One weekend, when I was younger I went to play at my friend’s house. That same day her older brother was visiting from the institution he stayed at during the week. He had a companion with him at all times. He might have even worn a helmet. I don’t really remember. What I do remember is his angelic and handsome face. “He’s autistic,” my friend said, “and can’t speak”.

That was my first encounter with a child on the autistic spectrum, and later on in life I encountered many more as a pediatric OT. Nowadays the point is made to include ASD children into society and there is a greater understanding of how to treat them… In fact many kids who are not diagnosed on the spectrum deal with the same issues autistic kids do… One of those being Sensory Processing Disorder…

The following sensory activities are dedicated to ASD kids in honor of the World Autism Awareness Day, April 2nd and geared towards improving their communication, joint attention, and verbal skills…

Deep Pressure- Bear hug: Give your kid a firm body hug at least once a day, look into their eyes, and tell them you love them. My dad calls it vitamin “L”- for love. But I call it vitamin “D” for Deep Pressure sensory input… which helps calm and organize the brain for learning.

Jumping- Ride on a see-saw, or give your child a “superman ride” on your legs while maintaining eye-contact and singing.  

Oral- Make funny faces at each other while working on oral input: push tongue to inside of cheeks, stick out your tongues.

Vestibular-push your child in a playground swing while maintain as much eye-contact as possible by pushing from the side or from the front…

Heavy work- play catch with a large ball while making eye-contact and singing, or carry things together (like sand bucket) while maintaining synch.   

In most joint sensory activities, if you make a sudden stop or rhythm change, you can regain eye contact, try it…