Summer is around the corner and an important time of development and growth for your children. With school ending, it doesn’t mean the learning ends there! It just means it’s time to get creative with learning activities for your children.

Between June and September, children have 3 months of summer vacation. This means thinking of activities that will help them develop outside of school. Time off from school can often affect the daily routines of your children with autism. It can be especially challenging for parents who have other responsibilities throughout the day. Amid all the other things on your list, it is important to make time for your children no matter what and create a structure for them.

Be Involved this Summer

There are several ways for you to ensure your children’s summer activities are engaging, interactive, organized and most of all, FUN! Here are some tips to make your summer with your children the best!
•Summer Camps – This is a great opportunity to keep your children engaged in fun ways of learning social skills, communication skills, behavioral skills and structured play throughout summer.
•Arts & Crafts – Set up a table each weekend to paint or create something with crafts including paper, glue, glitter, shapes, and more! This will allow your child to express themselves in a more creative manner.
•Scavenger Hunts – This is a fun game that is both challenging and interactive. Not only does your child with autism get to improve their thinking skills, they will have fun doing it if you include prizes with the scavenger hunt. This will encourage them to engage in more activities that will require various skills.
•Pool Days – Spend some time outdoors, even better, spend it outside if you can. You can incorporate games with a day out in the pool. You may consider inviting other children and families to give them all a chance to interact together and have fun.
•Create a Fort – When you’re young, building things is a lot of fun! Spend a couple summer nights on the weekend allowing your children to make a fort before bed. Grab a lot of blankets and pillows and allow your children to picture something and create it.

Daily Activities

Apart from those fun planned summer activities, daily activities equally matter. Create a summer weekday schedule of things you could do with your children. You may consider these tips to do each day:
•Read a book together
•Coloring books
•Practice verbal communication – reading a grocery list, saying a name
•Create simple foods such as cookies, smoothies
•Teach them a simple chore
•Take a walk and visit the park
•Sing a song
This list is endless! Get creative with daily activities that will help keep your children on the move, constantly learning. Everything you do with them helps them develop their skills.

Just have fun

The most important thing to remember when planning summer activities for your children with autism is that they feed off your energy. Have fun with them! Plan activities for the whole family to enjoy together and include other families on your plans, the more the merrier!