AUTISM SOLUTIONS
Easy Ways to Teach Important
Language and Leisure Skills
By Rosemarie GRIFFIN, CCC/SLP, BCBA
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) benefit from direct instruction regarding
leisure skills and the language that is embedded throughout these activities.
D
r. Mark and Cindy Sundberg recently pre-
sented on this topic and noted play pro-
vides a comfortable and natural way for
parents and children to interact. In addi-
tion, children with autism and other lan-
guage needs may demonstrate deficits
in play skills, especially social play skills.
When our children do not engage in
play/leisure activities, they are missing
out on a natural way to work on language instruc-
tion.
As students get older, this lack of leisure skills can
cause them to feel isolated and to not have as many
social opportunities as other children. When we incor-
porate these skills into daily family routines, our chil-
dren can learn so much.
I have always targeted leisure skills in my work as a
speech language pathologist. But one student in par-
ticular made me want to share this information with
other families. I was working with a student on how to
play a modified game of Connect 4. The student would
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 65 |
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