turning point in her life. Her mother was so convinced that this experience would yield great benefits. Which has turned out to be very true.

For More Tips

Tags: autism, communication, discipline, organization, outdoors activities, schedule, senses, tips