problem solving activities for autism

9 Activities to Encourage Problem-Solving in Autistic Kids

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Building up our kiddo’s confidence and skills are so important when looking at short-term and long-term goals. One important skill to work on is problem-solving.

I know I’m guilty of not giving my little guy enough time to solve something on his own if I’m not actively thinking about it. Can’t get something to work? Momma’s got it. Can’t reach something? Momma’s got it. It can be so automatic to help.

But problem-solving for yourself is extremely important, and that is no different for our sprouts. We have to let them try on their own, then seek help after trying.

So let’s dive into the 9 activities to encourage problem-solving in autistic kids!

I think it’s important to note that depending on your child’s skill level and interests that not all of these will be winners. But I believe with some imagination and thinking you can adapt things to suit your child’s needs (in most situations).

#1 Scavenger Hunts

How many free scavenger hunts do we come across on Pinterest when scrolling for activities for our kids? Whether it’s looking for a list of items or deciphering clues, they’re encouraged to problem solve. Plus, It’s a great activity to do inside or outside and do together to get moving around.

Here’s a few I found on Pinterest to get you started:

• Indoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids Free Printable – Thrifty NW Mom (thriftynorthwestmom.com)
• Outdoor Scavenger Hunt and S’mores Printables – Clean and Scentsible
• 30 Best Scavenger Hunt Ideas {Free Printables} – Play Party Plan

Puzzles are obviously great for problem-solving because they’re trying to put pieces together that usually only fit one way. Having to turn pieces, focus, and think all encourage problem-solving in our kiddos.

• Jigsaw puzzles
• Rubik’s Cube
• Tangrams 
• Shape Sorters
• Some Ideas on Amazon I Found:

#3 Board Games/Games

There are so many board games that can help with problem-solving because they encourage strategic thinking and planning. Obviously chess, checkers, and Monopoly are the first few to come to mind.

Here are a few more ideas:

• Jenga – this is fun for everyone, but having your sprout have to stop and think before pulling out a piece and figure out how to not be the one to make the tower topple is fun problem-solving. Plus the tower toppling is fun for the kiddos too!
• Don’t Rock the Boat – My son likes the little penguins and likes the ship falling over. It’s fun to do hand-over-hand or if you kiddo can place the pieces on the boat on their own.
• Connect 4 – This is a nostalgic game for me to play, but the fine motor skills involved and problem-solving to get 4 and block your opponent is perfect for sprouts.
• Don’t Break the Ice
• Yeti in my Spaghetti
• Pancake Pile-Up – The instructions say it “helps children develop important gross motor skills, like balance and coordination.” Also, that this helps “children practice following a sequence, a beginning math skill.”

#4 Building Blocks and Structures

Another way to encourage problem-solving is using building materials and either giving your child instructions to follow or let them imagine and build their own. Full disclosure: my son is a destroyer! So I build things and he’ll figure out ways to tear it apart. Still problem-solving if you ask me.

Some ideas for you!

• Classic Blocks – make a block train, pile them up way high without tipping over, make a fort!
• Magnetic building tiles – there are so many designs to come up with these or just make boxes out of the tiles; whatever you kiddo can do and enjoys
• LEGO – they have so many sets and designs that the options are endless
• Bristle Block Stackadoos – we found these at Target and my son loves the texture and this is one he loves for me to build things and he tears them apart.

#5 Obstacle Courses

I love obstacle courses because they’re fun, but they’re working problem-solving skills and gross motor skills. You can find sets on Amazon, but it can get pricey. If your kid is like mine, there’s tons of toys and random things in the house to make obstacle courses from.

You can use Pringles cans as cones, have them hop over toys, step on sturdy boxes.

Some Set-up Ideas:

• 20 Amazing Backyard Obstacle Courses – Happy Toddler Playtime
• 10 Obstacle Courses You Can Set Up at Home – Tiny Beans
• 15 Amazing Indoor and Outdoor Toddler Obstacle Course Ideas – Mom Junction

My son’s physical therapist used Jumping Stepping Stones and he loves hopping and walking on those as an obstacle course. So my friend bought it for him as a birthday present and he has a blast on them:

#6 Escape Rooms

This is all problem-solving with clues and riddles to figure out. This is not for everyone, but if your kid has a knack for things like this, it could be a really fun outing together.

Or, Pinterest has some neat ideas for Escape Rooms at home. I tried to find a few to get you started:

• Make Your Own Escape Room Challenge for Kids ( with a FREE Printable) – The Activity Mom
• 40 DIY Escape Room Ideas at Home – Hands On Teaching Ideas
• How to Build Escape Room Challenges – Pathway 2 Success

Cooking can involve following a recipe or letting your child go nuts and create their own recipe. If following a recipe, they have to identify and find ingredients, figure out what cutting something in quarters looks like, measuring, cooking times, portions.

If they’re making their own recipe then they’re using their imaginations while trying to make something edible. It can even be fun to try to problem-solve why something wasn’t edible!

I just let my son shake the season salt on some green beans I was cooking the other day. He was unimpressed to say the least lol. His diet is basically snacks, Kroger chocolate chip waffles, and chicken fries, so we’ll be working on pouring his own snacks, toaster use, and microwave use.

Some ideas to get you going:

• Chocolate Chip PB Banana Sandwiches – Taste of Home
• Easy Apple Bites – Chop Chop Family
• Recipes Kids Can Make (Broken down into Age Groups!) – Momables

I love this suggestion because it’s challenging, but it’s also teaching a skill that could turn into a career later on in life. And if your kid finds it fun and engaging, then that’s a real win!

Some suggestions I found:

• The First 3 Coding Lessons You Need to Teach Kids – Carly & Adam Osmo Coding Starter Kit 5-10+
• Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse 4+

#9 Experimenting

Finding fun experiments to do and helping your child explore the world is another form of problem-solving. Not everything is going to be a winner; for instance, my son refused to touch the Oobleck his class made for Dr. Seuss week. But he did enjoy petting the STEM teacher’s Madagascar cockroach.

Suggestions:

• Classic Diet Coke and Mentos Explosion – Scholastic
• Engaging STEM Activities with Pipe Cleaners – Stemtropolis (He’s a teacher!)
• Science Activities with Apples – Stemtropolis
• STEM Activities Using the Scientific Method for Kids – Stemtropolis

This is just a range of suggestions that your child may or may not enjoy; or they may or may not be at the level to understand. All our kiddos are different ages, stages, skill levels, so having more options to choose from is better.

I know my sprout would not be interested in cooking, and I wouldn’t be able to hold his attention long enough to even get him to show him how to mix ingredients in a bowl. Don’t force these things and make you both miserable. This should be fun and engaging first because we’re not really learning if we’re too upset to comprehend what we’re doing.

Did you try any of these suggestions? I’d especially love to know if you have your own suggestions or even modified one to suit your little sprout! Let me know in the comments or hit me up with an email. I’d love to hear from you no matter what it is!

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Hi, I love these suggestions! It’s so nice to have new ideas since I seem to get stuck on doing the same things and need to remember to allow the kiddos to experience a range of things, even if it’s not their very favorite things all the time!

I’m the same way with my son! He’s stubborn lol. I wrote this as some ideas for myself as well because it’s easy to get stuck on the same thing. And you know the kids will let you know if it’s not their thing haha.

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20 Activities for Kids with Autism: Play, Learn, Grow!

Play is a fundamental part of your child’s growth. Through play, your child learns to communicate, share ideas, express feelings, and understand others — not just with words, but through their actions and expressions. It also allows children to develop an interest in future careers or hobbies, but the best part? You can do it together.

We’ve created a list of 20 fun activities for kids with autism , all of which are meant to support your child’s development. 

Let’s play!

Great Activities for Autistic Kids & Families to Enjoy at Home

From quiet, introspective tasks to lively physical games, there’s something here to light up every child’s day. Our selection of free autism activities guarantees your child finds joy, comfort, and challenge in their everyday play.

1. Balancing Beam

Set up a balancing beam using planks of wood or simply tape on your floor. Guiding your child across this beam improves their balance and coordination, and turns a fun challenge into a developmental win. It’s a fantastic way to introduce a bit of playful physical activity into your day.

2. Shadow Puppet Theater

Create cardstock shadow puppets to bring stories to life in your own shadow puppet theater. This activity combines art and storytelling to spark your child’s imagination. It turns storytime into an interactive adventure, perfect for winding down during indoor evenings.

3. Water Play Stations

Set up a water play station filled with various containers, funnels, and toys for those warm, sunny days. This setup is ideal for refreshing summer activities for children with autism , as it encourages endless sensory exploration and provides a sense of calm amidst splashes and laughter.

4. Music Jam Session

Grab some household items and start a music jam session. Discovering sounds, rhythms and dancing together not only fills the room with laughter but also enriches your child’s sensory experiences. Kids living with any type of autism can benefit from music, even those who are nonverbal. It’s a fun way to express their musical creativity, whether solo or with a family band.

5. Garden Together

Simple gardening, such as planting seeds or caring for a small plant, provides a relaxing way to reconnect with nature. This activity also teaches your child about life cycles and responsibility.

6. Create a Sensory Box

Fill a box with various household items with different textures, such as fabric scraps, rice, or foam pieces. This activity allows your child to explore tactile sensations in the comfort and safety of home. 

Sensory activities for kids with low functioning autism are especially beneficial because they provide them with a gentle yet engaging way to interact with their surroundings.

7. Homemade Puzzles

Turn family photos or beloved illustrations from your child’s favorite books into puzzles. Laminate these images, then cut them into pieces. Working on these personalized puzzles together not only sharpens problem-solving skills but also strengthens your child’s connection to familiar images and cherished memories.

Just as visual cues in puzzles help in understanding, they can also make explaining autism to kids clearer by creating a connection to familiar and positive images.

8. DIY Light Box 

Make a DIY light box to give transparent and translucent objects a soft, captivating glow. This creative project is an ideal component of indoor activities for an autistic child , as it improves visual focus and discrimination while also turning simple objects into a source of wonder.

9. Themed Treasure Hunts

Set off on an adventure right at home with themed treasure hunts, whether inside or outside. These hunts can infuse your day with excitement and a bit of mystery. Use everyday items as hidden gems and visual cues for guidance, and make sure the themes are appropriate for your child’s interests.

10. Balloon Tennis

Play a lively game of balloon tennis with simple paddles. This game promotes active play, coordination, and healthy turn-taking. It’s a flexible and inclusive group activity that works well for kids with autism.

11. Build with Recyclables

Encourage your child to see the potential in everyday items by crafting with recyclables, such as tubes, cardboard boxes, and containers. This is one of the best activities for kids with autism who enjoy hands-on projects because cardboard creations can range from simple structures to massive forts — a practical and fun lesson in sustainability.

12. Bubble Wrap Path

Transform your floor into a sensory adventure with a path of bubble wrap. Every step and hop results in satisfying pops, which makes this a hit for children who love tactile and auditory feedback. It’s an easy way to turn movement into a game of discovery.

13. Nature Collage Making

On your next walk, collect natural treasures like twigs, leaves, and flowers for a collage. This peaceful activity encourages your child to connect with the natural world and allows for artistic expression. 

Making collages can be a serene solo task during a quiet afternoon or a shared group activity, ideal for fostering teamwork and appreciation for nature’s beauty.

14. Interactive Reading Nooks

Set up a special corner filled with picture books and objects that bring stories to life through touch and sight. This cozy spot can be a great addition to existing daily activities for your autistic child because it becomes a sanctuary for stories, with each book read together taking them on a sensory-rich journey.

15. Story Cubes

Transform cardboard cubes into engines of imagination by decorating each side with images of characters, scenes, and actions. Tossing these cubes to make up new stories strengthens creativity, language skills, and family bonds. It’s an interactive way to create stories of adventure and mystery together.

16. Sensory Walks

Take your child on sensory walks in the garden, the park, or through different rooms at home, paying attention to the various textures, colors, and smells that surround you. This activity is a practical application of sensory play activities that deepen their connection to the environment and encourage your child to explore and interact with their surroundings in a thoughtful manner.

17. Miniature Worlds

Invite your child to create detailed miniature worlds within shoeboxes or small garden spaces. This activity, whether set in a fairy tale land or a natural setting, fosters storytelling and imagination while developing fine motor skills. It is beneficial for both individual and group activities for children with autism , as it allows for shared stories and creations.

18. Cook Together

Share the joy of cooking by involving your child in preparing simple meals, like no-bake treats or creative sandwiches. This shared activity teaches valuable life skills while also providing a sensory playground of textures and flavors. When they successfully prepare something tasty, it can boost their confidence and provide them with a sense of accomplishment.

19. DIY Obstacle Courses

Boost your child’s love for movement by creating obstacle courses that match their abilities and spark their curiosity. Guide them to crawl under ropes, leap over cushions, and zigzag around cones. This fun challenge promotes physical growth and encourages problem-solving.

20. Role-Play Scenarios

Role-play scenarios with costumes or puppets can help your child learn about different social situations and emotions. In order to practice and understand complex social dynamics and emotional expressions in a relatable manner, this type of creative play is an essential component of social skills activities for autism .

Selecting the Right Activities for Your Child

Autistic children exhibit different learning styles , so it’s important to adapt play to each child’s specific needs and preferences. Here are some factors to consider when selecting activities that will appeal to your child:

• Start with what inspires them . Whether it’s dinosaurs, space, or music, adapting activities to kids’ interests increases their engagement and joy.
• Incorporate visual aids . Visual cues can simplify understanding and execution of tasks, especially if your kid is a visual learner.
• Choose activities that play to their strengths . If they excel at puzzles, consider complex building sets or coloring books. Also, pay attention to their sensory preferences. 
• Keep instructions simple and direct . Break down tasks into manageable steps to avoid overwhelm and encourage independence.

There you have it — the best (and simplest!) activities you can do at home to help your child better understand their surroundings and strengthen your bond. If certain activities don’t resonate as hoped, remember, Abacus Therapies is here to offer additional support .   

Have fun exploring these playful moments together!

What activities are good for children with autism?

Children with autism find joy and calm in structured activities that blend routine with exploration and creativity. Puzzles, for example, captivate with their complex elements, sensory bins filled with rice or water beads soothe with their textures, and arts and crafts provide them with freedom to express themselves.

What keeps a autistic child busy?

Aligning activities with their passions and strengths keeps autistic children deeply engaged. For instance, mechanically inclined kids can immerse themselves in assembling LEGOs or other building toys. Educational games that make learning interactive spark both fun and development, especially in areas like language and problem-solving.

What things are good for autistic child?

A predictable routine, as well as sensory-friendly toys and items like weighted blankets and noise-canceling headphones, can help children with autism meet their needs for consistency and balance. Also, visual aids such as picture schedules make daily tasks easier.

What are ADL activities for autism?

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) for children with autism are practical tasks aimed at building independence in personal care and daily chores. These might include dressing oneself using Velcro-fastened clothing, brushing teeth with a step-by-step visual guide, or participating in meal preparation with simple tasks like washing vegetables.

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Social Skills Activities that Teach Kids Problem-Solving

September 22 , 2021.

​​ Social skills activities are important for children of all abilities. With this in mind, We Rock the Spectrum’s Social Skills Blog Series aims to provide insight into activities and practical tips that help instill social skills in children. In this article, we focus on the importance of problem-solving skills in children and introduce five fun and educational activities that can enhance their problem-solving skill set. 

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disability in which children find it difficult to socialize and interact with others. Although autism comes in a variety of forms, many 

kids have difficulty developing problem-solving skills. The combination of diminished communication, emotional, and self-regulation skills, all contribute to the child’s reduced skills. To be able to become well-rounded individuals, children of all abilities need to be given the opportunity and resources to learn proper problem-solving skills so that they can face challenges head-on later in life. With this in mind, we have put together a guide on the importance of problem-solving skills for both neurotypical children and children with autism.

Why is Problem-Solving Important?

Problem-solving deals with the ability to make decisions in tough or challenging situations. Children of all abilities need to learn how to properly handle each situation with problem-solving in order to become more independent and resilient. Having good problem-solving skills allow children to gain the patience and self-confidence they need to develop into capable individuals.

Problem-solving activities help children develop the skills they need to efficiently and effectively deal with complex issues and situations. In life, children will run into a variety of situations with differing contexts. Having the proper problem-solving skill set will allow children to learn how to handle every situation with ease. Once a child is able to effectively problem-solve, they will be able to better navigate their own personal problems and those of others as well. Additionally, a child will be able to identify a problem, develop different solutions, test different solutions, and analyze the results.

It is essential for parents or guardians to help boost problem-solving skills through a variety of sensory strategies. Here is a list of 5 fun activities that will teach children of all abilities how to build their problem-solving skills.

5 Activities that Teach Problem Solving

1. problems in a jar.

Problems in a Jar is a fun and creative way for children to explore different situations that can occur in the real world. This activity is designed to help kids generate solutions from one problem or circumstance. To begin, an adult will write one situation on a small sheet of paper, fold it, and place it in a jar. This continues until the jar is full. The child then picks a paper and reads off the problem. He/she must then come up with the best solution that solves the challenging scenario. This helps children think thoroughly about each possible solution independently.

2. Scavenger Hunt

Everyone loves a game of scavenger hunt! This group activity prompts children’s deduction skills based on clues and hints, which in turn, enhances their problem-solving skills. To start, divide children into groups of 2-3 and have them come up with a plan on which members look for which items. Children can also brainstorm together on where each item is located. This helps kids work together towards one goal while also nourishing their communication. Parents can also reward kids with small treats for every item they find on the scavenger hunt.

3. Impromptu Skits

Impromptu skits are a fun and engaging way for kids to think independently and with quick reactions. In this activity, children are given one situation wherein they have to reenact how the situation unfolds and how to solve the issue. This allows children to think about how to deal with each situation and see how it can be solved efficiently. After the skit, ask the children to explain their thought processes and correct them if there were any actions that were unnecessary. Children watching the skit will also be able to learn and understand how to best act in certain circumstances. 

Puzzles are one of the best ways a child can stimulate their mind. Puzzles have multiple pieces that are all jumbled together. To solve a puzzle, children need to sort the pieces out and place them in their proper areas to be able to put the puzzle back together. This helps children develop memory recall and thought organization. To start off easy, children can work on puzzles with fewer pieces. Once they get the hang of it, they can move on to more difficult and complex puzzles to build their skill set. 

5. Play With A Purpose TM

Having a space where your children will feel safe experimenting is vital to developing problem-solving skills quickly. We Rock the Spectrum’s Play With A Purpose™ stimulates and exercises a child’s sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch, vestibular system, and proprioception through positive physical, emotional, and social development. At We Rock the Spectrum, kids are able to play and interact together through arts and crafts, classes, our sensory equipment , and more to strengthen their problem-solving skills in an inclusive, sensory-safe environment.

Key Takeaways

Equipping all children with the proper problem-solving tools and resources at an early age will ensure they develop the skills they need to become versatile individuals. Children who are able to hone their problem-solving skills at their most important phase of development will be able to become more independent and know how to acclimate best to a multitude of situations in the long run. We Rock the Spectrum is a kids gym franchise that offers a wide range of fun and inclusive problem-solving activities through its specialized sensory equipment and Play With A Purpose™ program. Discover more about our mission by getting in touch with us today !

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Social Problem Solving: Best Practices for Youth with ASD

• By: Michael Selbst, PhD, BCBA-D Steven B. Gordon, PhD, ABPP Behavior Therapy Associates
• July 1st, 2014
• assessment , problem solving , social information processing , social skills
• 8181    0

Joey, age 9, has been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and due to his high functioning has been mainstreamed into a fourth grade classroom with a shadow. His […]

Joey, age 9, has been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and due to his high functioning has been mainstreamed into a fourth grade classroom with a shadow. His challenging behaviors typically center on his peer interactions in spite of adequate academic performance. When in a group situation he becomes very argumentative when his ideas are not used, becomes very bossy on the playground, and has run out of the classroom when things do not go his way. Megan, age 14, has also been diagnosed with ASD. She isolates herself from her peers and rarely initiates or responds to greetings. Conversations are almost nonexistent unless they are focused on her favorite topics of anime or fashion.

Children with ASD described as above typically have significant social skills impairments and often require direct instruction in order to address these deficits. They often have difficulty in many of the following areas: sharing, handling frustration, controlling their temper, ending arguments calmly, responding to teasing, making/keeping friends, complying with requests. Strong social skills contribute to the initiation and maintenance of positive relationships with others and as a result contribute to peer acceptance. Social skills impairments, on the other hand, contribute to peer rejection. The ability to get along with peers, therefore, is as important to self-esteem as the ability to meet with academic success in the classroom. This article will review the domain of social skills, the assessment of social skills, the importance of social problem-solving and a social skills curriculum which incorporates evidence-based practices to address this very important area.

Social information processing (SIP) is a widely-studied framework for understanding why some children have difficulty getting along with peers. A particularly well-known SIP model developed by Crick and Dodge (1994) describes six stages of information processing that children cycle through when evaluating a particular social situation: encoding (attending to and encoding the relevant cues), interpreting (making a judgment about what is going on), clarifying goals (deciding what their goal is in the particular situation), generating responses (identifying different behavioral strategies for attaining the decided upon goal), deciding on the response (evaluating the likelihood that each potential strategy will help reach their goal and choosing which strategy to implement), and performing the response (doing the chosen response). It is assumed that the steps outlined above operate in real time and frequently outside of conscious awareness. Numerous studies have shown that unpopular children have deficits at multiple stages of the SIP model. For example, they frequently attend to fewer social cues before deciding on peers’ intent, are more likely to assume that peers have acted towards them with hostile intent, are less likely to adopt pro-social goals, are more likely to access aggressive strategies for handling potential conflicts, evaluate aggressive responses more favorably, and are less skillful at enacting assertive and prosocial strategies.

Deficits in social skills are one of the defining characteristics of children with ASD. These impairments manifest in making and keeping friends, communicating feelings appropriately, demonstrating self-control, controlling emotions, solving social problems, managing anger, and generalizing learned social skills across settings. Elliott and Gresham (1991) indicated that social skills are primarily acquired through learning (observation, modeling, rehearsal, & feedback); comprise specific, discrete verbal and nonverbal behaviors; entail both effective and appropriate initiations and responses; maximize social reinforcement; are influenced by characteristics of environment; and that deficits/excesses in social performance can be specified and targeted for intervention. Social skills can be conceptualized as a narrow, discrete response (i.e., initiating a greeting) or as a broader set of skills associated with social problem solving. The former approach results in the generation of an endless list of discrete skills that are assessed for their presence/absence and are then targeted for instruction. Although this approach has an intuitive appeal and is easily understood, the child can easily become dependent on the teacher/parent in order to learn each skill.

An alternative approach focuses on teaching a problem solving model that the child is able to apply independently. Rather than focusing on teaching a specific behavioral skill, the focus is on teaching a social problem solving model that the learner would be able to use as a “tool box.” The well-used saying “give a person a fish and she eats for a day but teach her to fish and she eats for a lifetime” is particularly relevant. The social problem solving approach offers the promise of helping the child with ASD to become a better problem solver, thereby promoting greater independence in social situations and throughout life.

After many years of conducting social skills training using the specific skill approach, the authors have developed a model of social problem solving that uses the easily learned acronym of POWER. The steps of POWER-Solving® include:

P ut problem into words

O bserve feelings

W ork out your goal

E xplore solutions

R eview plan

Each of the five steps of POWER-Solving® has been previously identified as reliably distinguishing between children with emotional/behavioral disorders and psychologically well-adjusted individuals. The ability to “Put problem into words” is critical in order to start the problem solving process. Children with ASD often have difficulties finding the words to identify a problem. Thus, the first step in this approach involves direct training in the use of the rubric “I was… and then…” Upon entering the classroom and finding a peer in his seat Joey immediately pushed the peer in an attempt to get him out of his seat. Through the use of POWER-Solving® Joey was taught to articulate “I was walking into the classroom and then I saw that Billy was in my seat.”

The second step of “Observe feelings” was addressed by helping Joey develop a feelings vocabulary (e.g., angry, frustrated, scared, sad) as well as measuring the intensity of these emotions using a scale from one to ten, with a one being “very weak” and a ten being “very strong.” Photographs and drawings were used extensively to capitalize on his strong visual skills.

The third step of POWER-Solving®, “Work out your goal?” involves identifying the goal and the motivation to reach the chosen goal. This critical step sets the stage for what follows. The goal must be specific and measurable, consistent with Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) principles. Joey was able to identify that his goal consisted of two parts. First, he wanted to get Billy out of his seat and second, he wanted him to still be his friend. He reported that his desire to reach this goal was a nine on the ten-point scale.

The fourth step of POWER-Solving® involves “Explore solutions.” Socially skilled individuals are able to generate a range of effective solutions but those with impairments are more limited and often apply the same rigid solution over and over again in spite of repeated ineffectiveness. Joey was taught to “brainstorm,” which involves generating as many solutions as possible that might reach the stated goal, provided the solution is safe, fair, and effective. Joey was able to identify that approaching Billy and saying “Excuse me but I need to sit in my seat now” would help him to accomplish his goal(s). Behavioral rehearsal, combined with coaching and feedback, helped Joey to become fluent in applying this solution.

The final step of POWER-Solving®, “Review plan,” involved Joey reviewing his plan to use this skill the next time the situation presented and to reward himself by saying “I am proud of myself for figuring this out.”

POWER-Solving® has been applied successfully in multiple settings such as the classroom, a summer treatment program, clinical settings and home environments. The curriculum is systematic and relies heavily on visual cues and supports. Children are taught how to problem-solve first using their “toolbox” (i.e., the five steps of POWER-Solving®). The children are presented with specific unit lessons on each of the five steps of POWER-Solving®. All children have an opportunity to practice each step of POWER-Solving®. After learning each step of POWER, the children have acquired a “toolbox” which they can begin to apply to social situations.

When teaching social skills, it is important to coach the children through behavioral rehearsal activities to promote skill acquisition, performance, generalization and fluency. Additionally, daily activities reinforce these skills, some of which include designing their own feelings thermometer, developing novel products via group collaboration, and developing a skit to teach a specific skill.

To increase students’ performance of the desired skills, use of a token economy may be helpful, whereby points are earned during the day for displaying appropriate behavior, demonstrating a predetermined individualized social behavioral objective and for using the POWER-Solving® steps. At the end of every day, points could be exchanged for a reward. In addition to the direct instructional format, incidental teaching should be used in anticipation of a challenging situation as well as a consequence for failure to use the steps when confronted with a specific problem. An experienced social skills coach, generalization strategies, and a systematic plan to teach and reinforce skills are critical for success.

Please feel free to contact us at Behavior Therapy Associates for more information about best practices for social skills training, as well as information regarding the POWER-Solving curriculum. We can be reached at 732-873-1212, via email [email protected] or on website at www.BehaviorTherapyAssociates.com .

Crick, N.R., & Dodge, K.A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children’s social adjustment.  Psychological Bulletin , 115, 74–101.

Elliott, S.T. & Gresham, F. M. (1991).  Social skills intervention guide: Practical strategies for social skills training . Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.

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50 Best Activities For Children With Autism

Engaging in hobbies and activities with your autistic child is an excellent way to bond and improve their social, emotional, and cognitive skills. With these hobbies and activities, you can find new and exciting ways to engage your child and encourage their development.

As a parent of an autistic child, you may sometimes find it challenging to come up with engaging activities to do with your child. Engaging in hobbies and activities is not only a way to bond with your child, but it can also improve their social, emotional, and cognitive skills. In this article, we'll explore 30 hobbies and activities that you can do with your autistic child.

• Art and Crafts: Art is a great way to encourage self-expression and creativity. You can make finger paintings, create collages, or try your hand at pottery.
• Cooking and Baking: Cooking and baking are excellent activities to help your child learn basic skills, such as measuring, pouring, and mixing.
• Gardening: Gardening is a great way to teach your child about plant life and the environment.
• Music: Music is an excellent way to engage your child's senses. You can play music, sing songs, or even try playing musical instruments.
• Reading: Reading is a fantastic way to encourage language development and communication skills. You can read books together, or even make up your own stories.
• Swimming: Swimming is an excellent way to improve motor skills and sensory processing. You can even make it more fun by playing games in the pool.
• Puzzle-solving: Puzzles are an excellent way to improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills. You can start with simple jigsaw puzzles and work your way up to more complex ones.
• Board Games: Board games are an excellent way to improve social skills, such as turn-taking, following rules, and sportsmanship.
• Video Games: Video games can be an excellent way to improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. You can even play multiplayer games with your child to encourage social interaction.
• Lego Building: Building with Legos is an excellent way to improve fine motor skills and creativity. You can start with simple designs and work your way up to more complex ones.
• Role-playing: Role-playing is an excellent way to improve social skills, such as empathy and perspective-taking. You can even act out your own stories together.
• Dance: Dancing is an excellent way to engage your child's senses and improve motor skills. You can dance to music or even try out different dance styles.
• Yoga: Yoga is an excellent way to improve body awareness and sensory processing. You can even try doing yoga poses together.
• Martial Arts: Martial arts are an excellent way to improve physical fitness and discipline. You can even enroll your child in classes and participate together.
• Hiking: Hiking is an excellent way to improve physical fitness and sensory processing. You can even try hiking in different environments to expose your child to new experiences.
• Photography: Photography is an excellent way to encourage creativity and self-expression. You can even try taking photos of nature or people together.
• Painting: Painting is an excellent way to encourage self-expression and creativity. You can even try painting with different materials, such as watercolors or acrylics.
• Science Experiments: Science experiments are an excellent way to improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills. You can even try making your own experiments at home.
• Building Models: Building models is an excellent way to improve fine motor skills and attention to detail. You can even try building different types of models, such as cars or airplanes.
• Writing: Writing is an excellent way to improve language skills and self-expression. You can even try writing stories or poems together.
• Horseback Riding: Horseback riding is an excellent way to improve physical fitness and sensory processing. You can even try taking riding lessons together.
• Fishing: Fishing is an excellent way to improve patience and attention to detail. You can even try fishing in different locations to expose your child to new experiences.
• Birdwatching: Birdwatching is an excellent way to improve attention to detail and sensory processing. You can even try identifying different types of birds together.
• Camping: Camping is an excellent way to improve social skills and sensory processing. You can even try camping in different locations to expose your child to new experiences.
• Volunteering: Volunteering is an excellent way to improve social skills and empathy. You can even try volunteering at different organizations to expose your child to new experiences.
• Geocaching: Geocaching is an excellent way to improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills. You can even try finding different geocaches together.
• Collecting: Collecting is an excellent way to improve attention to detail and organization skills. You can even try collecting different types of items, such as stamps or coins.
• Knitting or Crocheting: Knitting or crocheting is an excellent way to improve fine motor skills and attention to detail. You can even try making different types of items, such as scarves or hats.
• Building Forts: Building forts is an excellent way to improve creativity and problem-solving skills. You can even try building different types of forts, such as tree forts or blanket forts.
• Stargazing: Stargazing is an excellent way to improve attention to detail and sensory processing. You can even try identifying different constellations together.

Best Activities For High-Functioning Children

• Coding: Coding is an excellent activity for high-functioning children on the autism spectrum. It can help improve their problem-solving skills, logical thinking, and attention to detail. You can start with simple coding games or apps and work your way up to more complex programming languages.
• Chess: Chess is a great game to improve critical thinking, planning, and strategy-building skills in autistic children. It can also help them develop patience and focus.
• Debate Club: Joining a debate club can be an excellent way for high-functioning autistic children to improve their communication skills, learn how to express their opinions effectively, and engage in social interactions with peers who share similar interests.
• Drama Classes: Drama classes are an excellent way for high-functioning autistic children to improve their social skills, develop empathy, and practice perspective-taking while engaging in creative activities such as role-playing and improvisation.
• Robotics: Robotics is an excellent activity that combines engineering, technology, and creativity for high-functioning autistic children. It can help them develop problem-solving skills while learning about mechanics and electronics.
• Science Fiction Writing: Science fiction writing is another creative outlet that high-functioning autistic children may enjoy exploring. It can help them develop their imagination while improving language skills such as vocabulary building and grammar.
• Photography Club: Joining a photography club or taking photography classes can be a fun way for high-functioning autistic children to express themselves creatively while developing technical skills such as lighting, composition, and editing.
• Debate Team: For older high-functioning autistic children who are interested in public speaking or politics, joining a debate team can be an excellent opportunity to learn about current events while improving communication skills such as persuasion and argumentation.
• Entrepreneurship: Encouraging high-functioning autistic children to explore entrepreneurship by starting small businesses or selling crafts online can help them develop valuable life skills such as financial literacy, marketing, and customer service.
• Creative Writing: Finally, creative writing is an excellent activity for high-functioning autistic children to express themselves in a safe and supportive environment while improving their language skills and developing their imagination.

Best Activities For Low-Functioning Children

Engaging in activities can be especially beneficial for low-functioning children on the autism spectrum. However, it can be challenging to come up with suitable activities that cater to their unique needs. Here are some of the best activities for low-functioning children:

• Sensory Activities: Sensory activities such as playing with sensory bins or exploring different textures can help improve sensory processing skills and provide a calming effect.
• Music Therapy: Music therapy has been shown to improve communication and social skills in low-functioning autistic children. Listening to music, singing, or playing simple instruments can be an enjoyable way to engage with your child.
• Therapeutic Horseback Riding: Therapeutic horseback riding is a structured activity that involves riding horses under the supervision of trained professionals. It has been shown to improve balance, coordination, and social skills in low-functioning autistic children.
• Water Play: Playing with water can be an enjoyable activity for low-functioning autistic children while improving motor skills and sensory processing abilities.
• Tactile Activities: Tactile activities such as finger painting or playing with playdough can help improve fine motor skills and sensory processing abilities.
• Visual Arts: Creating art using visual mediums like crayons or markers is another excellent way to develop fine motor skills while providing a calming effect.
• Storytelling: Reading books together or creating stories using picture cards is an effective way to improve language development and communication skills in low-functioning autistic children.
• Dance Therapy: Dance therapy uses movement and music as a means of expression and communication for individuals on the autism spectrum. It has been shown to improve socialization, self-expression, and emotional regulation in low-functioning autistic children.
• Swimming Lessons: Swimming lessons not only provide physical benefits but also help improve sensory processing abilities while providing a calming effect.
• Animal-Assisted Therapy: Animal-assisted therapy involves interacting with animals under the supervision of trained professionals. It has been shown to improve social skills, communication, and emotional regulation in low-functioning autistic children.

By engaging in these activities with your low-functioning autistic child, you can provide them with a fun, safe, and supportive environment that encourages growth and development.

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Home » Autism Parenting Advice » Teaching Autistic Children Critical Thinking Skills

Teaching Autistic Children Critical Thinking Skills

By   Donnesa McPherson, AAS

October 21, 2022

What is so important about teaching autistic children critical thinking skills? These skills are important to everyday decisions and obstacles an individual may face, there are many neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals that have a hard time with these skills.

This article is going to outline abstract and conceptual thinking skills development, practice, and use in the school setting and at home. I plan on including ways that both parents and teachers will best be able to encourage and build these skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

It may take some creativity and thinking outside the box when interacting and teaching these skills. It is important to remember and take note of the differences and potential difficulties that your child may have when taking these ideas into consideration.

As always, these are merely the tip of the iceberg and may not work for everybody. That is why the ability of parents and educators to think outside the box and use their own critical thinking skills when figuring out what will work best for the child.

Neurodivergence, autism, and critical thinking skills

It has been thought that neurodivergent children, particularly autistic children, have a harder time with an abstract idea. In the article, Associations Between Conceptual Reasoning, Problem Solving, and Adaptive Ability in High-functioning Autism, they state that this thought is not entirely correct and cannot cover the spectrum that autism covers.

For instance, the article states that there are children that have learned some conceptual reasoning skills, along with abstract thinking in a therapy or school setting and do well. Then when they go about their everyday lives they tend to forget or have a hard time applying these skills to everyday occurrences.

There are also autistic children who have no need to further their problem solving and conceptual skills. As I stated, with the spectrum that autism falls under, it can be challenging to address all the differing areas of development in these areas.

Ways to promote and enhance abstract and conceptual thinking skills

In this section I will mainly focus on ways of developing these skills in the classroom environment. Also, what alterations and support can be put in place to help the individuals develop these skills.

Problem solving and critical thinking development in the classroom

The presentation, Understanding Autism Professional Development Curriculum: Strategies for Classroom Success and Effective Use of Teacher Supports, starts with explaining what autism is and moves into what affects the autistic students and ways to help and support these students.

What can affect the student with autism?

• Unpredictability this can be daunting and even a little scary for a student that may rely on knowing what they should expect next when school events, like an unexpected pep rally in the loud gym, can be met with extreme difficulty and be more of a stressful event than something fun
• Transitions knowing what is coming up next and have the time to prepare for these transitions can be key with some students keeping transitions and how they are handled in mind can help decrease difficult behaviors before they begin by making it easier for the student to transition smoothly
• Environmental changes these changes can be anything from seating changes to adding a new plant to the classroom and can stimulate certain sensory sensitive individuals or be an unwelcome surprise they were not ready for
• Sensory overload if a student is exhibiting unusual or difficult behaviors, it can occur from all the sounds in the hallway to the buzzing from the lights and can affect the individual that may have a sensitive sensory response
• Sensory seeking these students need some type of sensory stimulating activity, or could be the individuals that need to move around during discussion because that is how their brain best functions
• Navigation it can be confusing, especially if the student has any of the various communication difficulties and may lack the social skills needed to ask when navigating from classroom to classroom or learning center to learning center and can be further irritated by loud and unexpected sounds of voices and chairs scraping the floor
• Expectations not knowing what is expected of them, if the student is still developing social skills they may not do what is asked because they are unsure of what the expectations were before the activity and/or task and are unaware of how to ask appropriately
• Decision making if given too many possibilities for decisions, the student may become confused and irritated because they don’t know what to do and there are too many choices that have been presented to them

Ways to help and support these students

• Provide structure and consistency organizational skills are so important when it comes to this step because it can require a posted classroom schedule and one that the students also have in their notebooks that they can refer to, if needed try to stay clear of visual clutter, as that can cause more confusion
• Make information and supplies readily accessible label where items, homework, lessons, etc. go for the day don’t forget to verbally explain and show the students where they can find these areas and labels, if they haven’t been introduced
• Predictability this is where having a schedule and following it helps and is a nice starting point also having different tools and visual supports that are easily accessible to the student makes it easier for them to use and understand
• Consider potential distractions try to remember that open windows, fluorescent lighting, strong smells, and loud noises can be extremely distracting and are a few of the things that can affect a sensory sensitive student keeping these distractions down or altering them in a friendlier way can help the individual with paying attention to the task at hand
• Provide plenty of visual supports visual supports are your friend and ones that are interactive, more so for younger students but can benefit older students who like the sensory stimulation when the student physically removes a piece to the complete side or has a visual schedule in front of them and knows to expect gym class after recess

What are five ways that teachers can support critical thinking in the classroom?

Whether the student is in a general education classroom or special education program, there are five ways that teachers and teaching aids can help support students:

• Expose and prepare this a way that the teacher or aid could show and talk about the assignment before the assignment is taught and helps expose the student to the material and prepare them for what is going to be expected of them and what the assignment will entail
• Provide and plan for necessary adaptations for the student if the student already has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) there could be modifications and adaptations already outlined
• Visual supports these could be token charts that allow the student to interact and add tokens when they have accomplished something all the way to an interactive visual board that the student carries around, to a visual schedule that changes as the tasks change throughout the say letting the students know what to expect next
• Reinforcement the reinforcement discussed here is a way of rewarding the child for following school rules, finishing assignments, interacting with other students, or whatever they are working on for the moment
• Offer a safe space this is an area where the student can decompress and can either be a place where they go by themselves when they become overwhelmed

Free your mind

As a parent, it can be difficult changing around your thought patterns and expectations when it comes to different aspects of your child and what is being expected of them. It is an important thing to remember, though, that as your child is learning all kinds of things like new ways to interact in a more socially acceptable way to keep all your interactions as light and fun as possible.

As a parent you can look at things in a creative way. This can be fun and add a sense of adventure to how you and your child continue to learn and respond, especially when it comes to critical thinking, abstract skills, conceptual skills, and problem solving skills.

For instance, if you know your child doesn’t like doing their school work at the table, you can ask them where they would like to do their school work, be careful and avoid verbal overload by talking too long. It is best to keep to shorter sentences and questions and offer two to three potential answers.

If they say they would prefer to practice spelling on the couch, just make sure to minimize distractions and voila they have a new place to do work and where able to practice some abstract concepts to where homework can be done.

In her article, 3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking, Helen Lee Bouygues states three ways of improving critical thinking, and they are things parents can do at home to practice with their children!

What are the three things that parents can do at home to help these skills?

• Ask questions this can seem super simple, but the act of asking and answering repetitive verbal questions can help build problem solving skills because the child has to use their thinking skills and reason with the question to come up with potential answers
• Be logical if your child is very logical, this exercise could help them expand beyond their logic, although they would start with logic, and expand as you both come up with more questions and concepts to talk about
• See things differently you and your child have had a discussion about homework and they have figured out that they can do spelling practice on the couch, maybe come up with what other subjects may be done on the couch? Or where else could be a good place to practice spelling words and find out that they love spelling while swinging on their sensory swing.

Key takeaways

There are many ways that teachers and parents can both support and help develop critical thinking and other skills that will help the student in their future. Some of these ideas include ways that the classroom can help or hinder development and education.

Also, challenging parents to think outside the box when helping develop thinking skills and those needed for problem and organizational solving on a daily basis. Although there are children that may be able to express these skills during some times and forget about them during daily tasks, practice can help further the skill set.

As with anything else in life, practice can make perfect. Or, it can at least help by making steps toward the ultimate goals of using these skills as a student and beyond.

Bouygues, H. (2019). 3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking. https://hbr.org/2019/05/3-simple-habits-to-improve-your-critical-thinking

Goldstein, G., Mazefsky, C., Minshew, N., Walker, J., Williams, D. (2018). Associations Between Conceptual Reasoning, Problem Solving, and Adaptive Ability in High-functioning Autism. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6067678/

The Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders & Organization for Autism Research. Understanding Autism Professional Development Curriculum: Strategies for Classroom Success and Effective Use of Teacher Supports. https://csesa.fpg.unc.edu/sites/csesa.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/other/Presentation%202%20(Strategies%20for%20Classroom%20Success%20and%20Effective%20Use%20of%20Teacher%20Supports)(2).pdf

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Autism and Puzzle Solving: Building Skills for Life

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects individuals in various ways. Puzzle solving has been found to be a beneficial activity for individuals with autism, as it helps develop cognitive skills, problem-solving abilities, and visual-spatial abilities. In this article, we will explore the importance of puzzle solving for individuals with autism, the types of puzzles that are suitable for them, and the numerous benefits of incorporating puzzle solving into their daily lives. We will also discuss strategies for introducing puzzle solving to individuals with autism and how to support them in this activity. Finally, we will share success stories of how puzzle solving has positively impacted individuals with autism, highlighting their improved cognitive abilities, enhanced problem-solving skills, increased social interaction, and greater sense of achievement.

Key Takeaways

• Puzzle solving can promote cognitive development and improve problem-solving skills in individuals with autism.
• It enhances visual-spatial abilities and helps develop attention and focus.
• Jigsaw puzzles, logic puzzles, pattern recognition puzzles, and maze puzzles are suitable for individuals with autism.
• Puzzle solving can improve fine motor skills and enhance social skills.
• Introducing puzzle solving in structured environments with visual supports and using reinforcement and rewards can be effective strategies.

Understanding Autism

What is Autism?

Autism, also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication challenges and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior. It is important to understand that autism is not a disease or a result of bad parenting. Autism is a unique way of experiencing the world, and individuals with autism have diverse strengths and abilities.

• Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that it affects individuals differently and to varying degrees.
• Common signs of autism include difficulties in social interaction, communication, and engaging in repetitive behaviors.
• Autism is a lifelong condition, but with the right support and interventions, individuals with autism can lead fulfilling and meaningful lives.

Tip: Embrace the strengths and talents of individuals with autism, and create an inclusive and supportive environment that celebrates their unique abilities.

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication challenges and restricted , repetitive patterns of behavior. It encompasses previous separate diagnoses such as Autistic disorder, Asperger Syndrome, and PDD-NOS. The DSM-5 criteria for diagnosing ASD include persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Diagnosing ASD involves a complex process of assessment and observation, often requiring the expertise of multiple professionals.

Causes of Autism

The exact causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are still unknown. However, experts believe that a combination of genetic and environmental factors play a role in its development. Research suggests that certain genes, brain structure abnormalities, and chemical imbalances in the brain may contribute to the development of ASD. While the exact cause may be unclear, it is important to note that autism is not caused by vaccines or parenting styles.

Signs and Symptoms

Autism is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts. Individuals with autism may have difficulty understanding and responding to social cues, maintaining eye contact, and expressing or understanding emotions. They may also exhibit repetitive behaviors, insistence on routine, intense or focused interests, and sensory sensitivities . These characteristics must cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. It's important to note that autism is not solely due to developmental delay. Diagnostic criteria for autism include persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.

The Importance of Puzzle Solving

Cognitive Benefits of Puzzle Solving

Engaging in puzzle activities can enhance cognitive function, improve memory, and promote overall mental well-being. Puzzle solving stimulates critical thinking and problem-solving skills, allowing individuals with autism to exercise their cognitive abilities. It also provides a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when a puzzle is successfully completed. Additionally, puzzle solving can help individuals with autism develop patience, perseverance, and attention to detail. By engaging in puzzle solving, individuals with autism can strengthen their cognitive skills and build a foundation for lifelong learning and success.

Improving Problem-Solving Skills

Developing problem-solving skills is crucial for individuals with autism. By engaging in puzzle solving activities, they can enhance their ability to think critically, analyze information, and find creative solutions. Puzzle solving provides a structured and engaging way to practice problem-solving skills, allowing individuals with autism to develop and strengthen this important cognitive ability. Additionally, puzzle solving can help individuals with autism improve their attention to detail, spatial reasoning, and logical thinking. It is a fun and effective way to promote cognitive development and boost confidence.

Enhancing Visual-Spatial Abilities

Developing strong visual-spatial abilities is crucial for individuals with autism. These skills involve understanding and interpreting visual information, such as shapes, patterns, and spatial relationships. Visual-spatial abilities play a significant role in problem-solving, decision-making, and navigation. They are essential for activities like assembling puzzles, reading maps, and recognizing objects in the environment.

To enhance visual-spatial abilities in individuals with autism, various strategies can be implemented:

• Engage in activities that involve visual-spatial processing, such as jigsaw puzzles and pattern recognition puzzles.
• Provide visual supports, such as visual cues and diagrams, to help individuals understand and interpret visual information.
• Create a structured environment that promotes organization and orderliness.

Tip : When introducing puzzles, start with simpler ones and gradually increase the complexity to match the individual's skill level.

Developing Attention and Focus

Developing attention and focus is crucial for individuals with autism. It allows them to stay engaged and complete tasks effectively. Here are some strategies to help improve attention and focus:

• Create a structured environment that minimizes distractions.
• Use visual supports, such as schedules and visual timers, to provide clear expectations.
• Break tasks into smaller, manageable steps.
• Provide positive reinforcement and rewards for staying focused.

Remember, developing attention and focus is a skill that can be cultivated over time with patience and support.

Types of Puzzles for Individuals with Autism

Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles are a popular choice for individuals with autism. These puzzles provide a tactile and visual experience, allowing individuals to engage their fine motor skills and spatial awareness. The process of fitting the pieces together can be both challenging and rewarding, promoting problem-solving abilities and a sense of accomplishment. Jigsaw puzzles come in a variety of themes and difficulty levels, allowing individuals to choose puzzles that match their interests and abilities. Whether it's a puzzle featuring animals, landscapes, or characters from their favorite movies, jigsaw puzzles offer a fun and engaging activity for individuals with autism.

Logic Puzzles

Logic puzzles are a fantastic way to challenge the mind and develop critical thinking skills in individuals with autism. These puzzles require analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities , allowing individuals to exercise their cognitive abilities while having fun. By engaging in logic puzzles, individuals with autism can enhance their logical reasoning and decision-making skills . Additionally, logic puzzles provide a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when solved, boosting self-esteem and confidence. Incorporating logic puzzles into daily life can be a stimulating and enjoyable activity for individuals with autism, promoting cognitive development and fostering a love for problem-solving.

Pattern Recognition Puzzles

Pattern recognition puzzles are a valuable tool for individuals with autism. These puzzles challenge the brain to identify and understand patterns, which can improve cognitive skills and problem-solving abilities. By engaging in pattern recognition puzzles, individuals with autism can enhance their visual-spatial abilities and develop attention and focus. These puzzles provide a structured and engaging activity that celebrates the unique strengths of autistic individuals. Whether it's finding the missing piece or deciphering a complex pattern, pattern recognition puzzles offer a fun and rewarding experience for individuals with autism.

Maze Puzzles

Maze puzzles are a captivating and stimulating activity for individuals with autism. These puzzles provide a unique opportunity to enhance problem-solving skills and promote cognitive development. By navigating through the twists and turns of a maze, individuals with autism can improve their visual-spatial abilities and develop attention and focus. Maze puzzles also offer a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when successfully completed. Incorporating maze puzzles into daily life can be a fun and engaging way to build skills for individuals with autism.

Benefits of Puzzle Solving for Individuals with Autism

Promoting Cognitive Development

Promoting cognitive development is crucial for individuals with autism. By providing appropriate stimulation and support, we can help enhance their cognitive abilities. Here are some strategies to promote cognitive development:

• Create a structured environment that fosters learning and exploration.
• Choose puzzles that are challenging yet achievable.
• Provide visual supports such as visual schedules and visual cues.
• Use reinforcement and rewards to motivate and reinforce learning.

Remember, each individual with autism is unique, so it's important to tailor the strategies to their specific needs and abilities.

Improving Fine Motor Skills

Engaging in fine motor skills activities is essential for individuals with autism to enhance their motor coordination, hand dexterity, and overall independence. These activities can include tasks such as manipulating small objects, using scissors, and practicing handwriting. By regularly engaging in fine motor skills activities, individuals with autism can improve their ability to perform everyday tasks and gain a sense of accomplishment. It is important to provide a supportive and structured environment to facilitate their progress. Additionally, incorporating sensory elements, such as tactile materials or fidget toys, can further enhance their engagement and sensory integration.

Enhancing Social Skills

Improving social skills is a crucial aspect of supporting individuals with autism . People with autism often face challenges in social situations and forming meaningful relationships. ABA therapy incorporates social skills training to address these difficulties. Therapists employ various strategies to help individuals with autism initiate conversations, understand body language, and develop appropriate social behaviors. By enhancing social skills, individuals with autism can build stronger connections with their peers and feel more confident in social settings.

Boosting Self-Esteem and Confidence

Boosting self-esteem and confidence is crucial for individuals with autism. It reinforces their belief in their abilities and encourages them to undertake and persevere through challenges. Building self-esteem can be achieved through various strategies, such as:

• Providing positive reinforcement and praise for accomplishments
• Encouraging independence and autonomy
• Fostering a supportive and inclusive environment
• Celebrating individual strengths and achievements

By implementing these strategies, individuals with autism can develop a strong sense of self-worth and confidence, leading to greater overall well-being and success in various aspects of life.

Strategies for Introducing Puzzle Solving to Individuals with Autism

Creating a Structured Environment

For individuals with autism, creating a structured environment is crucial. It promotes a sense of stability and reduces anxiety . By establishing routines and utilizing visual supports, individuals with autism can navigate their daily lives with more ease and confidence. A structured environment provides a predictable and organized space that helps individuals with autism feel secure and supported. It allows them to focus on tasks and activities, improving their attention and concentration. Creating a structured environment is an essential step in introducing puzzle solving to individuals with autism.

Choosing Appropriate Puzzles

When selecting puzzles for individuals with autism, it's important to consider their unique needs and abilities. Tailor the difficulty level to match their cognitive skills, ensuring that the puzzle is challenging but not overwhelming. Choose puzzles with clear visual cues and minimal distractions to help them stay focused. Additionally, select puzzles that align with their interests to keep them engaged and motivated. Remember, the goal is to provide a positive and enjoyable puzzle-solving experience that promotes skill development and boosts self-esteem.

Providing Visual Supports

Visual supports are essential for individuals with autism, as they provide structure and predictability. Consistency with rules is key, and visual schedules, reminders, or written rules can help them understand expectations. These supports can be tailored to the individual's needs and can be created in collaboration with their ABA therapist . By incorporating visual demonstrations and cues, individuals with autism can better navigate their daily routines and tasks. Remember, every individual is unique, so it's important to find strategies that work best for them.

Using Reinforcement and Rewards

Utilize positive reinforcement by providing rewards, praise, or privileges when your teen displays desired behaviors. This encourages them to repeat those behaviors in the future. Operant extinction can be implemented by withholding attention or rewards for unwanted behaviors, decreasing their occurrence over time. Offer prompts to help your teen learn and perform desired behaviors, using verbal, visual, or physical cues. Gradually fade the prompts as they become more independent. Parental involvement is crucial for reinforcing skills and promoting progress in ABA therapy at home.

Incorporating Puzzle Solving into Daily Life

Puzzle Solving as a Leisure Activity

Puzzle solving is not just a leisure activity; it's a gateway to relaxation and mindfulness . As we immerse ourselves in the process of solving puzzles, we can experience a sense of calm and focus. It's a chance to escape from the busyness of everyday life and engage in a soothing and meditative activity. Whether it's a jigsaw puzzle, a logic puzzle, or a pattern recognition puzzle, the act of solving puzzles can provide a much-needed break and a moment of tranquility.

Puzzle Solving in Educational Settings

Incorporating puzzle solving into educational settings can have a profound impact on individuals with autism. Puzzle solving provides a unique opportunity for cognitive development and problem-solving skills enhancement. It helps individuals improve their visual-spatial abilities and develop attention and focus . Here are some strategies for incorporating puzzle solving in educational settings:

• Create a structured environment that promotes engagement and concentration.
• Choose puzzles that are appropriate for the individual's skill level.
• Provide visual supports, such as visual cues or step-by-step instructions.
• Use reinforcement and rewards to motivate and encourage participation.

By integrating puzzle solving into educational settings, we can create an inclusive and stimulating learning environment for individuals with autism.

Puzzle Solving in Therapy

Therapy is an essential component of autism treatment, focusing on improving behavior and social skills. Positive reinforcement is used to encourage desired behaviors and reduce unwanted ones. Speech and Language Therapy helps improve communication skills, while Occupational Therapy focuses on daily living skills. Behavioral Therapy uses positive reinforcement to improve behavior and social skills. Puzzle solving can be incorporated into therapy sessions to enhance problem-solving abilities and promote cognitive development. It provides a structured and engaging activity that celebrates autistic identities and encourages skill building.

Puzzle Solving for Skill Building

Puzzle solving is more than just a leisure activity for individuals with autism. It is a powerful tool for skill building and personal growth. By engaging in puzzles, individuals with autism can develop important cognitive abilities, such as problem-solving skills and attention to detail. Puzzle solving also helps improve fine motor skills and enhances visual-spatial abilities. It provides a structured and engaging way to build skills that can be applied in various aspects of life.

Supporting Individuals with Autism in Puzzle Solving

Understanding Individual Needs

When it comes to individuals with autism, understanding their unique needs is crucial. Each person on the autism spectrum is different, and their support should be tailored to their specific requirements. By recognizing and addressing these needs, we can enhance their skills and promote their growth and development. Diagnosis of Autism and Intellectual Disability involves a complex process of assessment and observation, often requiring the expertise of multiple professionals. It's important to increase awareness and knowledge of these conditions to improve outcomes for individuals affected by them. Additionally, individuals with both autism and intellectual disability may require a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to support their unique needs.

Providing Guidance and Assistance

When supporting individuals with autism in puzzle solving, it is crucial to provide guidance and assistance tailored to their unique needs. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Use prompts: Guide individuals with verbal, visual, or physical cues to help them find the correct response.
• Model tasks: Show them how to perform tasks, engage in social interactions, or follow routines through visual demonstrations.
• Establish clear rules: Create visual schedules, reminders, or written rules to provide structure and predictability.

Remember, consistency and individualized support are key to fostering success in puzzle solving for individuals with autism.

Encouraging Independence

Encouraging independence is crucial for individuals with autism to develop essential life skills. Here are some strategies to promote independence:

Provide clear and consistent rules at home, using visual schedules and reminders to help them understand expectations.

Gradually fade prompts and cues as they become more independent in executing tasks and behaviors.

Model tasks and social interactions to show them how to perform them.

Reinforce positive actions with praise and incentives to encourage repetition.

Give opportunities for learning new skills, tailored specifically for teenagers.

Remember, consistency and support are key in fostering independence and empowering individuals with autism to thrive.

Adapting Puzzles for Different Abilities

When it comes to puzzle solving, it's important to consider the diverse abilities of individuals with autism. Adapting puzzles can make them more accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Here are some strategies to ensure inclusivity:

• Provide puzzle options with varying difficulty levels
• Use visual supports, such as color-coding or picture cues
• Break down complex puzzles into smaller, manageable parts
• Modify puzzle pieces for easier manipulation

Remember, the goal is to create a positive and empowering puzzle-solving experience for individuals with autism.

Success Stories: How Puzzle Solving has Impacted Individuals with Autism

Improved Cognitive Abilities

Enhancing cognitive abilities is a key benefit of puzzle solving for individuals with autism. Cognitive abilities refer to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge, understanding, and problem-solving. By engaging in puzzle solving, individuals with autism can improve their critical thinking and reasoning skills , as well as memory and attention . Puzzle solving also stimulates visual-spatial processing , which is important for tasks such as reading maps or solving complex puzzles. Additionally, puzzle solving can enhance creativity and flexible thinking , allowing individuals with autism to approach challenges from different perspectives.

Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills

Developing problem-solving skills is a crucial benefit of puzzle solving for individuals with autism. Problem-solving is an essential skill that empowers individuals to overcome challenges and find creative solutions. By engaging in puzzle solving, individuals with autism can enhance their ability to think critically, analyze information, and make decisions. This skill is not only valuable in daily life but also in educational and professional settings. Puzzle solving provides a fun and engaging way for individuals with autism to develop and strengthen their problem-solving skills.

Increased Social Interaction

Improving social skills is a crucial aspect of puzzle solving for individuals with autism. Puzzle solving activities provide opportunities for social interaction and collaboration, allowing individuals to practice communication, turn-taking, and teamwork. Engaging in puzzles with others can help individuals with autism develop and strengthen their social skills, fostering meaningful connections and relationships. Through puzzle solving, individuals with autism can enhance their ability to initiate conversations, understand non-verbal cues, and engage in cooperative play. By promoting social interaction, puzzle solving empowers individuals with autism to integrate into society, establish meaningful relationships, and gain independence.

Greater Sense of Achievement

Individuals with autism who engage in puzzle solving often experience a greater sense of achievement. Completing a puzzle, whether it's a jigsaw puzzle, logic puzzle, pattern recognition puzzle, or maze puzzle, provides a tangible result that can boost self-esteem and confidence. The feeling of accomplishment that comes from solving a puzzle can be especially empowering for individuals with autism, as it showcases their problem-solving abilities and showcases their unique strengths. Puzzle solving allows individuals with autism to showcase their intelligence and creativity, and it can be a source of pride and joy. It's a reminder that they are capable of overcoming challenges and achieving success.

Success Stories: How Puzzle Solving has Impacted Individuals with Autism. Puzzle solving has been proven to have a positive impact on individuals with autism. It helps improve cognitive skills, problem-solving abilities , and social interaction. Many individuals with autism have found solace and joy in solving puzzles, as it provides a sense of accomplishment and boosts self-esteem. At Autism Store, we understand the importance of puzzle solving for individuals with autism. That's why we offer a wide range of autism-themed puzzles, including jigsaw puzzles, 3D puzzles, and more. Visit our website to explore our collection and find the perfect puzzle for yourself or your loved ones. Join the puzzle-solving community and experience the benefits it brings to individuals with autism.

In conclusion, the journey of understanding and appreciating individual differences and strengths is crucial in supporting individuals with autism. Embracing these differences can lead to remarkable growth and connection, enabling individuals to build essential life skills and contribute meaningfully to society. It is imperative to focus on remediating all the things that are not going well, and instead, put autistic students in jobs that play to their strengths. This approach fosters independence, social integration, and personal growth, ultimately leading to a more inclusive and supportive environment for individuals with autism.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is autism.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects communication, social interaction, and behavior.

What are autism spectrum disorders?

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, and communication difficulties.

What are the causes of autism?

The exact causes of autism are not known, but it is believed to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

What are the signs and symptoms of autism?

Signs and symptoms of autism can vary, but common ones include difficulties with social interaction, repetitive behaviors, and challenges with communication.

What are the cognitive benefits of puzzle solving?

Puzzle solving can improve cognitive skills such as problem-solving, attention, and visual-spatial abilities.

How does puzzle solving improve problem-solving skills?

Puzzle solving requires individuals to think critically, analyze patterns, and find solutions, which enhances problem-solving skills.

What types of puzzles are suitable for individuals with autism?

Suitable puzzles for individuals with autism include jigsaw puzzles, logic puzzles, pattern recognition puzzles, and maze puzzles.

How does puzzle solving enhance social skills?

Puzzle solving can promote social interaction, cooperation, and communication when done in a group setting or with a partner.

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25 Best Social Skill Training Exercises for Children with Autism

Social Skill Training Exercises for Children With Autism are a game-changer for families navigating the complexities of autism spectrum disorder.

These exercises are designed to enhance communication, improve social interactions, and build meaningful relationships.

They offer practical ways to teach essential social skills that can significantly impact a child’s quality of life.

Keep reading to find out more about the Social Skill Training Exercises for Children With Autism.

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What Are Social Skills?

Social skills are the abilities that enable individuals to interact effectively with others and navigate various social situations.

They encompass a range of competencies, from understanding social cues to effective communication and problem-solving.

For people with autism, these skills are often a focus of therapeutic interventions.

What are Social Skill Training Exercises for Children with Autism?

Social Skill Training Exercises for Children with Autism are structured activities and interventions aimed at teaching essential social skills to children on the autism spectrum.

These exercises focus on various aspects of social interaction, such as understanding social cues, improving communication, and building relationships.

They often incorporate evidence-based methods like Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), role-playing, and social stories to provide targeted instruction.

The ultimate goal is to enhance the child’s ability to navigate social situations, thereby improving their overall well-being and quality of life.

List of Social Skill Training Exercises for Children with Autism

The Basics of Autism Social Skills

Social skills are the abilities that enable individuals to interact effectively with others and adapt to various social situations.

For children on the autism spectrum, these skills are particularly crucial.

They often find it challenging to understand and interpret social cues, making social skills training a vital part of their development.

Why Social Skills Matter?

Social skills are not just about being polite or making friends; they’re about understanding the world around you.

For a child with autism, social skills activities can be a lifeline to a more fulfilling life.

They can help children learn how to communicate better, understand social expectations, and form meaningful relationships.

The Consequences of Poor Social Skills

• Lack of social skills can lead to difficulties in making friends, maintaining relationships, and participating in everyday social activities.
• This can have a long-term impact on the child’s emotional well-being and overall quality of life.

25 Best Social Skill Training Exercises for Children with Autism

Navigating social situations can be challenging for children with autism.

However, if you encourage your child with the right training exercises, they can learn to interact more effectively with their peers and adults.

Here are 25 social skill training exercises designed to help children with autism spectrum disorder develop essential social skills.

These exercises are not only effective but also engaging, ensuring that your child will be motivated to learn and grow.

1. Role-Playing for Social Scenarios

Role-playing social skills activity is a fantastic way to help children with autism understand social situations and how to react appropriately.

• How it works : Create a social scenario and act it out with your child. For example, you can pretend to be a friend at school, and your child can practice greeting you and asking how you are.
• Why it’s effective : This exercise allows children to practice social interactions in a safe and controlled environment.
• Keywords : social situations, autism spectrum disorder, role-playing, social skills activities for children

2. Turn-Taking Games

Games that require turn-taking can teach children the importance of patience and waiting for their turn.

• How it works : Simple board games or card games work well for this exercise.
• Why it’s effective : These games naturally require turn-taking, teaching children the social rules associated with sharing and patience.
• Keywords : turn-taking, board game, social rules, children with autism

3. Emotion Flashcards

Understanding emotions is crucial for social interactions. Emotion flashcards can help children recognize different feelings.

• How it works : Show your child flashcards with different facial expressions and ask them to identify the emotion.
• Why it’s effective : This exercise helps children with autism spectrum disorder become more aware of emotional cues, which is essential for social interactions.
• Keywords : emotion, flashcards, autism spectrum disorder, social cues

4. Social Stories for Scenario Understanding

Social stories are short narratives that describe a social situation, what happens, and why it happens.

• How it works : Read a social story that is relevant to a situation your child might encounter, like going to a birthday party or sharing toys.
• Why it’s effective : Social stories break down complex social situations into understandable parts, helping children with autism make sense of social norms.
• Keywords : social stories, social norms, autism, complex social situations

5. Praise and Reward System

Positive reinforcement can go a long way in teaching social skills.

• How it works : Whenever your child exhibits good social behavior, praise them or give them a small reward.
• Why it’s effective : Positive reinforcement encourages the repetition of good behavior, making it more likely that the child will act appropriately in social situations in the future.
• Keywords : positive reinforcement, social behavior, praise, reward system

6. Eye Contact Practice

Eye contact is a fundamental social skill that many children with autism find challenging.

• How it works : Sit across from your child and encourage them to maintain eye contact with you for a few seconds at a time. Gradually increase the duration as they become more comfortable.
• Why it’s effective : Practicing eye contact in a safe and familiar setting can help children become more comfortable with this form of nonverbal communication.

7. Conversation Starters

Initiating a conversation can be daunting for children with autism.

• How it works : Teach your child simple conversation starters like, “How are you?” or “What’s your favorite game?”
• Why it’s effective : Learning these basic phrases can give children the confidence to initiate conversations, making social interactions less intimidating.

8. Listening Skills

Active listening is crucial for meaningful social interactions.

• How it works : Read a short story or statement and ask your child to repeat it back to you. This helps them focus on what is being said.
• Why it’s effective : This exercise helps children develop the ability to focus on a conversation, which is essential for understanding social cues and responding appropriately.

9. Group Activities

Participating in group activities can teach children valuable teamwork skills.

• How it works : Engage your child in group activities like team sports or group art projects.
• Why it’s effective : Group activities require children to cooperate and communicate with others, helping them understand the dynamics of social interactions.

10. Understanding Personal Space

Respecting personal space is a crucial social skill.

• How it works : Use a hula hoop or draw a circle around your child to visually represent personal space. Teach them to respect others’ personal space by staying outside of their “circle.”
• Why it’s effective : This visual representation makes the concept of personal space more tangible, helping children understand and respect boundaries.

11. Practicing Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, and it’s a vital social skill.

• How it works : Discuss different scenarios where someone might be feeling happy, sad, or angry. Ask your child how they think that person is feeling and why.
• Why it’s effective : This exercise helps children develop the ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, which is crucial for meaningful social interactions.

12. Learning to Share

Sharing is a basic yet essential social skill.

• How it works : Use toys or snacks to practice sharing with your child. Take turns giving and receiving the item.
• Why it’s effective : This simple exercise teaches the importance of sharing and turn-taking, fundamental aspects of social interactions.

13. Identifying Nonverbal Cues

Nonverbal cues like facial expressions and body language often convey more than words.

• How it works : Show videos or pictures of people displaying different emotions through body language and ask your child to identify them.
• Why it’s effective : Understanding nonverbal cues is essential for interpreting social situations correctly.

14. Asking for Help

Being able to ask for help is an important social skill that promotes independence.

• How it works : Create scenarios where your child needs assistance, like reaching an item on a high shelf, and encourage them to ask for help.
• Why it’s effective : This exercise teaches children that it’s okay to ask for help and shows them how to do it appropriately.

15. Saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’

Basic manners like saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ go a long way in social interactions.

• How it works : Remind your child to use these phrases when asking for something or receiving something.
• Why it’s effective : Teaching basic manners helps children understand social expectations and behave appropriately in various settings.

16. Role-Playing Social Scenarios

Role-playing is a fantastic way to practice social interactions in a controlled environment.

• How it works : Create different social scenarios that your child might encounter, like meeting a new friend or going to a doctor’s appointment. Act out these scenarios with your child.
• Why it’s effective : Role-playing allows children to practice social interactions in a safe space, helping them feel more prepared for real-life situations.

17. Learning to Apologize

Understanding when and how to apologize is a crucial social skill.

• How it works : Discuss scenarios where an apology might be necessary, and practice saying “I’m sorry” with your child.
• Why it’s effective : Learning to apologize helps children understand the importance of taking responsibility for their actions and mending social relationships.

18. Understanding Sarcasm and Jokes

Grasping humor and sarcasm can be challenging for children with autism.

• How it works : Use children’s books or shows that incorporate humor and sarcasm and discuss them with your child.
• Why it’s effective : This helps children understand different tones and nuances in language, which is essential for social interactions.

19. Learning to Wait

Patience is a virtue, especially in social settings.

• How it works : Practice waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for a turn on the swing.
• Why it’s effective : Learning to wait teaches children the importance of patience and self-control in social interactions.

20. Identifying Feelings

Being able to identify and express feelings is crucial for emotional intelligence.

• How it works : Use emotion flashcards or apps that help children identify different feelings.
• Why it’s effective : Understanding emotions is the first step in managing them effectively, which is essential for healthy social interactions.

21. Learning to Compliment

Giving and receiving compliments is a lovely way to build positive social interactions.

• How it works : Teach your child simple compliments like “You look nice today” or “Great job!”
• Why it’s effective : Compliments help build self-esteem and foster positive relationships.

22. Practicing Greetings and Farewells

Basic greetings and farewells set the tone for social interactions.

• How it works : Practice saying “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Please,” and “Thank you” in various social settings.
• Why it’s effective : These basic phrases are the building blocks of polite and positive social interactions.

23. Learning to Follow Instructions

Following instructions is crucial in both educational and social settings.

• How it works : Give your child a series of simple instructions to follow, like “Pick up the toy and put it in the box.”
• Why it’s effective : Being able to follow instructions is essential for participating in group activities and succeeding in educational settings.

24. Understanding Personal Boundaries

Respecting personal boundaries is crucial for healthy social interactions.

• How it works : Discuss the importance of not touching people without permission and respecting personal space.
• Why it’s effective : Understanding boundaries helps children navigate social settings more comfortably and respectfully.

25. Learning to Ask Questions

Asking questions is a great way to engage in conversations and show interest in others.

• How it works : Practice asking questions like “How was your day?” or “What’s your favorite color?”
• Why it’s effective : Asking questions not only keeps the conversation going but also shows that the child is interested in what the other person has to say.

These 25 social skill training exercises are designed to help children with autism navigate the complexities of social interactions.

Each exercise targets a specific skill, making it easier to focus on areas that need improvement.

With consistent practice, these activities can make a significant difference in a child’s social life.

How To Create a Social Story for Your Child with Autism

Creating a social story for your child with autism can be a transformative experience.

Social stories are short, personalized narratives that break down a situation, skill, or concept into understandable and relatable terms for children on the autism spectrum.

They can help your child navigate social situations, understand expectations, and improve their communication skills.

Here's a step-by-step guide to creating an effective social story for your child.

• A computer or paper and pen for writing the story
• Pictures or illustrations (optional)
• Laminating machine or plastic sleeves (optional for durability)
• Your child's favorite book or story as a model (optional)

Instructions

Step 1: identify the purpose.

• Determine what social skill or situation you want to address. 
• It could be anything from sharing toys to understanding the steps of a daily routine.

Step 2: Know Your Audience

• Understand your child's level of comprehension, interests, and what resonates with them. 
• This will help you tailor the story to their needs.

Step 3: Choose the Format

• Decide whether you'll write it down on paper, create a digital version, or even make it into a small book. 
• Some parents find it useful to include pictures or illustrations to make it more engaging.

Step 4: Write in First Person

• Write the story from your child's perspective, using simple language. 
• Use the word "I" to make it relatable.
• For example, "I go to the park. I see a swing. I wait my turn."

Step 5: Be Specific but Not Overwhelming

• Detail the situation or skill you're addressing, but don't overload the story with information. 
• Stick to what's essential for understanding the social context.

Step 6: Include the Desired Outcome

• Clearly state what the appropriate social behavior or reaction should be.
• For example, "I wait my turn, then I can swing."

Step 7: Review the Story

• Go through the story to ensure it's clear, concise, and free of any ambiguities. 
• Make sure it aligns with your child's level of understanding.

Step 8: Involve Your Child

• Read the story to your child or have them read it with you. 
• Ask for their input and make any necessary adjustments.

Step 9: Practice

• Use the story as a guide for role-playing the situation with your child.
• This will help them internalize the lessons in the story.

Step 10: Implement and Revise

• Use the story in real-life situations and observe how your child responds. 
• Make revisions as needed to ensure it remains effective.

Creating a social story is not just about crafting a narrative; it's about opening a channel of understanding between you and your child. 

It's a tool that can significantly improve your child's social interactions and overall well-being. So, why not give it a try?

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Effective Social Skills Activities for Autistic Children

Unlock the world of social interaction for your autistic child! Dive into proven activities that not only educate but also entertain.

Using Social Stories to Teach Social Skills for Kids

Social stories are personalized teaching stories designed to make social situations more predictable for children with autism.

They can be tailored to a child’s specific needs and are an effective way to teach appropriate social responses and behaviors.

Play Board Games: More Than Just Fun and Games

Board games are not just a way to pass the time; they’re a fantastic tool to develop social skills.

They teach children how to take turns, share, and follow rules, enriching their social behavior and problem-solving skills.

Turn-Taking Activities: Learning the Art of Patience

Activities that encourage turn-taking can be a great way to teach children the importance of waiting for their turn and listening to others.

Simple games or role-playing activities can be both fun and educational.

Sensory Issues and Their Impact on Social Skills

Is your child overwhelmed in social settings? Discover how sensory issues can be the hidden roadblock to social success and what you can do about it.

The Connection Between Sensory Issues and Social Behavior

Sensory issues are common in people with autism and can significantly affect their social skills.

For instance, a child who is hypersensitive to certain sounds may find crowded environments overwhelming, affecting their ability to engage in social activities.

Addressing Sensory Challenges

Addressing sensory issues is crucial for creating an environment conducive to social skills development.

Simple accommodations like noise-canceling headphones or sensory breaks can make a world of difference.

Sensory-Friendly Activities for Social Skill Development

Incorporating sensory-friendly activities, such as sensory exploration or outdoor play, can help children with autism develop social skills while also catering to their sensory needs.

Effective Teaching Strategies for Social Skills Development

Stop guessing and start knowing! Learn the teaching strategies that experts swear by for enhancing social skills in children with autism.

Visual Aids and Structured Routines

• Visual aids like social stories and visual schedules can provide clear explanations of social expectations and routines.
• They help children with autism understand and navigate different social situations more effectively.

Social Skills Training Programs

• Structured social skills training programs can offer targeted instruction and practice in specific social skills.
• These programs often use role-playing, video modeling, and direct feedback to enhance social understanding and abilities.

Play-Based Learning: Making Social Skills Fun

• Play-based learning can be an effective way to teach social skills.
• Activities like pretend play and cooperative games create a natural environment for children to learn and practice social interactions.

How do you teach social skills to children with autism?

Teaching social skills to children with autism often involves a multi-faceted approach that includes behavioral therapies, social stories, and real-world practice.

Techniques such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and structured social skills training programs are commonly used.

What is the social skills training program for autism?

A social skills training program for autism is a structured intervention that aims to improve the social abilities of individuals on the autism spectrum.

These programs often use methods like role-playing, video modeling, and direct feedback to teach social norms and behaviors.

What is the social game for autism?

Social games for autism are designed to improve social interaction, communication, and understanding of social cues.

These games often involve activities that require turn-taking, sharing, and cooperation, making them effective tools for teaching social skills.

What is social skills training in ABA?

In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), social skills training involves breaking down complex social interactions into smaller, teachable units.

Strategies like reinforcement, modeling, and role-playing are used to teach and generalize social behaviors.

Fun and Engaging Activities for Social Skill Development

Who says learning can’t be fun? Explore activities that will have your child laughing and learning essential social skills at the same time.

Social Skills-Themed Scavenger Hunt

• A scavenger hunt with a social skills twist can be a fun and interactive way to teach social skills.
• Each clue or task involves a social interaction that the child needs to complete successfully,
• Promoting problem-solving and communication skills.

Group Activities for Social Interaction

• Group activities like team sports or collaborative art projects can encourage social interaction and cooperation.
• These activities not only build social connections but also promote empathy and teamwork.

Arts and Crafts for Social Skills

• Arts and crafts activities offer a creative outlet for children with autism.
• Working on collaborative projects can promote sharing, communication, and cooperation,
• Making them excellent activities for social skill development.

How effective are social stories in helping kids with autism understand social behavior?

Social stories are highly effective tools designed to help children on the autism spectrum disorder understand the nuances of interpersonal interactions.

These stories present everyday situations in a structured manner, helping the child grasp social rules and expectations.

They are a great way to help children learn social skills and understand what appropriate socialization looks like.

What board games are recommended for activities for children with autism to develop social skills?

Board games like “The Social Skills Game” or “Let’s Talk” are excellent fun activities to help children with autism learn turn-taking, sharing, and communication.

These games are designed to help children on the spectrum practice skills like fine motor skills and nonverbal communication in a relaxed setting.

They can be a fantastic way to help children develop great social skills with practice.

Can activities for autism like role-playing help children take turns and develop better social interaction?

Absolutely, role-playing activities are a hands-on way to teach children with autism the importance of taking turns and engaging in reciprocal conversations.

These activities can be tailored to fit the child’s interests and can help them learn social skills like understanding social cues and sensory information.

Role-playing can be a fun and effective way to help children on the spectrum understand everyday situations they may encounter.

What are some fun social skills activities for kids with autism that can help autistic children improve their social behavior?

Activities like scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, or sensory-friendly sports can be both fun and educational.

These activities are designed to help children with autism spectrum disorder engage with their peers and learn important social rules.

They can also help a child develop fine motor skills and language skills, enriching their relational skills in the process.

How can parents use social skills activities for autism to help their child develop better understanding of children social skills?

Parents can use a variety of social skills activities for children, such as social stories, board games, and role-playing, to teach their child important social norms.

These activities can help your child learn how to interact in social situations, understand sensory processing, and even develop a desire to interact with others.

It’s a comprehensive program for the education and enrichment of relational skills, helping them understand that social skills are important for their overall well-being.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about Social Skill Training Exercises for Children With Autism. Get some quick answers to everything you need to know.

What are the social skills training techniques?

Social skills training techniques can vary but often include role-playing, video modeling, and social stories.

These methods are designed to provide practical, hands-on ways for individuals to learn and practice social interactions.

How do you teach social skills to special needs students?

Teaching social skills to special needs students often involves individualized plans that take into account the child’s unique challenges and strengths.

Methods can include visual aids, social stories, and structured social skills training programs.

Does ABA help with social skills?

Yes, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is often effective in teaching social skills.

It uses evidence-based techniques to break down social interactions into smaller, more manageable components, allowing for targeted teaching and practice.

How do you teach social skills step by step?

Teaching social skills step by step involves breaking down a social interaction into its component parts.

Each step is taught individually, often using methods like role-playing or video modeling, before combining them for more complex social interactions.

How can I help someone with autism socially?

Helping someone with autism socially often involves a combination of structured training programs, real-world practice, and ongoing support.

Understanding the individual’s specific challenges and strengths is crucial for effective intervention.

Can you teach an autistic person social cues?

While teaching social cues to an autistic person can be challenging, it is possible through consistent training and practice.

Techniques like social stories and video modeling can be particularly effective in this regard.

Wrapping Up Social Skill Training Exercises for Children With Autism

This guide aims to provide a comprehensive overview of social skill training exercises for children with autism.

From understanding the basics to diving into effective activities and teaching strategies, the goal is to offer practical ways to help your child navigate the social world.

I hope you find immense value in this guide to social skill training exercises for children with autism.

If you enjoyed this article about Social Skill Training Exercises for Children With Autism and would like to learn more, please leave a comment below.

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Resources for More Information on Social Skill Training Exercises for Children With Autism:

• Top 10 Social Skill Activities for Autism to Help with Sensory Issues in Children – Special Strong
• FREE SOCIAL SKILLS DOWNLOADS – Autism Teaching Strategies
• Social skills for autistic children | Raising Children Network

These resources offer a wealth of information on social skill training exercises tailored for children with autism.

From activities that help with sensory issues to free downloadable resources and strategies for social skills development, these sites are a treasure trove for parents, caregivers, and educators alike.

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Imaginative Play and Creativity

• April 20, 2023

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Imaginative play and creativity are important aspects of development for all children. For autistic children, imaginative play and creativity may manifest differently, but this does not mean they cannot enjoy and benefit from these activities.

Imaginative play is a type of play in which children use their imagination to create situations, characters, and settings. Through this play, children can explore and learn about the world around them, as well as develop social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Creativity, on the other hand, is the ability to think in new and innovative ways and express original ideas.

Below are some ways in which you can support your children in developing imaginative play and creativity:

Provide structure and guidance: Autistic children may benefit from a structured environment and guidance during play activities. Help them understand and engage in imaginative play by guiding them through different stages of play and offering concrete examples.

Use concrete objects and toys : By providing tangible objects and toys, you can help your children better understand the concept of imaginative play and develop skills to recreate situations and roles. This may include dolls, toy animals, cars, building blocks, and more.

Encourage participation in activities of interest: Involve your children in activities that interest them and capture their attention. This can motivate them to explore new situations and roles in imaginative play while fostering creativity.

Model and teach imaginative play skills: As parents, you can play a crucial role in developing your children’s imaginative play and creativity. By modeling and teaching imaginative play skills, such as taking turns, sharing, and following game rules, you will be supporting their social and emotional development.

Adapt play to the child’s abilities and needs: Each child is unique, and it is important to consider your child’s specific abilities and needs when planning imaginative and creative play activities. Make sure to adapt play to be accessible and meaningful for your child and always celebrate their achievements.

Provide time and space for creativity: Offer an environment where your child feels safe and comfortable to explore their creativity. This may include providing art materials, musical instruments, or building materials, as well as dedicated time and space for your child to express themselves freely.

Be patient and positive: Remember that the development of imaginative play and creativity may take time, and your child with autism may progress at their own pace. Be patient, celebrate their achievements, and maintain a positive attitude throughout the process.

Although children with autism may face challenges in imaginative play and creativity, with proper support, they can learn to engage and enjoy these activities, which can help them develop social, emotional, and cognitive skills. As parents, your love, patience, and guidance will be crucial in your child’s developmental process.

Here are some ideas and examples to help you foster imaginative play and creativity in your children:

Role-playing: Encourage your children to engage in role-playing games, where they can take on different characters or situations. For example, they can play as doctors and patients, teachers and students, or cooks in a kitchen. Use costumes and props to make the game more engaging and realistic.

Cardboard box play:  Cardboard boxes can be transformed into a variety of items, such as houses, cars, boats, or castles. Encourage your children to decorate and transform the boxes, and then use them to create imaginative stories and situations.

Storytelling: Read stories together and then encourage your children to recreate the story with toys or enactments. You can prompt your children to change parts of the story, invent new characters, or alter the ending, which will foster creativity.

Building and creating: Provide materials for building and creating, such as building blocks, playdough, paper, and colored pencils. These materials will allow your children to explore different shapes, textures, and colors, and express their ideas through the creation of structures and art.

Adapted board games: Choose board games that encourage imaginative play and creativity, and are suitable for your child’s skill level. You can adapt the rules and objectives of the game as needed so that your child can participate in a meaningful and enjoyable way.

Music and movement: Music is an excellent way to stimulate creativity and imaginative play. You can sing together, play instruments, or even create your own songs. Also, encourage your children to dance and move to the rhythm of the music, helping them explore movement and bodily expression.

Themed settings: Creating themed settings at home, such as a grocery store, a space station, or a jungle, can help your children immerse themselves in an imaginative world. You can use objects and toys you have at home to create the setting and then encourage your children to interact with it.

Outdoor play: Outdoor play offers many opportunities for imaginative play and creativity. Encourage your children to explore their natural surroundings, collect objects such as rocks, leaves, or twigs, and use these objects to create artwork or stories.

Puppet theater: Creating a puppet theater at home can be a fun and engaging activity. You can use store-bought or homemade puppets and encourage your children to invent and perform their own stories or recreate familiar tales.

Collaborative art activities: Engaging in collaborative art projects where you work together can foster imaginative play and creativity. For example, you can paint a family mural, create collages, or build sculptures together.

Creative cooking: Involve your children in the kitchen and encourage them to create their own recipes or food decorations. This will allow them to explore different flavors, textures, and colors, and teach them to think creatively and flexibly.

Scientific experiments: Conducting simple and safe scientific experiments at home can stimulate creativity and logical thinking. You can research together how things work, create hypotheses, and conduct experiments to test your ideas.

Treasure hunt games: Organizing a treasure hunt at home or outdoors can be an exciting and engaging activity. You can hide objects or clues and encourage your children to solve puzzles or follow instructions to find the treasure.

Yoga and relaxation: Practicing yoga or relaxation activities as a family can help your children explore movement, bodily expression, and creativity. Additionally, these activities can be beneficial in reducing anxiety and improving concentration.

Sensory play:  Sensory play is an excellent way to stimulate creativity and imaginative play. You can use different materials and textures, such as sand, water, rice, or foam, for your children to explore and experiment with their senses.

Photography and video creation: Encourage your children to explore the world through the lens of a camera or video recorder. You can create photo albums, short films, or documentaries together, allowing them to develop visual storytelling skills and creativity.

Gardening and nature exploration: Gardening and nature exploration can be excellent activities for fostering creativity and imaginative play. You can plant a flower or vegetable garden together, or go on hikes and explore the natural environment, collecting objects to create art or crafts.

Drawing and writing stories: Encourage your children to draw and write their own stories. You can provide them with paper, pencils, and other art materials, and encourage them to create original characters and plots.

Imitation games: Imitation games, such as mimicking animals, people, or objects, can be a fun and creative way to stimulate imaginative play. Play together and take turns guessing what the other is imitating.

Create a themed play corner: Design a themed play corner at home, such as a reading nook, an art station, or a building space. This will give your children a dedicated area to explore their creativity and imaginative play.

Crafts and art projects: Engage in craft and art projects together, such as rock painting, bead necklace making, or mobile construction. These activities will allow your children to explore different materials and express their creativity.

Problem-solving activities: Propose problem-solving challenges that require creative and imaginative solutions. For example, you can ask them to build a tower with unusual objects or invent a machine using recycled materials.

Remember to be patient, understanding, and flexible in your approach. Adapting activities according to your children’s abilities and preferences will allow them to participate meaningfully and enjoy the creative process. By providing them with a loving and stimulating environment to explore imaginative play and creativity, you will be supporting their emotional, social, and cognitive development.

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Teaching Autistic Students to Solve Math Word Problems

August 29, 2022

By: Jenny Root, Ph.D., BCBA

Categories: Education , How To

In the past three months, how many times have you had no choice but to use cash to make a purchase? Or tell time using an analog clock?  

Although you have undoubtedly made purchases, it is likely you used a card or smart device, especially if the purchases were made online. To check the time, you probably glanced at a digital clock on a screen or even just asked Alexa, Google Home, or another artificial intelligence device.   

While the functions of many activities of daily living, such as making purchases and telling time, have remained the same over time, how we accomplish these tasks has changed dramatically as technology has evolved.   

Math instruction for autistic students has historically had a limited focus on “functional” skills in order to prepare them for independence in their adult lives. Yet in addition to mastering a series of discrete skills, autistic young adults need to be able to problem solve . This includes:  

• Being aware of when there is a problem.  
• Identifying a reasonable strategy.  
• Monitoring their progress accurately.  
• Adapting as necessary.  

Word problem solving is one way to teach students how, when, and why to apply math skills in real-world situations they will encounter in a future we may not be able to envision yet.   

These research-supported strategies can help teachers and parents teach autistic students to solve word problems using modified schema-based instruction (MSBI). MSBI is an evidence-based practice for teaching word problem solving.  

Create a meaningful task.

Word problems need to depict a realistic and meaningful problem. This will help students better understand the “why” behind word problem solving and support generalization to everyday situations. You can begin planning by identifying high-interest, real-world contexts when the targeted math skills could be used, such as familiar community locations, family routines, or preferred activities. The quantities represented in the problem should be realistic for the situation. Use technology to build background knowledge for generalization by showing short videos or pictures, such as videos of people making purchases using a credit card or comparing rideshare costs between two apps.  

Consider accessibility.

Both the materials and word problems themselves need to be accessible to students. The reading level, quantities represented, structure, and visual supports can all be adjusted to address barriers students may face. If independently reading the problem is a barrier, students can use technology to access text-to-speech or ask a skilled reader—a parent, peer, or teacher—to read it aloud to them. Quantities in the problem can be reduced to match a student’s numeracy skills (e.g., quantities under 10) or they can be provided with a calculator for efficiency.   

Research has shown that autistic students can successfully fade this equation template once they become fluent in problem solving.   

Focus on problem types, not keywords or operations.

Teaching word problem solving using MSBI may differ from your prior approaches to math instruction. Many teachers and parents teach operations sequentially, meaning once addition is mastered, they move on to subtraction, then multiplication, then division. But this developmental mindset can put unnecessary ceilings on student opportunity by having a “not ready for” mindset. Waiting for students to be “ready for” problem solving by overly focusing on their skill deficits will hold them back from meaningful, age-appropriate instruction.   

MSBI also does not teach students to focus on keywords to identify operations, such as “more” meaning add and “left” meaning subtract. While this trick may initially work for some simple problems, it doesn’t help students conceptually understand the problem. Real-world problems won’t have keywords.  

Instead of teaching by operation or focusing on keywords, research has shown when autistic students learn to identify and represent the problem by the schema (pattern of problem structure), they are able to independently solve, discriminate between, and generalize problems. There are two categories of schemas, or problem structures. Additive problems use addition and subtraction operations and include group/total, compare/difference, and change schemas. Multiplicative problems use multiplication and division and include equal group, multiplicative comparison, rate, and proportion. Here is a great resource that explains each schema .   

Choose a problem-solving routine.  

The three key components of schema instruction are teaching:   

• The key features of each schema.  
• A solution strategy for each schema.  
• Important language and vocabulary related to the schema.  

MSBI provides additional support as needed for working memory, language, reading level, and numeracy skills so that students are engaged, motivated, and able to “show what they know” while problem solving.   

Problem-solving routines draw students’ attention to the decisions they need to make and actions they need to engage in to arrive at a solution. General attack strategies can be effective. These are two examples:   

UPS Check  

• Understand  
• Check work  
• Discover the problem type.  
• Identify information in the problem to represent in the diagram.  
• Solve the problem.  
• Check the answer.   

Students usually write these at the top of their paper or reference them on a poster or whiteboard in the classroom. Autistic students and those with more extensive support needs will likely need a more detailed and personalized routine that breaks down the mathematical decisions into more discrete behaviors.   

When developing routines to meet student needs, analyze the decisions that need to be made and behaviors involved in solving problems. Routines should always begin with reading the problem or requesting that a problem be read aloud. At least when students are initially learning the routine, they should have individual copies to follow, either printed directly on worksheets or as a separate visual support. Judiciously pair visual supports with text to give support but not so much that they are just relying on matching instead of demonstrating mathematical understanding. The general curriculum access lab at Florida State University has example problem-solving routines from research with students with autism and other developmental disabilities on their website.  

Support independence.

You must explicitly teach students to follow a problem-solving routine. Use think-alouds with clear and concise language while actively engaging students in the problem-solving process. Opportunities for guided practice are important for identifying points of strength and areas of misconception. A system of least prompts (starting with the prompt that provides the least amount of assistance) can be used when students are not independently correct:   

• A generic verbal prompt: Read/point to step of the problem-solving routine.   
• Direct verbal prompt: explain how to complete the step.   
• A model-retest: Model completing step and ask student to repeat.   

Self-monitoring and goal-setting can help facilitate independence in problem solving. Giving a space for students to check off steps as they are completed enables self-monitoring task completion to start as soon as they begin to solve the problem. The focus can shift to self-monitoring independence by having students check off steps completed “by myself” or “with help” as in the example below or self-monitoring duration by timing themselves.  

Word problem solving is an important skill for all students, as it puts math concepts and procedures into a real-world context. In addition, self-determinatio n skills such as choice-making, self-monitoring, and goal-setting can be feasibly embedded to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. To prepare autistic students for independence in their futures, they need instruction focused on skills of the future, not the past.  

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Supporting Autistic Children through Structured Play

Engaging in play is an important part of child development. There are numerous benefits derived from playing such as developing imagination and creativity, cognitive growth, building social skills, improving literacy, encouraging independence and promoting physical fitness.

While autistic children enjoy playing, they may find some types of play difficult. This can be due to the development of social and communication skills which are important skills needed for play, such as the ability to:

• copy simple actions
• explore the environment
• share objects and attention with others
• imagine what other children are thinking and feeling
• respond to others

Let’s explore the different types of play. There are 6 main types of play which develop in stages:

• Exploratory Play – Children explore objects and toys, rather than playing with them. This is how children learn about the world around them. Encourage your child to explore objects around them as part of everyday activities. Feel the properties of objects like different types of balls, run sand through the fingers, touch soap in both bar and liquid forms.
• Cause and Effect Play – This involves playing with toys that needs an action done in order to get a result. An example would be pressing a button which then makes a sound or something pops up. This kind of play teaches a child that their actions have effects and can give them a sense of control. This kind of play is great for taking turns.
• Toy Play – This is learning how to play with the toys in the way they were designed. Toy play can help a child develop thinking, problem-solving and creative skills as they figure out what to do with their toys.
• Constructive Play – Done through making or building things, it involves working towards completing a goal or product such as a puzzle or art project. This type of play can be supported by showing a child what to do through the use of video modeling , photos or visual supports that break down the steps.
• Physical Play – This is active play with movement that supports gross motor skills. Outdoor play or any kind of physical play will help a child explore their environment and interact with other people.
• Pretend Play – Pretend play develops the imagination. Examples of this are pretending to eat in a restaurant, flying on an airplane, becoming a character or object like a train, or using the couch as a fort. This type of play develops the skills needed for social relationships, language and communication.

Understanding Structured Play

Structured play is when an adult provides resources, starts play or joins in with children’s play to offer some direction or guidelines. Structured play activities support autistic children who are learning play skills such as sharing, taking turns and interacting with other children.

Structured play activities provide clear guidelines about what to do and when, and has a clear end point thus reducing the number of play scenario options which can overwhelm an autistic child. Providing structure can also help a child understand the steps, skills, activities or ideas that are needed to get to the end goal of the activity.

Providing structure creates predictability , which lowers anxiety and stress, allowing a child to be more comfortable exploring play and interaction with other children. With some practice, a child may be able to start and finish an activity independently.

How do you structure a play activity?

A play activity can be structured by providing a clear beginning, middle and end to the activity. Choose something that supports this idea such as putting together a puzzle, creating a pretend pizza with toppings, coloring in a coloring book, playing bingo or matching games.

Provide the steps to the activity using visual supports. Start with one-step visuals. If playing with a school bus, start with have the students line up for the bus. The next step could be have the students board the bus, next step is push the bus. You can use real photos of each of these steps, practice these steps one at a time, then start combining the 3 separate steps one at a time. As play becomes more fluent, fade the visual supports. Video modeling is another way to break down all the steps to a play activity.

There is an excellent book that visually breaks down all the steps on how to do art projects called Climbing Art Obstacles . Another great book that explores supporting play with visuals and structured ideas is Tasks Galore – Let’s Play .

A Few Structured Play Tips

• Choose activities that the child can do. Think about the child’s developmental stage.
• Use interests to motivate playing.
• Support a child’s strengths. If they are good at counting, try and add that in. If they can put things together, find activities that support that.
• Let participation happen gradually so as not to overwhelm a child. Help children’s attention span gradually increase.
• Talk only as much as you need to.
• Organize short play activities instead of multi-step activities.
• Guide a child to use a step-by-step schedule of play activities, making sure they understand how to do it before increasing activities during playtime.
• Redirect inappropriate play by showing other possibilities with that object.
• Praise, encourage, and acknowledge all of a child’s efforts during play.

Expanding Structured Play

As a child learns to complete structured play activities independently, you can begin to expand how long you play and the number of activities you do with a child. Add other activities that relate to a child’s interests to support growth. Gradually increase the numbers of steps in a play sequence.

Resources for Play Ideas

Autism and Play – How to Support Children

Keyhole Early Intervention Programme Play Booklet

Play and Autistic Children

Playing with Others

Ten Engaging Play Activities for Children with Autism

de Fina, C. and Anderson, A. Play and Autistic Children . Raising Children Network https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/school-play-work/play-learning/play-asd

de Fina, C. Structured Play: new skills for autistic children . Raising Children Network https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/school-play-work/play-learning/structured-play-asd

Nguyen, T. Structured play with children with autism. Vinmec Times City International Hospital https://www.vinmec.com/en/news/health-news/pediatrics/structured-play-with-children-with-autism/

Tags: engagement through play , play and ASD , structured play .

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First of all, thank you for your valuable words. secondly, I would like to know more details about this workshop at last, as a mother of a boy with autism, I read a lot about it , so I you don’t mind I want to share this with your audience to help them in understanding it. it’s an article that a friend sends to me and I really get benifit of it .. may I can help others like others still help me. https://www.twinkl.ae/blog/understanding-autism

Ssra, there is no workshop on this topic. This is just a blog post that I wrote. I am glad you found the article helpful.

Is this workshop still available online

Can you tell me what workshop you are referring to?

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Verbal Problem-Solving Difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Atypical Language Development

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) adopt less efficient strategies than typically developing (TD) peers on the Twenty Questions Task (TQT), a measure of verbal problem-solving skills. Although problems with the TQT are typically associated with executive dysfunction, they have also been reported in children who are deaf, suggesting a role for atypical language development. To test the contribution of language history to ASD problem solving, TQT performance was compared in children with high-functioning autism (HFA), children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and TD children. The HFA group used significantly less efficient strategies than both AS and TD children. No group differences were evident on tests of question understanding, planning or verbal fluency. Potential explanations for differences in verbal problem-solving skill are discussed with reference to the development of inner speech and use of visual strategies in ASD.

Young people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are often reported to have difficulty with spontaneously generating plans and strategies to solve new problems [ Channon, Charman, Heap, Crawford, & Rios, 2001 ; Mackinlay, Charman, & Karmiloff-Smith, 2006 ; Minshew, Meyer, & Goldstein, 2002 ]. Compared with tasks with a fixed set of responses, children with ASD can struggle with more “open-ended” cognitive tasks where a range of strategies could be deployed to achieve a particular goal [ White, Burgess, & Hill, 2009 ]. Knowing more about why this occurs is important in both the lab and the real world, as it has implications for adaptive skills and independent living [ Kenworthy, Yerys, Anthony, & Wallace, 2008 ].

Problem Solving in People with ASD

A simple example of this is seen on the Twenty Questions Task (TQT), a verbal problem-solving 1 test based on the traditional guessing game [ Mosher & Hornsby, 1966 ]. In the TQT, the experimenter selects a target from a picture array of everyday objects, and the participant asks a series of questions to establish its identity. Typically, the questions will narrow down possibilities via a categorical hierarchy, such as “Is it living?”, “Is it an animal?” and so on. Compared with age and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched typically developing (TD) peers, high-functioning children and adults with ASD take more guesses on the game and ask fewer category-based questions [ Minshew, Siegel, Goldstein, & Weldy, 1994 ]. Moreover, the grouping questions used by ASD participants are often too specific: for example, they may ask “Is it something you eat soup with?” when it may be more effective to first ask “Is it something you eat with?” or “Is it cutlery?” [ Alderson-Day & McGonigle-Chalmers, 2011 ].

Because many ASD individuals are able to identify basic categories when they are prompted to on other tasks [ Tager-Flusberg, 1985 ; Ungerer & Sigman, 1987 ], it has been suggested that this reflects a specific problem with “concept formation,” namely a difficulty in organizing a set of items into a new grouping heuristic when this needs to be done spontaneously [ Minshew et al., 2002 ]. But the TQT—and problem-solving more generally—also involves a range of other, complex demands that could be affecting ASD performance.

First, efficient problem solving relies on executive functions (EFs); that is, the set of skills required to retain and manipulate information “on-line” during goal-directed tasks, such as planning, flexibility, selective attention, inhibition and working memory [ Hill, 2004 ]. Two studies by Alderson-Day and colleagues studied the effects of these factors on TQT performance [ Alderson-Day, 2011 ; Alderson-Day & McGonigle-Chalmers, 2011 ]. The typical TQT includes an array of pictures that do not change throughout the task, meaning that participants have to remember their questions “on-line” as they play [ Mosher & Hornsby, 1966 ]. Alderson-Day and McGonigle-Chalmers [2011] tested what effect this has using a version of the TQT based on a Guess Who? board, where participants could knock down items as they searched. Compared with controls, a sample of high-functioning children with ASD had to ask more questions on average to reach the target when they were unable to physically eliminate items.

When items cannot be removed, participants not only have to remember questions, but they also have to selectively attend to relevant information in the visual array. To parse out these demands, a second study by Alderson-Day [2011] provided participants with a written reminder of their questions when knocking down items was prohibited. This eliminated the need for additional questions in the ASD group—even though the visual demands of the task had not changed—implying a problem with memory for questions rather than attention. In addition, the participants in Alderson-Day [2011] appeared to have difficulty with the planning demands of the TQT. Compared with controls, ASD participants could recognize good questions to ask in isolation but struggled to plan a series of questions in advance that would be likely to narrow down options. Thus, while the TQT may require some element of concept formation, problems with working memory and planning also appear to affect ASD problem solving in this case.

Effects of Language on Problem-Solving: The Comparison With Deafness

Another important factor to consider is the role of language skills, which is prompted by similarities in problem solving between ASD and deafness. In a study with deaf schoolchildren, Marschark and Everhart [1999] observed more guessing and less use of category questions in deaf participants compared with hearing participants, with similar problems being evident in a follow-up sample of deaf graduate students. Executive difficulties are sometimes evident in deaf children, usually presenting as problems with self-regulation and impulsivity [see Hauser, Lukomski, & Hillman, 2008 , for a review]. But rather than explain their data in terms of EF skills, Marschark and Everhart proposed that they are likely to reflect the atypical language development that many deaf children experience. Deafness per se is not associated with delays or deficits: if deaf children have early access to language, usually by having deaf parents or relatives who can sign, they tend to develop very good language and cognitive skills [ Mayberry, 2002 ]. However, over 90% of deaf children have hearing parents [ Mitchell & Karchmer, 2004 ], meaning that many will not encounter skilled users of signing until school age, and some may only be encouraged to use spoken language rather than sign. Accordingly, there can be a range of delays in language skills for deaf children [e.g. Blamey, 2003 ; Moeller, Tomblin, Yoshinaga-Itano, Connor, & Jerger, 2007 ], and it has been suggested that this has consequences for language-related cognitive skills, particularly those more dependent on knowledge of spoken English [ Marschark, 2006 ]. For instance, there is evidence of subtle differences in verbal reasoning, categorization and free recall in deaf adults when compared to hearing controls [ Farjardo, Arfé, Benedetti, & Altoé, 2008 ; Koh, Vernon, & Bailey, 1971 ; Marschark, Convertino, McEvoy, & Masteller, 2004 ; McEvoy, Marschark, & Nelson, 1999 ; Ormel et al., 2010 ; Yi et al., 2011 ].

Given the presence of early communication difficulties in ASD [ Boucher, 2012 ], it could be that similar factors affect verbal problem solving in autism. One way to test this is to compare TQT performance in young people with high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger syndrome (AS). In contrast to HFA, AS has typically been associated with the presence of intact structural language skills in the first 3 years of life [ American Psychiatric Association, 1994 ; World Health Organization, 1993 ]. In most other respects, however, HFA and AS are considered to be alike [as indicated by the removal of AS as a separate diagnosis in DSM 5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ]. While some early studies reported greater EF skills and stronger verbal than nonverbal skills in AS compared with HFA [e.g. Szatmari, Archer, Fisman, Streiner, & Wilson, 1995 ], studies that have controlled for IQ generally find very few cognitive differences at all between the two groups, including similar performance on many EF tasks [ Manjiviona & Prior, 1999 ; Mayes & Calhoun, 2004 ; Ozonoff, South, & Miller, 2000 ]. No studies, however, have compared verbal problem-solving skills of this kind between autism and AS.

If early language skills affect verbal problem solving in ASD, then children with AS should show intact verbal problem-solving skills compared with children with autism. The main aim of the present study was to test this by comparing children with HFA, AS and typical development in their TQT performance. The first hypothesis was that HFA but not AS participants would show impaired performance on the task compared with TD children.

Explaining Differences in Problem-Solving Performance

The second aim of the study was to explain why such a difference might exist by ruling out confounds and identifying potential markers of early language skills. Poor problem-solving performance could just result from problems with question understanding, planning ahead and coming up with new questions on the spot; none of which are necessarily indicative of early language skills [AS participants, for instance, in some cases show an advantage over HFA participants on tests of word fluency; Spek, Schatorje, Scholte, & van Berckelaer-Onnes, 2009 ]. To rule out such differences, three tasks were deployed: a question discrimination (QD) task and a plan construction (PC) task from Alderson-Day [2011] , and a verbal fluency measure. Following prior evidence of generally similar executive and language skills in HFA and AS, we hypothesized that there would be no difference between the two ASD groups on these measures.

For early language skills to have an effect on later problem solving, they would plausibly need to shape how different strategies are internally considered and selected. For instance, early language delays could disrupt the development of inner speech, interfering with self-regulation and verbal deliberation [ Diaz & Berk, 1992 ]. Alternatively, delays in language could lead to visually mediated cognitive strategies taking precedence over verbally mediated ones [ Soulieres et al., 2009 ]. Arguably the most plausible route, though, is via semantic memory. Delays to early communication could disrupt the learning of new semantic groupings and the development of typical associations between exemplars and categories [ Horton & Markman, 1980 ; Marschark et al., 2004 ]. To test this, a novel semantic decision task (SDT) was included in the testing battery. It was hypothesized that HFA but not AS participants would show atypical semantic decision skills and that this would be associated with group differences in problem solving.

Finally, a questionnaire measure of language milestones was deployed as an exploratory tool to assess possible links between language history and task performance. If semantic skills were not observed to explain problem-solving performance, then language milestones could still indicate the presence of an unspecified effect of language delay.

Participants

Fifteen children with AS (14 m; ages 9–16) and 15 children with HFA (14 m: ages 9–18) were recruited from the local area via parent groups and a local autism charity. Participants possessed a diagnosis of either autism or AS in accordance with ICD-10 research diagnostic criteria [ World Health Organization, 1993 ]. All ASD participants were originally diagnosed via contact with local clinical services, where diagnoses are made based on agreement by a multidisciplinary panel and use of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule [ Lord et al., 2000 ] and Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised [ADI-R: Lord, Rutter, & Couteur, 1994 ]. Five participants had also had their diagnosis confirmed within the past 3 years by a trained researcher using the ADI-R. Exclusion criteria included the presence of any other neurological conditions, specific language impairments (SLIs) or reading difficulties. 2 Fifteen TD children (10 m; ages 9–18) were recruited from a participant database to provide a neurotypical comparison group. All recruitment and study procedures were approved by the University of Edinburgh research ethics committee.

Cognitive abilities were estimated using the vocabulary, similarities and matrix reasoning subtests of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale for Intelligence [WASI: Wechsler, 1999 ], providing scores for full-scale IQ (vocabulary and matrix reasoning) and verbal IQ (vocabulary and similarities). Pairwise t -tests indicated that the three groups did not significantly differ in IQ, although trends were observed for mean differences in VIQ ( P = 0.089) and, to a lesser extent, FSIQ ( P = 0.098) between HFA and TD participants specifically. While HFA and TD participants were age matched, the HFA group was significantly older than the group of AS participants (HFA > AS, t (28) = 2.157, P = 0.040) 3 ( Table 1 ).

Age and IQ Scores for ASD and TD Participants

AS, Asperger syndrome; HFA, high-functioning autism; n.s., not significant; SD, standard deviation; TD, typically developing.

Materials and Procedure

The first task attempted was the TQT. The task was presented on a board containing pictures of 24 everyday items, displayed in hinged frames (allowing for participants to eliminate items after each question). Participants completed three trials of Twenty Questions: the first two trials allowed item elimination during search by knocking down pictures that were no longer needed. On the last trial, elimination was prohibited, increasing the memory demands of the task. Alongside the game board, a 15” laptop was used to provide a “random selector” animation and audiovisual feedback during the game [for a full explanation of the TQT procedure, see Alderson-Day, 2011 ].

The primary outcome for the TQT was question quality (QQ), defined as the minimum proportion of items eliminated per question. For example, in a set of 10 items including five animals, “Is it an animal?” would eliminate at least half of the items irrespective of the answer, providing a score of 0.5. A direct guess (“Is it the dog?”) would only be guaranteed to eliminate one item out of 10, scoring 0.1. For comparison with previous studies, the number of questions used per trial and percentages of grouping questions and guesses were also recorded.

Following the TQT, participants attempted the QD and PC tasks from Alderson-Day [2011] . For QD, participants were presented with 10 hypothetical scenarios from Twenty Questions and asked to select which of two questions would be the best to ask first in each scenario. Five 12-item scenarios and five 24-item scenarios were presented using a stimulus book. The task was scored for the number of correct answers out of 10.

For PC, participants were presented with an array of 32 possible questions and asked to select five questions that would be useful to use “if we were to play the game again in a moment.” Once five questions were selected, participants were asked to order them in terms of which question they would ask first, second and so on. Responses were scored based on the mean QQ for the five questions selected, assuming a 24-item TQT set. For example, a sequence asking about living things, animals and pets would be guaranteed to eliminate 12, 6 and 3 items on average from the set, and would be allocated scores of 0.5, 0.25 and 0.125. Greater scores indicate greater efficiency of plans.

Verbal fluency

To assess verbal fluency abilities, the letter and semantic fluency subtests from the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination—Revised [ACE-R; Mioshi, et al., 2006 ] were administered. Raw scores for letter fluency (words beginning with “P”) and semantic fluency (animals) were used.

The SDT was based on semantic association measures used by Gaffrey et al. [2007] and Marschark et al. [2004] , and presented on a laptop using E-Prime [ Schneider, Eschman, & Zuccolotto, 2002 ]. Participants viewed a target word (e.g. ANIMAL) and were then asked to judge whether a series of cue words was associated with the target (e.g. DOG, HAMMER, HORSE). In the category condition, the target word was a superordinate category term (such as ANIMAL or TOOL), and the cue words were all basic exemplars, only some of which belonged to the target category. In the exemplar condition, a basic exemplar was the target (e.g. DOG), and the cue words were all superordinate category terms (e.g. ANIMAL, PET, FRUIT). Participants completed three blocks of 10 trials in each condition. Each trial consisted of a target word (2-sec presentation), a 500-msec interval and a cue word, which would remain on screen until the participant responded. Responses were followed by a feedback page (showing “Correct!” or “Incorrect”). Based on prior evidence of intact category identification in ASD [ Minshew et al., 2002 ], the reaction times for accurate responses (indicating semantic association) were used as the primary outcome of the task. In addition, accuracy scores were collected for each condition. 4

Language questionnaire

Parents were asked to indicate (a) age of first word, (b) age of first phrase of two or more words and (c) language ratings at age 3, 5, 7 and current age in relation to other children of the same age. Ratings were made on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (“Much worse than other children of the same age”) to 5 (“Much better than other children”). Items (a) and (b) were chosen based on their standard use in the ADI-R [ Lord et al., 1994 ]. Language ratings beyond age 3 were included to reflect the possibility of later language abilities also having important predictive value [see, e.g. Bennett et al., 2008 ].

Unless otherwise stated, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare the three groups on the main task outcomes. Covariate analysis, using age and VIQ as covariates, was used to account for potential influences of age and general ability. VIQ but not full-scale IQ was included as a covariate because of (a) strong collinearity between scores for both and (b) the greater relevance of VIQ to verbal problem solving. Where dependent variables were nonnormal, nonparametric tests were used (specifically, Kruskal–Wallis tests with Mann–Whitney post-hoc tests when assessing group differences and Spearman’s Rho for correlational analysis).

ANCOVA was first of all applied to performance on the TQT to test the hypothesis that HFA but not AS participants would be less efficient than TD participants in their problem solving. Second, ANCOVAs and Kruskall–Wallis tests were used to assess group differences in QD, planning, fluency and semantic decision. To test their effect on problem solving, they were then also included as covariates in a reanalysis of TQT performance. Finally, correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were used to test for potential predictors of problem-solving performance across all three groups combined.

P -values were not corrected across different tasks because there were deemed to be testing separate questions (namely do the groups differ in problem solving, is that because of clear confounds in other relevant skills, and is it because of a difference in semantic abilities?). Within each task, post hoc comparisons were made using P -values Bonferroni-corrected for the number of pairwise tests between groups.

Comparing Problem-Solving Skills

Table 2 displays the main task outcomes for the TQT. To test overall problem-solving efficiency, an ANCOVA was run comparing mean QQ scores in the three groups. This indicated a main effect of group ( F (2, 40) = 5.303, P = 0.009, eta p 2 = 0.210), alongside covariate effects of VIQ ( F (1, 40) = 4.092, P = 0.001, eta p 2 = 0.244) and age ( F (1, 40) = 5.262, P = 0.027, eta p 2 = 0.116). As hypothesized, pairwise comparisons indicated that HFA participants’ questions were significantly less efficient than those of AS participants ( P = 0.016) and TD participants ( P = 0.029). No difference was observed between AS and TD participants ( P = 1.0).

Mean Task Scores in AS, HFA and TD Participants

AS, Asperger syndrome; HFA, high-functioning autism; n.s., not significant; QQ, question quality; SD, standard deviation; TD, typically developing.

For the secondary outcomes of the TQT, similar group differences were evident for the number of questions on each trial (group main effect: F (2, 40) = 4.056, P = 0.025, eta p 2 = 0.169), although only the HFA vs. TD contrast was significant ( P = 0.032). Use of grouping was high in all groups (60–65%), and on average guesses were used twice as much by ASD participants, but Kruskal–Wallis ANOVAs (used because of skew in the rates of grouping and guessing) indicated no significant group differences (all P > 0.400). A mixed ANCOVA was also used to check for any changes in efficiency across the three task trials. Despite the switch from allowing (trials 1 and 2) to prohibiting elimination (trial 3), no significant trial effects or interactions were evident for QQ (all P > 0.05, all eta p 2 < 0.1), suggesting that overall group differences on these variables were consistent across trials.

Explanations of Problem-Solving Differences

ANCOVA indicated no significant Group effect or any covariate effects on QD (all P > 0.05, all eta p 2 < 0.06). For PC, plan efficiency was significantly influenced by VIQ ( F (1, 40) = 6.658, P = 0.014, eta p 2 = 0.164), but no effects of group or age were observed (all P > 0.05, all eta p 2 < 0.06).

All verbal fluency scores were nonnormal, necessitating the use of nonparametric tests. Kruskal–Wallis tests indicated a trend on letter fluency score ( X 2 (2) = 5.175, N = 45, P = 0.075) and a significant difference on semantic fluency score ( X 2 (2) = 6.33, N = 45, P = 0.042) between the groups. In general, performance was best in TD participants and worst in AS participants (see Table 2 ), but no pairwise differences survived correction for multiple comparisons. To test for potential effects of fluency performance on problem solving, letter and semantic fluency scores were then added separately as covariates to ANCOVAs of TQT QQ. Neither significantly contributed to TQT performance, and all original main effects remained the same (all P > 0.600, all eta p 2 < 0.02).

A 3 × 2 (group × condition) mixed ANCOVA was used to compare reaction times in each group on the SDT. Significant contributions of age ( F (1, 40) = 10.774, P = 0.002, eta p 2 = 0.212) and VIQ ( F (1, 40) = 5.388, P = 0.025, eta p 2 = 0.119) were observed, but no significant effect of group. Nominally, mean reaction times were slower for exemplar-to-category associations than the reverse (see Table 2 ), but no significant difference was observed between the two conditions ( P = 0.154, eta p 2 = 0.050) nor any group × condition interactions.

Accuracy scores for the same task were nonnormally distributed. Kruskal–Wallis tests indicated no significant differences in accuracy on the exemplar condition ( X 2 (2) = 4.295, N = 45, P = 0.117), but a significant contrast for the category condition ( X 2 (2) = 8.462, N = 45, P = 0.012). Mann–Whitney U -tests indicated that AS participants were less accurate than TD participants ( U = 49.50, N = 30, P = 0.042) in their identification of exemplars when provided with a superordinate category (e.g. Does it go with TOOL?). No other pairwise comparisons reached significance (all P > 0.05).

When SDT outcomes were included as covariates in the TQT analysis, no significant covariate effects were observed (all P > 0.300, all eta p 2 < 0.03), suggesting that they could not explain group differences in problem-solving efficiency.

Early language ratings

Language milestones and parent ratings are displayed in Table 3 . Spearman’s correlations were used to assess the validity of language ratings for ages 3 and up, showing moderate correlations with full-scale ( r = 0.26–0.29) and verbal IQ ( r = 0.19–0.30). A hierarchical regression analysis was used to explore potential predictors of problem-solving performance, using mean QQ as the dependent variable. Block 1 included age and gender (as control variables), block 2 added ages of first word and first phrase, and block 3 added language ratings for 3, 5, 7 and current age. The only individual predictor to reach significance in any model was age of first phrase (stan. beta = −0.532, P = 0.029), and while block 2 showed a significant R 2 change over block 1 ( ΔR 2 = 0.145, F (2,44) = 3.492, P = 0.043), none of the resulting models significantly predicted mean QQ (all P > 0.110).

Early Language Milestones and Parent Ratings

AS, Asperger syndrome; HFA, high-functioning autism; SD, standard deviation; TD, typically developing.

The main finding of the study was that HFA participants, but not AS participants, adopted less efficient strategies than TD children during verbal problem solving. As was hypothesized, HFA participants asked questions that eliminated fewer items each time, whereas AS participants performed at a similar level to TD children. This suggests that atypical language development may be important to explaining inefficiencies in the task performance of ASD participants and that prior evidence of problems on the TQT in ASD samples [ Alderson-Day & McGonigle-Chalmers, 2011 ; Minshew et al., 1994 , 2002 ] may only apply to those with experience of language delay. There was also tentative evidence to suggest that age of first phrase acquisition was related to problem-solving performance, although in general early language milestones and ratings from parents did not significantly predict success on the TQT.

Alongside this, AS and HFA participants displayed a very similar profile on a range of other measures. No differences between ASD participants were observed in question understanding, planning and verbal fluency, in support of the hypothesis that such skills would not explain group differences in problem solving. This is consistent with prior reports of comparable EF and fluency skills in autism and AS [ Manjiviona & Prior, 1999 ; Miller & Ozonoff, 2000 ; Verté, Geurts, Roeyers, Oosterlaan, & Sergeant, 2006 ; cf. Spek et al., 2009 ]. It may have been expected that AS participants would be generally be more fluent than HFA participants and thus able to generate questions on the task, but the direction of results indicated the opposite. Furthermore, performance on the task was unrelated to problem-solving efficiency on the TQT.

These results add to the prior findings of Alderson-Day [2011] and Alderson-Day and McGonigle-Chalmers [2011] by suggesting that verbal problem solving might be a specific problem for HFA children, rather than ASD as a whole. Moreover, while those studies identified specific executive demands posed by the TQT, the present study suggests that language background may be more important to understanding why children with ASD struggle to use the most effective questions.

The final hypothesis—that differences on the TQT would map on to underlying differences in semantic skill—was not supported: performance on a SDT was unrelated to success on the TQT. Contrary to predictions, AS rather than HFA participants showed the most atypical performance on this task, scoring lowest for the identification of exemplars for specific superordinate categories. This is consistent with prior evidence of atypical semantic skills in AS compared with TD children ( Kamio et al., 2007 ) but hard to explain in relation to HFA participants. Very few studies have directly compared categorization or other related lexico-semantic skills in AS and HFA, and those that have usually find HFA to be more atypical in profile than AS [e.g. Speirs, Yelland, Rinehart, & Tonge, 2011 ]. In any case, there is little evidence here to suggest that semantic skills provide the link between language history and later problem solving for children with HFA.

One process that could be implicated instead is inner speech (also known as silent speech or internal monologue). Inner speech is often argued to be developmental in origin and has been historically associated with problem solving and self-regulation [ Vygotsky, 1987 ]. Problems with early communicative interaction would in theory impact upon inner speech and its developmental precursor, private speech [ Fernyhough, 1996 ]. Intriguingly, use of private speech appears to be intact in children with ASD and can even enhance their performance on cognitive tasks relative to when they are silent [ Winsler, Abar, Feder, Schunn, & Rubio, 2007 ]. However, a range of studies have indicated that inner speech is less likely to be utilized by people with ASD [ Holland & Low, 2010 ; Wallace, Silvers, Martin, & Kenworthy, 2009 ; Whitehouse, Maybery, & Durkin, 2006 ], and this seems to be particularly the case for more complex planning and problem-solving tasks [ Williams, Bowler, & Jarrold, 2012 ]. If the development and internalization of inner speech was more likely to be disrupted in HFA compared with AS, then this could have long-term consequences for activities like verbal problem solving.

Such an explanation is speculative, but it has specific implications that are testable. One prediction is that there would be differences in inner speech use within the autism spectrum according to language history, at its simplest varying as a function of language delay, or varying with the degree of early communicative impairment in some other way. Another implication is that we should expect similar problem-solving profiles in other children with a history of language difficulties, such as those with a SLI. There is initial evidence to suggest that children with SLI show intact use of inner speech but less internalized use of private speech during planning tasks, implying a delayed development of verbal strategy skills [ Lidstone, Meins, & Fernyhough, 2012 ]. It may be that similar delays in the internalization of self-directed language skills affects ASD as well: a question for future research would be to examine how the relative proportions of private and inner speech use vary for ASD children in relation to their degree of language delay.

Another possibility, not mutually exclusive to the first, is that participants with HFA were more likely than AS or TD participants to adopt other, nonverbal strategies in their approach to the TQT. Anecdotally, there are many accounts of people with ASD preferring to “think in pictures” rather than speech [ Grandin, 1995 ; Kunda & Goel, 2011 ]. Direct experimental comparisons are few, but there is some evidence to suggest HFA but not AS participants respond faster to visuospatial rather than verbal matrix reasoning puzzles [ Sahyoun, Soulières, Belliveau, Mottron, & Mody, 2009 ]. If this were to explain differences in problem-solving skill, the implication would be that ASD individuals with language delay would be more likely to adopt visual strategies than those with more typical language development. As the TQT involves a visual array, visualizing potential groupings or basing questions on concrete and perceptual similarities represent possible ways of attempting the task, but also ones that may not identify the most abstract categories for questioning (such as organic vs. nonorganic entities). Dependence on visual or verbal strategies could be investigated by manipulating levels of perceptual similarity and abstractness in the test materials [for a preliminary example, see Alderson-Day & McGonigle-Chalmers, 2011 ].

It is of course possible that AS and HFA participants were differing in other ways on the task. Given its visual presentation, it could be that HFA participants were narrowly focusing on small groupings at the expense of more global categories, as would be typical of a “local-biased” processing style [ Happé & Frith, 2006 ]. However, signs of local bias are generally evident across the autistic spectrum [e.g. Jolliffe & Baron-Cohen, 1997 ]. It is also not clear why, developmentally, the two groups would be more likely to differ in this regard, but not differ in other ways more closely related to language.

Before discussing the practical implications of these findings, some caveats must be acknowledged. First, the sample size tested here is small, and it was not possible to closely match the participant groups in age and IQ abilities. The analytic method used here to compensate for this (ANCOVA) adjusts for the effects of age and IQ, but it should not be interpreted as fully “controlling” for their influence [ Miller & Chapman, 2001 ]. This is perhaps less of a concern regarding age, as HFA participants were significantly older than AS participants and yet still performed worse on the TQT. That being said, the relatively wide age range may have also obscured important differences in ability, given that executive skills and overall problem-solving competence can change considerably for ASD participants in adolescence [ Van den Bergh, Scheeren, Begeer, Koot, & Geurts, 2014 ]. The inequivalence of the groups is more important regarding VIQ, as theoretically this could have driven group differences in performance despite the statistical correction of using ANCOVA. In mitigation, it is worth noting that group differences between HFA and TD participants have previously been observed in samples closely matched for IQ [ Alderson-Day, 2011 ; Minshew et al., 1994 ] and that HFA participants in the present study performed comparably on almost every other task. Nevertheless, these findings need to be replicated in a larger, more closely matched sample before the potential contributions of age and IQ to group differences in problem solving can be clearly ruled out.

Second, the study did not include a standardized measure of language skills, such as the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) test [ Semel, Wiig, & Secord, 1995 ]. To allow for other experimental tasks to be used in the time allowed, it was not possible to deploy an in-depth language battery in this instance: a larger study with an existing database of ASD participants should be able to achieve this. However, while a standardized language measure was not deployed here, the tasks used covered a range of relevant skills, including lexical knowledge (WASI vocabulary), category knowledge (SDT) and word fluency (ACE-R letter and semantic fluency). Thus, a number of language-dependent skills were accounted for, even if a standardized battery was absent.

Finally, the use of parent’s retrospective reports of early language abilities—which may have occurred over 10 years ago—at best only offer a rough proxy for language skills at the time, and without additional data it is unknown how reliable those ratings truly are. The data provided by families generally fitted existing diagnoses, but only longitudinal data could fully demonstrate relationships between early language and later cognitive skills. Such data would also be important in assessing how problem-solving abilities may change with language skills over time for people with ASD.

Notwithstanding those limitations, the study has a range of potential implications for methods and practice. First, if the TQT and other measures of verbal problem-solving are used with ASD groups [as it is in the Delis Kaplan Executive Function System; Delis, Kaplan, & Kramer, 2001 ], then task performance needs to be considered in the context of current and past language skills. The TQT is not a simple measure of problem solving or concept formation: it is a complex task with considerable executive and linguistic demands. Other cognitive tasks where the most effective strategies are language dependent, and the executive load is high—such as certain types of free recall or counterfactual reasoning—are also likely to create similar problems for HFA individuals.

Second, although the recent changes to diagnostic criteria have eliminated the diagnosis of Asperger disorder [ American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ], these data act as a reminder that variation in language skills and development across the spectrum are important and can impact upon cognition in subtle ways for people with ASD, even if the large majority of cognitive outcomes appear similar. This is likely to be particularly important in educational contexts for understanding what kinds of strategies are going to be most useful for facilitating verbal problem-solving skills in ASD individuals. In social problem-solving training [ Solomon, Goodlin-Jones, & Anders, 2004 ], for example, young people with HFA who have good structural language skills but a history of language delay may still need considerable support for use of new verbal strategies. Alternatively, they may be more likely to benefit from use of visual materials such as decision trees, Venn diagrams or other graphical techniques that can be used to support decision making [ Davies, Stock, & Wehmeyer, 2003 ; Dexter & Hughes, 2011 ]. AS individuals, in contrast, may be better placed to handle the language demands of such training, while still struggling with the social-cognitive aspects of its core content.

Any problem-solving task presents a range of complex demands: verbal problem solving often requires generating linguistic strategies and applying them flexibly to a new situation. The results presented here suggest that even a simple, game-based example of problem solving could be affected by an individual’s developmental background. A replication of this result, with more closely matched groups and a wider age range, would test this more idea more comprehensively. Understanding how language development can selectively affect performance in a range of problem-solving contexts is crucial to developing better educational tools and better support for people with an ASD.

Acknowledgments

This research was completed as part of a doctoral degree by the author at the University of Edinburgh and supported by a University of Edinburgh College of Humanities and Social Sciences Studentship. Margaret McGonigle-Chalmers and Robert Logie are thanked for their help and support for the research. Thanks are also due to Charles Fernyhough for comments on the manuscript. The author declares no conflicts of interest.

The author is currently supported by Wellcome Trust grant WT098455.

1 “Problem solving” is a term that has been applied to a wide range of tasks that can sometimes vary considerably [c.f. Rumsey, 1985 ; Soulieres et al., 2009 ]. Broadly, it is used to refer to tasks or puzzles where the solution is not made apparent in the task materials. More specifically, problem-solving tasks often require (a) the generation of a strategy to achieve success and (b) working through a series of moves or steps towards a solution [ Newell & Simon, 1972 ].

2 One HFA participant had also previously received a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Because of the high comorbidity of ASD and ADHD [ Leyfer et al., 2006 ], this participant was not excluded, but the data weremarked for later analysis in case of potential outliers in performance. However, all of the participant’s data fell well within range for their group.

3 Parents were also asked to complete a version of the Autism Quotient [AQ-Adolescent; Baron-Cohen, Hoekstra, Knickmeyer, & Wheelwright, 2006 ] about their child as a further means of matching the groups. Questionnaires were available for all but one HFA participant. Both HFA and ASD participants scored higher than TD participants ( P < 0.05). No difference was observed between the ASD groups ( P = 0.596).

4 Participants also initially completed a practice round of identifying four-, six- and eight-letter words without a semantic decision component, but that is not reported here.

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Teaching Individuals with Autism Problem-Solving Skills for Resolving Social Conflicts

• Research Article
• Published: 30 August 2021
• Volume 15 , pages 768–781, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

• Victoria D. Suarez 1 ,
• Adel C. Najdowski   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2512-0397 2 ,
• Jonathan Tarbox 3 ,
• Emma Moon 2 , 4 ,
• Megan St. Clair 4 &
• Peter Farag 4  

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Resolving social conflicts is a complex skill that involves consideration of the group when selecting conflict solutions. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty resolving social conflicts, yet this skill is important for successful social interaction, maintenance of relationships, and functional integration into society. This study used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design to assess the efficacy of a problem-solving training and generalization of problem solving to naturally occurring untrained social conflicts. Three male participants with ASD were taught to use a worksheet as a problem-solving tool using multiple exemplar training, error correction, rules, and reinforcement. The results showed that using the worksheet was successful in bringing about a solution to social conflicts occurring in the natural environment. In addition, the results showed that participants resolved untrained social conflicts in the absence of the worksheet during natural environment probe sessions.

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Problem solving is traditionally defined as the ability to identify the problem and then create solutions for the problem (Agran et al., 2002 ). From a behavioral perspective, a person is faced with a problem when they experience a state of deprivation or aversive stimulation (Skinner, 1953, p. 246), and reinforcement is contingent upon a response that is in the person’s repertoire, but cannot be evoked under current conditions (Palmer, 1991 , 2009 ). According to Skinner ( 1953 ), “problem-solving may be defined as any behavior which, through the manipulation of variables, makes the appearance of a solution more probable” (p. 247). Therefore, problem solving involves mediating or precurrent behaviors that function to manipulate or generate discriminative stimuli needed to evoke a resolution response (Palmer, 1991 ; Skinner, 1984 ). See Szabo ( 2020 ) for a conceptual analysis of problem solving.

Behavioral researchers have taught specific problem-solving strategies to individuals for learning specific skills (see Axe et al., 2019 for a review), such as categorizing items (Kisamore et al., 2011 ; Sautter et al., 2011 ), explaining how to complete tasks (Frampton & Shillingsburg, 2018 ), and completing vocational tasks (Lora et al., 2019 ). Such problem-solving strategies functioned to teach participants to engage in mediating or precurrent behaviors that brought about a resolution. For example, Sautter et al. ( 2011 ) taught participants to use rules as a precurrent behavior to evoke the resolution of sorting stimuli. Kisamore et al. ( 2011 ) taught participants a visual imagining strategy as a precurrent behavior to evoke the resolution of categorizing. Frampton and Shillingsburg ( 2018 ) taught participants to sort and sequence visual stimuli of each step of a multistep task as a precurrent behavior to evoke explaining how to complete the multistep task.

Another type of scenario that requires one to engage in problem solving is when dealing with social conflict. Resolving social conflicts likely involves similar precurrent behaviors addressed in previous behavioral literature, such as behavior chains, rules, self-questioning, sequencing, and potentially visual imagining (See Axe et al., 2019 , for a review). However, because social conflicts by definition involve interacting with other people, successfully resolving social conflicts also likely involves engaging in perspective taking, including tacting others’ perspectives, engaging in deictic relating behavior by switching perspectives (Luciano et al., 2020 ), and likely arranging for others involved in the conflict to also obtain reinforcement.

According to traditional psychology, problem solving begins to develop as early as the preschool years (e.g., Best et al., 2009 ; Garon et al., 2008 ). Yet, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display deficits in social skills (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013 ) and have been found to demonstrate difficulties resolving social conflicts (Bernard-Optiz et al., 2001 ).

Given that a defining feature of ASD is to present with deficits in social communication and interaction (APA, 2013 ) and that resolving social conflicts across a wide range of situations is essential for functional integration into society and the maintenance of relationships (Bonete et al., 2015 ), it appears necessary to identify effective methods for teaching individuals with ASD to engage in problem-solving skills that will aid social conflict resolution. However, behavioral research has not evaluated methods to teach problem-solving skills in this context specifically to individuals diagnosed with ASD.

Although the population of ASD has not been studied in previous behavioral research on using problem-solving strategies to deal with social conflicts, a study conducted by Park and Gaylord-Ross ( 1989 ) used behavioral procedures to teach individuals with intellectual disabilities precurrent behaviors including rules, self-questioning, and self-prompting to solve problems they encountered at work, including social initiations, mumbling, and conversation expansions and terminations. During training, the researchers provided participants with a picture of themselves in a social situation (e.g., passing by a familiar customer at their workplace) and asked them how they would behave in the presented situation. Participants were provided with seven rules or questions to ask themselves: (1) What is happening? (2) What are three behaviors I could emit? (3) What will be the outcome of each behavior? (4) Which is better? (5) Pick one (6) Emit the behavior and (7) How did I feel? Prompting, modeling, and praise were used to teach participants to use the seven rules/questions. Pictures of novel social situations (other than the target situation) were presented at the end of training sessions to assess generalization to untrained stimuli and only one of three participants demonstrated stimulus generalization. During follow-up, an audiocassette recorder was placed in the participants' shirt pockets to record their interactions during their work and evaluate generalization of responding to trained stimuli in the natural environment. The results of the study indicated that participants’ target behaviors improved during training, and follow-up performance in the natural environment improved compared to baseline.

In addition to the paucity of research on this topic within behavior analysis, there is limited research outside of the behavioral literature that has evaluated methods for teaching individuals with ASD to use problem-solving strategies for dealing with social conflicts. One notable exception is a study conducted by Bernard-Optiz et al. ( 2001 ), who used a web-based problem-solving program to teach typically developing children and children with ASD to select and develop appropriate solutions. In particular, social conflicts were presented to participants on a computer screen with choices of possible solutions and an option to insert an individualized solution. For example, participants were shown a scenario in which two children wanted a turn to go down a slide. An audio cue asking, “What would you do?” was presented, and icons offering problem-solving solutions, such as requesting to go first, were provided. A second audio cue asking, “Do you have any good ideas?” was subsequently presented, and the option to insert a unique solution was presented. Novel solutions identified by participants resulted in social praise, and the option to continue inputting novel solutions continued to appear until participants no longer produced additional responses. All participants demonstrated an increase in the number of appropriate novel solutions generated. The results of Bernard-Optiz et al. ( 2001 ) demonstrated that social praise and a web-based problem-solving program functioned to increase generativity of problem solutions. Moreover, the results demonstrated that participants with ASD were taught to generate novel solutions to social conflicts using prompts and reinforcement. However, as the authors point out, a limited selection of social conflict scenarios were presented during intervention. Perhaps the most substantial limitation to the study is the use of an analogue computer task, without assessing whether problem-solving skills improved during real-life social interactions. In addition, maintenance was not measured.

Although behavioral research has found that teaching precurrent behaviors led participants to solve problems (e.g., Frampton & Shillingsburg, 2018 ; Kisamore et al., 2011 ; Lora et al., 2019 ; Park & Gaylord-Ross, 1989; Sautter et al., 2011 ), no research of which we are aware has evaluated the effects of teaching precurrent behaviors for resolving social conflicts to individuals with ASD. Further, although nonbehavioral research demonstrates prompts and social praise may function to increase resolving social conflicts in children with ASD (Bernard-Optiz et al., 2001 ), it is unknown if prompts and reinforcement would be successful in teaching individuals with ASD to use precurrent behaviors to resolve social conflicts. In addition, although research by Park and Gaylord-Ross (1989) measured generalization to trained problems in the natural environment, there is a dearth of research measuring generalization to untrained social conflicts occurring in the natural environment. Furthermore, research that has evaluated generalization to untrained problems found positive results with only one of three participants (Park & Gaylord-Ross, 1989).

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of a problem-solving training package conducted in the natural environment on the use of problem-solving skills (i.e., precurrent behaviors) to resolve untrained social conflicts by individuals with ASD. The problem-solving training package consisted of a problem-solving worksheet, multiple exemplar training, error correction, rules, and reinforcement. Generalization of problem solving to untrained conflicts was programmed for by using multiple exemplar training and was assessed throughout the course of the study.

Participants and Setting

Three male individuals, with primary language being English, participated. Patrick was an 11-year-old Indigenous, Latinx, and white male with diagnoses of ASD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and bipolar disorder. Oliver was a 22-year-old Israeli male with a diagnosis of ASD. Russell was a 10-year-old Indigenous, Latinx, and white male with diagnoses of ASD and ADHD.

All participants received applied behavior analytic (ABA) services from a community-based agency for 10–12 hr per week. They demonstrated a listener behavior repertoire by engaging in auditory–visual conditional discriminations and following multistep instructions, used vocal–verbal communication in full sentences, and read and wrote basic paragraphs (i.e., three to five sentences). In addition, they demonstrated well-developed language skills by engaging in echoics, mands, tacts, and intraverbals. All participants labeled emotions in others (e.g., answered “How does she feel?”), identified cause-and-effect (e.g., answered “Why?” and “What will happen if . . . ?” For example, “Why did the egg break?” [“Because you dropped it.”], or “What will happen if I drop this egg?” [“It will break.”]), identified emotional cause-and-effect (e.g., answered “Why is she sad?” or “What will happen if someone takes her toy?”), and followed rules (e.g., “If you’re wearing pink, then raise your hand.”). In addition, participants used pronouns in speech and demonstrated listener behavior according to pronouns. All participants had a history of learning via role play and engaged in up to four intraverbal exchanges with others. At the time of recruitment, Patrick’s overall score on the Basic Living Skills Assessment Protocol from the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS) was 469 and Russell’s overall score was 475. No standardized assessment scores are available for Oliver, because his most recent assessment conducted prior to participation in this study was conducted using a commercially available web-based platform that does not provide raw scores. Participants were included because they did not independently and appropriately resolve social conflicts, and deficiency in resolving social conflicts was affecting their maintenance of positive relationships with siblings or parents. Individuals who demonstrated significant challenging behavior severe enough to interfere with instruction (e.g., self-injurious behavior [SIB], moderate to severe aggression) were ineligible to participate.

Participants were recruited because they were determined to benefit from learning to resolve social conflicts by their supervising clinician. Moreover, participants were recruited by asking them (for Oliver) or their parents (for Patrick and Russell) if they would like to participate in a research study evaluating a lesson for teaching problem-solving skills to resolve social conflicts. Consent was obtained by providing a consent form outlining the study’s purpose, methods, and potential benefits/risks to Oliver and the parents of Patrick and Russell. In addition, assent forms were provided to Patrick and Russell.

Research sessions were conducted during regularly scheduled ABA-based teaching sessions in home-based and clinic-based settings for the duration of the study with the exception of Oliver who made a transition from home- and clinic-based sessions to solely telehealth sessions (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) beginning with session 21. Research sessions were conducted in various rooms throughout the session environment (e.g., bedroom, living room, lobby, conference room). Research sessions were 5–30 min in length and consisted of the presentation of one problem. One to two research sessions (conducted at least 30 min apart) were conducted 1–3 days per week.

Response Measurement and Data Collection

A problem-solving task analysis (TA; Table 1 ) was used to calculate the percentage of correct, independent problem-solving steps completed by each participant. Each step of the TA was scored as correct or incorrect based on the specified criteria (Table 1 ). A correct response included independently and accurately completing a step within the task analysis by either writing a response or vocally stating a response within 10 s of: (1) the problem occurring (step 1) and (2) the previous step being completed (steps 2–13). An incorrect response included responses irrelevant to the current step, prompted responses, and nonresponses (i.e., failure to respond within 10 s of the problem [step 1] or previous step occurring [steps 2–14]). During baseline and posttraining, if the participant was not progressing through the conflict (e.g., not doing anything to resolve the conflict) after 1 min of the problem occurring, the conflict was ended by the interventionist resolving the conflict (e.g., if the conflict was that brother left Legos on the table where the participant was going to eat, the interventionist resolved the conflict by removing the Legos) and all remaining steps of the TA were scored as incorrect.

Natural environment probes (explained below) were scored as all or nothing. If the participant successfully resolved the social conflict by engaging in a viable solution (i.e., any solution that would function to resolve the conflict and could be readily carried out) within 10 s of the conflict occurring, the natural environment probe was scored as 100% correct. On the other hand, if the participant failed to resolve the social conflict (i.e., proposed and/or engaged in an impracticable solution or was nonresponsive as defined earlier), the natural environment probe was scored as 0% correct.

Interobserver agreement (IOA) was collected by two independent observers who recorded data during 33% of baseline sessions for all participants. IOA data were collected during 50%, 62%, and 57% of training sessions for Patrick, Oliver, and Russell, respectively. Moreover, IOA data were collected during 67% of posttraining sessions for Patrick and Oliver and 50% for Russell. IOA data were collected during 75% of follow-up sessions for Patrick and 100% for Oliver and Russell. Finally, IOA data were collected during 50%, 40%, and 50% of natural environment probes for Patrick, Oliver, and Russell, respectively. Point-by-point agreement was used to identify observers’ agreement on whether each step was performed correctly versus incorrectly by dividing the number of steps for which there was agreement by the total number of steps and multiplying the resulting quotient by 100%.. Mean IOA was 100%, 98.8% (range; 90%–100%), and 98.7% (range: 90%–100%) for Patrick, Oliver, and Russell, respectively.

Experimental Design and Procedure

A nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design was used to assess the effects of the problem-solving training package.

General Procedures

At the beginning of each ABA-based teaching session, participants were provided with a variation of the following instruction: “Today during your session, a social problem with someone will happen at some point. Here is a worksheet [see Fig. 1 ] you can use to help solve the problem when it happens.” The worksheet was written using language that was previously observed to be used by the participants and that they were familiar with.

Problem-solving worksheet

Then, ABA-based teaching activities began, and at some point between teaching activities, up to 15 min after delivering the instruction, a social conflict was contrived or captured with people in the natural environment. For example, when the participant and his brother both wanted to go first at a game, data were collected on how the participant responded to the problem-solving steps outlined on the TA. If the participant engaged in any negative emotional responding, such as whining or crying during the presentation of the social conflict, a second conflict was not presented again that day.

Social conflicts to be used were determined by interviewing the participants and their parents and asking them what situations usually led to arguments with others. In addition, we observed naturally occurring social interactions between the participants and others and identified situations in which a social conflict arose and the participant failed to resolve the conflict. We then set up these scenarios to occur during the research session. For example, Russell stated he argued with his brother when his brother wanted to play a video game that he was already playing. So, we arranged for Russell’s brother to request playing a video game that Russell was actively playing during the research session. Other times, the scenarios were genuinely captured, so we ran the research session upon capturing the naturally occurring conflict. For example, we observed that Patrick walked into his room to find that his brother had left dirty dishes on his desk and was notably upset as evidenced by his tone of voice, prosody, heavy breathing, and crying. The social conflicts contrived or captured are provided in Table 2 .

During baseline, in addition to the general procedures, problems occurred with at least two different people (e.g., parent, sibling; see Table 3 ). We did not provide any prompting or feedback in order to assess the extent to which participants resolved social conflicts independently. If the participant was not progressing through the conflict after 1 min of the conflict occurring, the conflict was ended by the interventionist resolving the problem. It was planned that if any distressed behavior (e.g., crying, screaming, negative statements, SIB, aggression) was observed for a duration of at least 10 s, the conflict was to be ended by the interventionist resolving the problem; however, distressed behavior never occurred during baseline. Participants qualified to continue to the training phase if they scored 60% or less on the problem-solving TA. Two participants were excluded for not meeting this criterion.

Pretraining Phase

In this phase, the participant was taught how to use the problem-solving worksheet. In particular, the purpose of this phase was to evaluate whether simply providing the worksheet would result in improved problem-solving performance, that is, to ensure that the repertoires were not already present but just not under the stimulus control of the worksheet. The interventionist began by providing the participant with the following instruction: “This is a worksheet you can use to help you solve problems you have with other people. To use it, you will read each of the questions on it and answer them while the problem is happening to help you solve it.” Then, the interventionist walked the participant through each question on the worksheet by pointing to each step and instructing the participant on what they should do for each worksheet question. For example, the interventionist pointed to the first question on the worksheet and said, “In this box you will ask yourself, ‘What is the problem?’ and you will write down or say out loud the problem that is happening between you and another person. After this, the interventionist pointed to the second question on the worksheet and said, “In this box you will ask yourself, ‘What do I think happened?’ and you will write down what happened from your perspective.” After going through each question on the worksheet with the participant in a similar fashion, the interventionist presented the following instruction: “At some point today I am going to have a social problem with you; when it happens, you can use the worksheet to help you solve it.” The participant was handed the blank worksheet alongside a pen/pencil. Participants were also told that they could call out their responses aloud if they did not want to write on the worksheet. At some point later in the session (between 5–15 min after reviewing how to use the worksheet), a social conflict was contrived between the interventionist and the participant. If the participant asked for help, they were told to do their best. Similar to baseline, no prompting, feedback, praise, or reinforcement was delivered. In addition, if any distressed behavior was observed for a duration of at least 10 s, the problem was ended by the interventionist resolving the social conflict. If the participant was not progressing through solving the problem after 1 min of the conflict occurring, the conflict was likewise ended by the interventionist resolving it. Participants qualified to continue to the training phase if they scored 60% or less on the problem-solving TA in pretraining. No participants were excluded from continued participation during this phase.

Training Phase

In addition to the general procedures, during training, the participant was taught to engage in precurrent behavior (i.e., use the worksheet) to resolve social conflicts using multiple exemplar training, error correction, and reinforcement. At the beginning of each session, an informal preference assessment was conducted by asking participants what they would like to earn after resolving a conflict. Then, the participant was told that they would be able to access the predetermined reinforcer for more or less time depending on how many questions of the worksheet they completed correctly. The amount of time that was granted with the reinforcer was determined using a grading scale in which higher percentages of independent correct responding on the worksheet resulted in more time with the reinforcer (see Fig. 2 ). For example, if the participant scored 20% correct on the problem-solving worksheet, they received 2 min of access to their reinforcer (e.g., video game, free time), and if they scored 90% correct they received 13 min of access. A social conflict was then contrived and each independently performed step of the TA was praised. Access to the predetermined reinforcer was granted for a prespecified amount of time depending on the participant’s percentage of correct responding.

Reinforcement grading scale

Incorrect responses resulted in re-presentation of the step followed by an immediate prompt using a least-to-most prompting hierarchy. The first prompt used was a gestural prompt, which consisted of the interventionist pointing to (in-person sessions) or highlighting with a cursor (telehealth sessions) the current step of the worksheet. If the gestural prompt did not result in a correct response, the step was re-presented with an immediate directive prompt. The directive prompt consisted of the interventionist saying, “Ask yourself [ step-related question ]” (e.g. “Ask yourself, ‘What is the problem?’”; “Ask yourself, ‘What do I think happened?’”) while pointing to the current step on the worksheet. If the directive prompt did not result in a correct response, the step was re-presented with an immediate leading-question prompt. Leading-question prompts were individualized for each conflict and each step of the TA. For example, “What is going on right now?” was used as a leading question for the first step of the worksheet (i.e., identifying the problem). If the leading question prompt did not result in a correct response, a choice prompt was presented. Choice prompts were also individualized for each conflict and each step of the TA using the following script: “Is the problem [ correct/irrelevant possibility ], or is the problem [ correct/irrelevant possibility ]?” (e.g., “Is the problem that we both want to go first [the problem], or is the problem that you need a place to sit?” [irrelevant to the problem]). A coin flip was used to randomize the order of correct/irrelevant choices provided. Finally, the most intrusive prompt provided was a full vocal model of the correct answer (e.g., “The problem is that we both want to go first.”). It was planned that if the participants came up with three nonviable solutions, the aforementioned prompting hierarchy would be used to prompt them to think of at least one solution that would work to solve the problem; however, all participants proposed at least one viable solution during training, so this was not needed. The criterion for ending the training phase was for the participant to respond with at least 80% accuracy for three consecutive sessions with the interventionist. After this, the posttraining phase was introduced.

Posttraining Phase

At the beginning of each posttraining session, a variation of the following instruction was presented, “Even if you can solve the problem by yourself without the worksheet, I need you to use the worksheet so that I know what you are thinking.” If participants began to resolve the conflict without using the worksheet, the instruction was re-presented. Other than the presence of that instruction, this phase was identical to baseline conditions, in that no feedback or reinforcement was provided at any point. Exemplars from baseline were re-presented during this phase (Table 3 ) to evaluate whether participants resolved social conflicts that they were unsuccessful in resolving prior to receiving the problem-solving training package.

Natural Environment Probes

Natural environment probes were used to evaluate problem solving in the absence of the worksheet. The first natural environment probe was conducted during baseline to evaluate participants’ problem-solving skills in the absence of the worksheet. During training, natural environment probes were contrived after participants scored at or above 80% correct on the problem-solving worksheet, with the exception of Oliver, who had a natural environment probe captured after the sixth training session. During posttraining, natural environment probes were graphed whenever captured. For example, if a naturally occurring social conflict arose at any time, it was captured as a natural environment probe. In addition, three consecutive natural environments probes were presented after completing posttraining sessions for all participants.

Follow-up natural environment probes were conducted at 2 (Patrick, Russell, and Oliver), 4 (Patrick and Russell), 6 (Patrick and Russell), and 10 (Patrick only) weeks posttraining to evaluate maintenance.

Social Validity

A social validity questionnaire (Table 4 ) was administered to each participant upon the completion of training. Participants were instructed to complete the questionnaire to the best of their ability and no additional feedback on their responses was provided. The questionnaire consisted of six questions (two each for goals, procedures, and outcomes; see Table 4 ) scored on a 5-point Likert scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neutral, (4) agree, and (5) strongly agree. There were also two open-ended questions that asked participants to identify what they liked the most and least about the problem-solving training package.

Figure 3 contains the results for Patrick (top panel), Oliver (middle panel), and Russell (bottom panel); these are described below, respectively. Patrick responded during baseline with 0%–8% accuracy in the presence of the worksheet and did not resolve the social conflict presented during the natural environment probe. During pretraining, Patrick performed with 0% accuracy in the presence of the worksheet. During training in the presence of novel problems, there was an immediate increase in correct responding, and he met the mastery criterion on the sixth training session. After training, during a natural environment probe (no worksheet), Patrick successfully resolved a contrived social conflict. During posttraining when untrained social conflict exemplars from baseline were repeated, Patrick consistently scored 100% using the problem-solving worksheet and also successfully resolved social conflicts during the natural environment probes (no worksheet). Maintenance was measured 2, 4, 6, and 10 weeks following training, and Patrick successfully resolved novel, naturally occurring social conflicts in the absence of a worksheet.

Percentage of correct problem-solving steps emitted by participants

Oliver responded with 0%–21% accuracy during baseline in the presence of the worksheet and did not resolve the social conflict presented during the natural environment probe. During pretraining, Oliver scored 7% correct in the presence of the worksheet. During training in the presence of novel problems, there was an immediate increase in correct responding, and he met the mastery criterion on the ninth training sessions. During session 15, we captured a naturally occurring social conflict, and Oliver successfully resolved it in the absence of the worksheet. During posttraining when untrained social conflict exemplars from baseline were repeated, Oliver scored 92%–100% correct and successfully resolved a social conflict during session 20 during a captured natural environment probe. After session 21, a 2-month period elapsed wherein Oliver did not receive services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon returning to sessions using telehealth technology, Oliver scored 62% correct on the problem-solving worksheet under posttraining conditions. Because Oliver’s performance notably decreased, a novel exemplar probe under baseline conditions was conducted to determine if Oliver should receive a booster training session, and he scored 77% correct. The novel exemplar probe consisted of the presentation of a social conflict that had not been contrived at any other time in the study. Given that Oliver scored below 80% on the novel exemplar probe, Oliver was provided with booster training until he re-met the mastery criterion of 80%–100% correct across three consecutive sessions. The booster training conditions were identical to the training conditions. Then, another novel exemplar probe under baseline conditions was presented, and Oliver scored 100% correct. After this, a natural environment probe was captured in which Oliver successfully resolved a conflict in the absence of the problem-solving worksheet. Oliver scored 100% correct in the following session when he was presented with an untrained exemplar from baseline under posttraining conditions. Then, three natural environment probes were conducted and Oliver successfully resolved social conflicts in the absence of the worksheet. Maintenance was measured 2 weeks following posttraining in which Oliver successfully resolved a novel, naturally occurring social conflict in the absence of a worksheet.

Russell responded with 0%–8% accuracy during baseline in the presence of the worksheet and did not resolve the social conflict presented during the natural environment probe. During pretraining, Russell scored 8% correct in the presence of the worksheet. During training in the presence of novel problems, there was an immediate increase in correct responding, and he met the mastery criterion on the seventh training session. Moreover, Russell successfully resolved a contrived social conflict in the absence of the worksheet. During posttraining when untrained social conflict exemplars from baseline were repeated, Russell scored 70%–100% correct using the problem-solving worksheet and successfully resolved social conflicts in the absence of the worksheet. Maintenance was measured 2, 4, and 6 weeks following posttraining, and Russell successfully resolved novel, naturally occurring social conflicts in the absence of the worksheet.

Patrick and Russell scored the problem-solving training package as being highly acceptable with mean scores of 5 and 4.82, respectively. Oliver’s mean social validity score was 3.83. He scored “strongly agree” for one question and “agree” for three questions. The questions he scored as neutral included: (1) “I believe that I am better at solving social problems after participating in the social problem-solving lesson”; and (2) “I think that completing the social problem-solving lesson helped me solve social problems I have with my family/friends.” Patrick identified what he liked most about the training package was that it was helpful to him, and Oliver identified what he liked most was feeling like he was right. The only reported dislike about the training package was that it was tedious (Oliver).

The data from the current study suggest that multiple exemplar training, combined with a worksheet, was effective in teaching three individuals with ASD to resolve novel social conflicts occurring in the natural environment. In addition, generalization across untrained conflicts and people was observed from baseline to posttraining for all participants. These results are consistent with behavioral research conducted by Frampton and Shillingsburg ( 2018 ), Kisamore et al. ( 2011 ), Lora et al. ( 2019 ), Park and Gaylord-Ross (1989), and Sautter et al. ( 2011 ) in demonstrating that problem-solving strategies can be taught using behavioral strategies.

A noteworthy finding was that pretraining was insufficient to occasion the use of the worksheet during social conflicts. This finding is consistent with the behavioral skills training (BST) literature, which has shown instructions alone are generally ineffective compared to behavioral packages, such as BST (e.g., Feldman et al., 1989 ; Hudson, 1982 ; Ward-Horner & Sturmey, 2012 ). This finding is also consistent with previous problem-solving research that found modeling and prompting resulted in superior responding as compared to other strategies, such as teaching rules (Kisamore et al., 2011 ).

The results of this study are also consistent with previous research conducted by Bernard-Optiz et al. ( 2001 ) in demonstrating an increase in the use of novel solutions by individuals with ASD. In particular, the results showed that precurrent behaviors were successful in bringing a variety of solutions (not just one type of solution) under the control of the conflict context. For example, types of solutions used by participants included many different repertoires, some of which have not been addressed in previous research such as apologizing, providing information, advocating for individual needs/wants, compromising, and removing oneself from the situation, along with others that have been targeted in previous research, such as requesting information (e.g., Shillingsburg et al., 2011 ), requesting tangibles (e.g., Bourret et al., 2004 ), and requesting help/removal (e.g., Rodriguez et al., 2017 ; see Table 5 ). A potential limitation of this study is that we did not preplan the types of solutions we would teach, so exposure to types of solutions was not controlled for or counterbalanced. Therefore, it is possible that variation in the types of solutions used affected the results. However, consistent results were obtained across the three participants, so there is no direct evidence that inconsistency affected the results. In addition, training a variety of strategies, all of which have the same function, to solve the problem, may be considered a form of multiple exemplar training in itself, and therefore may have contributed to the favorable generalization that was observed. Still, uncontrolled variables are often frowned upon in research, so future researchers may want to consider controlling the number of each type of solution taught to participants.

This study expanded upon past research by capturing and contriving social conflicts within each participants’ natural environment. By conducting training with naturally occurring stimuli and “training loosely” (Stokes & Baer, 1977 ), generalization was promoted to ensure that participants acquired a repertoire for resolving social conflicts, rather than generating solutions only for specifically targeted conflicts. A compelling finding was that participants successfully resolved social conflicts in the absence of the worksheet during natural environment probes. Thus, the current study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that problem-solving strategies (i.e., worksheet use) can result in participants with ASD demonstrating successful generalization to untrained social conflicts occurring in the natural environment in the absence of a worksheet. The worksheet may be conceptualized as a prompt, that may have facilitated acquisition at first and was then no longer necessary to occasion the problem-solving chain of behaviors. Future research could consider teaching social conflict resolution in the absence of a worksheet, possibly by teaching each step of the problem-solving worksheet. Future research could also evaluate whether teaching a shorter problem-solving chain would be efficacious. For example, the last two steps of the worksheet could be omitted.

Continued successful problem-solving during natural environment probes also has implications for the possibility that some of the mediating behaviors previously cued by the worksheet were completed by participants on a covert level when the worksheet was no longer present. However, it is not possible to identify with any certainty whether participants were engaging in covert behavior. Given that participants were unsuccessful with resolving social conflicts during baseline, but were successful with resolving naturally occurring social conflicts after being trained to follow the problem-solving steps, and continued to resolve social conflicts effectively during posttraining, it seems possible that participants completed some of the steps on a covert level. In addition, after completing training, anecdotal observations found that participants engaged in overt behavior that suggested the possibility that they were engaging in covert completion of the steps, such as overtly saying, “You might think I am just not wanting to share the computer, but really I have been doing schoolwork all morning and just started my turn” (Step 3: What does the other person think happened?). It is also possible that participants engaged in visual imagining of the worksheet during natural environment probes. Skinner ( 1969 ) described precurrent behaviors of visual imagining in mathematical problem-solving and Kisamore et al. ( 2011 ) attempted to directly train visual imagining problem-solving behavior, so it is possible that the participants in this study engaged in covert imagining behavior. As with any covert behavior, it is not possible for researchers to directly measure it, but future research could attempt to train participants to observe and record their own covert verbal behavior, in order to provide an approximate measurement of the generalization of problem-solving repertoires to the covert level. For example, researchers might ask the participant, “How did you figure out how to solve that problem?,” to which a participant might respond with something like, “I imagined the worksheet in my head until I thought of the solution.” To the extent that participants are not directly trained to give specific verbal reports of this kind, such verbal reports might provide interesting supplementary data on the possibility of covert problem solving behavior.

It is interesting that all participants were observed to attempt to solve problems without using the worksheet in posttraining, although they were presented with the worksheet. In these instances, participants were reminded to use the worksheet. This indicated that participants had acquired problem-solving skills and no longer needed the worksheet; however, it was necessary to have participants use the worksheet in order to compare their posttraining performance to their baseline performance (because we could not measure their covert behavior to identify if they were implementing the problem-solving steps). Future research should evaluate methods to measure problem-solving skills in ways that allow participants to demonstrate their newly acquired skills without being limited by the apparatus/materials of the experiment. A possible solution could be to consider problem resolution as the primary dependent variable and evaluate pre- and posttraining data for conflict resolution following training in a problem-solving strategy.

We also found that emotional responding occasionally occurred upon presentation of social conflicts and possibly interfered with participants’ performance with resolving social conflicts. For example, Patrick was occasionally observed crying in response to a social conflict, which was followed by engaging in additional emotional self-regulation behaviors (e.g., take deep breaths, drink some water) and then successfully resolving the conflict. However, given that participants were successful in resolving social conflicts albeit experiencing emotional responding, the likelihood that emotional responses hindered learning problem-solving skills is low. Data were not collected on emotional responding; however, the team anecdotally observed that emotional responding decreased as participants learned to use the problem-solving worksheet. Future research should consider measuring emotional responding when teaching individuals to resolve social conflicts and may also investigate the role of emotion-regulation repertoires on problem-solving skills of individuals with ASD.

One potential limitation of the study is that we did not assess whether the trained problem-solving repertoires specifically came under the stimulus control of problems. Put another way, although the training procedure trained participants to identify problems and to discriminate which social situations were problems, we did not formally collect data on whether such discrimination was occurring. Although formal data were not collected on unnecessary or inappropriate application of problem-solving skills, the research team anecdotally reported that they never observed this to occur.

Another limitation of the study is that procedural fidelity data were not collected, so the degree to which procedures were implemented with fidelity is unknown. In addition, social validity information was not collected from family members. Given that social conflicts often occurred between the participants and their family members, future research could assess the family members’ impressions of the intervention by collecting social validity information from family members with whom conflicts typically occurred

Probably the most notable limitation of the study was that all solutions effectively resolved the current social conflict, because we primed the people who had social conflicts with the participants to make sure the participants’ solutions were successful. This was done by vocally instructing individuals present within the session that if a social conflict arose between them and the participant, they should allow whatever solution is presented by the participant to resolve the social conflict. In other words, whatever solution the participant proposed received functional reinforcement by the conflict being resolved. This was done to ensure the problem-solving sequence resulted in reinforcement; however, the schedule of reinforcement for problem solving in the natural environment is certainly not fixed. Future research should make a transition to a variable schedule of reinforcement when teaching problem-solving skills. In addition, when a strategy to resolve a conflict fails, one must engage in a subsequent behavior chain of problem solving. Therefore, future research should investigate the additional problem-solving steps required when an initial solution is unsuccessful.

Overall, the current study was successful in teaching three individuals with ASD to resolve social conflicts occurring in their every-day lives using a problem-solving worksheet, multiple exemplar training, error correction, rules, and reinforcement. In addition, the results of this study indicate that acquired skills for problem resolution successfully generalized to untrained social conflicts and maintained after training. The most notable aspect of the study was that the findings of this study indicate that overt precurrent behaviors, such as completing a worksheet, were not needed by participants to successfully resolve social conflicts after receiving training in engaging in such precurrent behaviors. As noted by Frampton and Shillingsburg ( 2018 ), it is important to identify efficacious methods for teaching complex skills, such as resolving social conflicts, that often occur at the covert level. Finally, it should be noted that according to traditional psychology, problem solving is associated with executive function (EF; Zelazo et al., 1997 ). In our clinical practice, skills associated with EF have become a requested repertoire to be targeted during behavioral intervention. For example, individualized educational planning (IEP) team members and parents have requested goals related to EF skills. The findings of this study demonstrate that behavioral procedures can be used to address a skill that is traditionally categorized as being an EF skill.

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Acknowledgments

Victoria D. Suarez is Latina, Adel C. Najdowski is bi-racial: Latina and White, Jonathan Tarbox is White, Emma I. Moon is White, Megan St. Clair is White, and Peter Farag is Egyptian. We thank Jasmyn Pacheco, Lauri Simchoni, and Bryan Acuña for their assistance with this project.

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Suarez, V.D., Najdowski, A.C., Tarbox, J. et al. Teaching Individuals with Autism Problem-Solving Skills for Resolving Social Conflicts. Behav Analysis Practice 15 , 768–781 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00643-y

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Life Skills in Children with Autism

The Importance of Life Skills for Children with Autism

Developing life skills is of paramount importance for children with autism. These skills empower them to navigate their daily lives, foster independence, and enhance their overall quality of life. In this section, we will explore the significance of life skills for children with autism, including the understanding of autism and the benefits of life skills development.

Understanding Autism and Life Skills Development

Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a developmental disorder that affects communication, social interaction, and behavior. Individuals with autism often face challenges in various areas, including communication, social skills, and adaptive behavior. However, with the right support and guidance, these challenges can be overcome through life skills development.

Life skills encompass a wide range of capabilities that enable individuals to function independently and effectively in their daily lives. For children with autism, life skills development involves focusing on essential areas such as communication, social skills, self-care, emotional regulation, and cognitive abilities.

How Life Skills Benefit Children with Autism?

The development of life skills has a profound impact on the lives of children with autism. Here are some key benefits:

• Improved Communication : Enhancing communication skills is crucial for individuals with autism. By honing their communication abilities, children with autism can express their needs, thoughts, and emotions more effectively.
• Enhanced Social Interaction : Building social skills allows children with autism to engage in meaningful interactions and establish connections with others. These skills enable them to navigate social situations, make friends, and develop valuable relationships.
• Greater Independence : Life skills training empowers children with autism to become more self-reliant and independent in their daily lives. By acquiring essential self-care skills and adaptive behaviors, they gain the confidence and competence to perform tasks independently.
• Emotional Regulation : Cultivating emotional regulation skills helps children with autism manage their emotions and cope with stress and anxiety. These skills provide them with effective strategies to regulate their emotional responses and promote their overall emotional well-being.
• Enhanced Cognitive Abilities : Developing cognitive skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and cognitive flexibility, equips children with autism with the tools to navigate challenges and adapt to new situations. These skills assist in their cognitive and intellectual growth.

By focusing on life skills development, parents, caregivers, and therapists play a vital role in supporting children with autism to reach their full potential. The acquisition of these skills equips them with the tools necessary to lead fulfilling and independent lives.

Developing Communication Skills

Effective communication skills are essential for children with autism to navigate their daily lives and form meaningful connections with others. In this section, we will explore communication strategies specifically designed for children with autism, as well as methods to enhance both verbal and nonverbal communication.

Communication Strategies for Children with Autism

Children with autism often face challenges in expressing their thoughts, emotions, and needs. Implementing the right communication strategies can help them overcome these obstacles and improve their ability to communicate effectively. Here are some strategies that can be beneficial:

• Visual Supports : Visual aids, such as picture schedules, social stories, and visual cues, can assist children with autism in understanding and following instructions. These visual supports provide a concrete representation of concepts and help foster comprehension and communication.
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) : For individuals with limited verbal abilities, AAC systems can be invaluable. These systems include tools like communication boards, sign language, and electronic devices that allow individuals to express themselves using symbols, pictures, or text.
• Social Skills Training : Social skills training focuses on teaching children with autism the necessary skills to engage in social interactions. This training helps them understand social cues, take turns, initiate conversations, and maintain eye contact, ultimately facilitating more meaningful connections with others.

Enhancing Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Improving both verbal and nonverbal communication skills is crucial for children with autism. Here are some strategies to enhance communication in these areas:

• Speech Therapy : Speech therapy plays a vital role in supporting children with autism in developing their verbal communication skills. Speech therapists use various techniques, such as articulation exercises, language modeling, and auditory training, to improve speech clarity, vocabulary, and sentence formation.
• Pictorial Communication : Using visual supports, such as PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System), can assist children with autism in communicating their wants, needs, and thoughts. PECS involves using pictures or symbols to help individuals initiate and engage in conversations.
• Body Language and Gestures : Nonverbal communication, including body language and gestures, is an essential aspect of communication. Teaching children to recognize and interpret facial expressions, gestures, and body postures can enhance their ability to understand others and express themselves nonverbally.

By implementing effective communication strategies and focusing on both verbal and nonverbal communication, parents and caregivers can support children with autism in developing their communication skills.

Remember that each child is unique, and it's important to tailor these strategies to meet their specific needs and abilities. With patience, practice, and consistent support, children with autism can make significant progress in their communication abilities, leading to improved interactions and a greater sense of connection with the world around them.

Building Social Skills

Developing social skills is a vital aspect of life skills development in children with autism. By focusing on teaching social interaction skills and encouraging social engagement and play, parents and caregivers can support the social development of children with autism.

Teaching Social Interaction Skills

Teaching social interaction skills involves providing children with autism the tools and strategies they need to navigate social situations effectively. Some key strategies that can be helpful include:

• Visual supports : Visual supports, such as social stories or visual schedules, can help children with autism understand social expectations and routines. These visual aids provide a concrete and visual representation of social situations, helping children understand appropriate behaviors and responses.
• Social scripts : Social scripts provide children with autism with predetermined phrases or sentences they can use in social situations. These scripts help children initiate and maintain conversations, ask for help, or express their feelings appropriately.
• Role-playing : Role-playing is an effective technique that allows children with autism to practice social skills in a safe and controlled environment. Through role-playing, children can learn turn-taking, active listening, and other important social skills.
• Structured social activities : Structured social activities, such as group games or cooperative projects, can provide opportunities for children with autism to interact with their peers. These activities can be designed to target specific social skills, such as sharing, taking turns, and following rules.

Encouraging Social Engagement and Play

Encouraging social engagement and play is essential for fostering social skills in children with autism. Here are some strategies to promote social interaction and play:

• Peer modeling : Peer modeling involves pairing a child with autism with a peer who demonstrates appropriate social behaviors. By observing and imitating their peers, children with autism can learn social skills and engage in meaningful play.
• Structured playdates : Organizing structured playdates with peers who are understanding and accepting can provide opportunities for children with autism to practice social skills in a supportive environment. These playdates can be facilitated by parents or caregivers to ensure successful interactions and promote positive social experiences.
• Community programs and support groups : Participating in community programs or joining support groups specifically designed for children with autism can provide opportunities for social interaction and play. These programs often incorporate structured activities and socialization opportunities that cater to the unique needs of individuals with autism.
• Social skills training programs : Enrolling children in social skills training programs can provide systematic and comprehensive instruction in various social skills areas. These programs, often led by professionals with expertise in autism, focus on teaching specific social skills through structured lessons and practice opportunities.

By implementing these strategies and providing children with autism ample opportunities for social interaction and play, parents and caregivers can help them develop and enhance their social skills. Remember, every child with autism is unique, so it's important to tailor the approach to their individual needs and abilities.

Fostering Independence and Self-Care Skills

For children with autism, developing independence and self-care skills is essential for their overall growth and well-being. These skills empower them to navigate daily life with confidence and autonomy. In this section, we will explore two key aspects of fostering independence and self-care skills in children with autism: daily living skills and promoting self-care and personal hygiene.

Daily Living Skills for Autistic Children

Daily living skills encompass a wide range of activities that are important for children with autism to learn and master. These skills enable them to become more self-reliant and participate actively in their daily routines. Some common daily living skills that can be taught to children with autism include:

By incorporating these daily living skills into their routine, children with autism can develop a greater sense of independence and actively contribute to their daily lives.

Promoting Self-Care and Personal Hygiene

Promoting self-care and personal hygiene is crucial for children with autism to maintain good health and well-being. Teaching them self-care skills not only fosters independence but also helps build confidence and self-esteem. Here are some strategies to promote self-care and personal hygiene in children with autism:

• Visual supports: Utilize visual schedules, social stories, and visual cues to help children understand and follow the steps involved in personal hygiene routines, such as brushing teeth, washing hands, and taking a shower.
• Break tasks into smaller steps: Break down self-care tasks into smaller, manageable steps to make it easier for children with autism to learn and follow. For example, breaking down toothbrushing into wetting the toothbrush, applying toothpaste, brushing each tooth, and rinsing.
• Model and practice: Demonstrate the desired self-care behaviors and provide opportunities for children to practice these skills in a supportive and structured environment. Offer praise and positive reinforcement for their efforts and progress.
• Sensory considerations: Recognize and accommodate sensory sensitivities that may impact a child's willingness or ability to engage in self-care activities. Modify the environment, such as using soft towels or adjusting water temperature, to create a more comfortable experience.
• Consistency and routine: Establish consistent daily routines for self-care activities to help children develop a sense of predictability and comfort. Use visual schedules to provide a clear sequence of tasks and reinforce the importance of maintaining personal hygiene.

By focusing on these strategies, parents and caregivers can support children with autism in developing essential self-care and personal hygiene skills, promoting their independence and overall well-being.

As we continue our exploration of developing life skills in children with autism, the next section will delve into the importance of cultivating emotional regulation and strategies to support emotional well-being.

Cultivating Emotional Regulation

Emotional regulation is a vital life skill for children with autism as it helps them manage and express their emotions in a healthy and appropriate manner. Cultivating emotional regulation involves teaching strategies for emotional regulation and providing support for emotional well-being.

Strategies for Emotional Regulation

Children with autism often face challenges in understanding, identifying, and expressing their emotions. Implementing strategies for emotional regulation can greatly assist them in navigating their emotions more effectively. Here are some strategies that can be beneficial:

• Visual Supports : Visual aids, such as emotion charts or visual schedules, can help children with autism recognize and label their emotions. These supports provide a visual representation of different emotions and can aid in developing emotional awareness.
• Social Stories : Social stories are short narratives that describe social situations and appropriate emotional responses. They help children with autism understand various emotions and provide guidance on how to respond in specific scenarios.
• Deep Breathing and Relaxation Techniques : Teaching deep breathing exercises and relaxation techniques can help children with autism manage their emotions. These techniques promote self-calming and provide a sense of control during moments of emotional distress.
• Sensory Strategies : Sensory experiences can significantly impact emotions in children with autism. Implementing sensory strategies, such as providing sensory breaks or using sensory tools like fidget toys, can help regulate emotions by providing sensory input and reducing sensory overload.

Supporting Emotional Well-being

In addition to teaching strategies for emotional regulation, providing ongoing support for the emotional well-being of children with autism is crucial. Here are some ways to support their emotional well-being:

• Emotional Validation : Validating the emotions of children with autism is essential. Acknowledge their feelings and let them know that their emotions are valid and understood. This helps build trust and a sense of emotional security.
• Establishing Routines : Consistent routines provide a sense of predictability and stability, which can contribute to emotional well-being. Establishing daily routines can help children with autism feel more secure and reduce anxiety.
• Encouraging Self-expression : Provide opportunities for children with autism to express their emotions in a safe and supportive environment. Encourage them to use alternative forms of communication, such as visual aids, writing, or drawing, to express their feelings.
• Promoting Positive Relationships : Foster positive relationships and social connections for children with autism. Encourage interactions with peers, siblings, and family members to help them develop social skills and emotional bonds.

By implementing strategies for emotional regulation and providing support for emotional well-being, parents and caregivers can help children with autism develop essential life skills to navigate their emotions more effectively. Remember, each child is unique, so it's important to tailor strategies and support to their individual needs.

Enhancing Cognitive and Problem-Solving Skills

In addition to communication, social, and self-care skills, developing cognitive and problem-solving abilities is crucial for children with autism. These skills play a vital role in their overall development and independence. Let's explore two key aspects of enhancing cognitive and problem-solving skills in children with autism: developing critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and promoting cognitive flexibility and adaptability.

Developing Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Abilities

Critical thinking and problem-solving skills enable children with autism to navigate various situations and challenges they may encounter in their daily lives. These skills empower them to analyze information, make informed decisions, and find effective solutions.

To develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, parents and caregivers can employ various strategies. One effective approach is using visual supports, such as visual schedules and task analysis, to break down complex tasks into manageable steps. This helps children understand the process and identify potential solutions. Additionally, incorporating problem-solving activities and games into their routines can enhance their analytical thinking and decision-making skills.

Encouraging open-ended questions and providing opportunities for children to express their thoughts and opinions also fosters critical thinking. Engaging in activities that require logical reasoning, such as puzzles and riddles, can further strengthen their problem-solving abilities.

Promoting Cognitive Flexibility and Adaptability

Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to shift one's thinking, adapt to new situations, and consider alternative perspectives. For children with autism, developing cognitive flexibility is essential as it helps them navigate changes, transitions, and unexpected events.

To promote cognitive flexibility and adaptability, parents and caregivers can incorporate structured activities that introduce new concepts, encourage creative thinking, and provide opportunities for flexible problem-solving. Engaging in pretend play, where children take on different roles and scenarios, can enhance their ability to adapt and think flexibly.

Providing a supportive and predictable environment is also crucial for children with autism to build cognitive flexibility. Establishing routines and gradually introducing changes can help them develop the skills needed to adapt to new situations. It's important to offer guidance and reassurance during transitions, allowing them to adjust at their own pace.

By focusing on developing critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, as well as promoting cognitive flexibility and adaptability, parents and caregivers can empower children with autism to face challenges and navigate their world with confidence. These skills, along with effective communication, social, and self-care skills, contribute to their overall growth and independence. Seeking professional guidance through autism life skills training can provide further support in nurturing these essential skills.

What are some common challenges that children with ASD face when learning life skills?

Children with ASD may face challenges such as difficulty with communication, social interaction, and self-care. Some children may struggle to understand social cues or have difficulty expressing themselves verbally. Others may have sensory issues that make self-care tasks, such as grooming or dressing, challenging.

How can parents and caregivers help teach life skills to children with ASD?

Parents and caregivers can help teach life skills to children with ASD by using visual aids, role-playing activities, and breaking down tasks into smaller steps. Visual aids can help children understand daily routines or social rules, while role-playing activities allow them to practice social skills in a safe environment. Breaking down tasks into smaller steps can also make learning self-care skills more manageable.

Is it possible for children with ASD to learn life skills at their own pace?

Yes! It is important to remember that every child is unique and learns at their own pace. Some children may pick up certain life skills quickly while others may need more time and practice. It is important to be patient and supportive of your child's learning process.

Are there any resources available for parents and caregivers who want to teach life skills to their child with ASD?

Yes! There are many resources available for parents and caregivers who want to teach life skills to their child with ASD. Occupational therapists or speech-language pathologists may be able to provide guidance on teaching specific skills. Additionally, there are many books, websites, and support groups available online that offer tips and strategies for teaching life skills to children with ASD.

In conclusion, teaching life skills to children with ASD is a critical part of their development. By focusing on communication, social interaction, and self-care skills, you can help your child build a foundation for their future success. With patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn, you can help your child with ASD develop the life skills they need to thrive.

• https://www.autismspeaks.org/life-skills-and-autism
• https://www.sarahdooleycenter.org/life-skills-for-autism-education/
• https://tacanow.org/family-resources/life-skills/

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Restricted and repetitive behavior patterns in autism spectrum disorder

Repetitive and restricted behaviors (RRBs), a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder, are a broad category that can include unusual motor manners as well as one or more patterns of interest. Some interests, such as toy cars or vacuum cleaners, help individuals with ASD cope but could interfere with social relationships or self-care. However, scientists have increasingly adopted the view that taking away restrictive behaviors can do more harm than good. 1

Consider the case of Raya Shields, who is on the autism spectrum and has Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now 28, she recalls rocking back and forth in school to cope with noisy environments—and still does. 2 When teachers scolded her for being disruptive, she began suppressing these behaviors (also called “stimming” or “self-stimulatory”). 2 With no alternative, she resorted to snapping her fingers—to the point where it became too painful to write. As a result, her schoolwork suffered. 2

When individuals like Raya experience stigma due to their RRBs, this can result in increased loneliness, poor academic outcomes, and the masking of autistic traits to fit into a neurotypical world—all of which can negatively impact their mental health. 3 With an estimated 256,000 individuals on the autism spectrum in U.S. high schools, there is a call to provide them with more inclusive and supportive environments. 4,5

This post explores types of RRBs and their impact on quality of life, effective interventions at home and in school, and better ways to support individuals with ASD.

Types of RRBs

Repetitive behaviors and fixed interests constitute one of two criteria that define autism in the Diagnostic Manual for Psychiatry (DSM). Simply preferring a strict routine is not enough for an autism diagnosis. 6

According to the DSM, the behavior must be “abnormal in intensity or focus,” and changes to these behaviors must cause "extreme distress.” 6

Repetitive behaviors may include: 6,7

• Motor: Repetitive movements of the body or objects, hand-flapping, body rocking, spinning objects, or finger-flicking
• Fixated Interests: Intense focus or preoccupation with specific topics, objects, or activities, often to the exclusion of other interests
• Compulsions: Rituals performed to alleviate anxiety or distress, such as counting or arranging objects
• Self-Injury: Actions that result in physical harm to oneself, such as head-banging, biting, or scratching

Course Connection: SPED 743: FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT

This course provides a problem-solving approach and the framework for teaching and assessment strategies to develop pro-social behavior in students with disabilities and their typical peers in classrooms and whole school contexts. Students assess problem behavior, discover the functions of problem behavior, and learn pro-social alternatives in home, school, and community settings.

Course Connection: SPED 843: ADVANCED METHODS AND ASSESSMENT

This course is designed to introduce educators and related service professionals to prevention and intervention related to a broad range of antisocial, aggressive, and behavioral problems. Approaches focus on understanding and addressing the precipitating factors related to inappropriate behavior, short-term approaches for immediate crises, and problem-solving strategies for longer-term change.

Prevalence and variability

The CDC reports more boys are diagnosed on the autism spectrum than girls: four boys for every autistic girl. 8 Experts point to several factors to explain the gap.

ASD diagnosis criteria have been based on observations primarily made in boys, resulting in a skewed understanding of the disorder's presentation. 8 Second, many higher-functioning autistic girls are often overlooked or misdiagnosed because they tend to mask repetitive behaviors. 8

Here are some differences to look for:

• Girls: Present repetitive verbal behaviors, such as echolalia (or scripting), which involves repeating words or phrases from media or conversations. 8
• Boys: Display more overt and stereotypical repetitive behaviors, such as hand-flapping, rocking, or intense fixations on specific objects or topics. 8

Educators and clinicians need to consider diverse expressions of ASD in both girls and boys to ensure accurate diagnosis and appropriate support. When girls aren’t correctly diagnosed, they don’t have access to early interventions. Lack of support can increase the risk of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem by the time they enter middle school or high school.

Understanding the function of RRBs

In 2014, journalist Ron Suskind published the book, “Life, Animated,” chronicling the struggles of his son, Owen, who was diagnosed with regressive autism at age three. The Suskinds chose to encourage their son’s special interest in Disney movies and characters, which helped him learn to speak and read again. 2 “Life, Animated” was later turned into a movie by the same name, shedding light on the positive side of RRBs.

Research studies are becoming more inclusive, focusing on the lived experiences of individuals with ASD. Many autistic adults report that pursuing their intense interests is rewarding and brings them happiness. 2 While these interests have been labeled restrictive, they provide a coping mechanism, enhance self-confidence, and sometimes facilitate connections with peers. 2

In light of these studies, there has been “a major paradigm shift in perceptions of special interests,” notes psychologist Rachel Grove of the University of Technology Sydney. 2 Autism advocates and scientists argue for treatment approaches that respect the dignity and independence of individuals with ASD, including the need to build on special interests, rather than discouraging them. 2

Course Connection: EPSY 715: UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

This course introduces the concepts and skills involved in understanding and analyzing research in education and related areas. The course provides an overview of basic, general knowledge of various research methodologies used in the online master’s in autism spectrum disorder program.

Impact on daily functioning

While there are reported benefits of RRBs, individuals can also engage in disruptive or harmful behaviors. It’s important to pay attention to signs that these behaviors impair an individual’s daily functioning. Some parents may not know the severity of the repetitive behavior, such as hair pulling, until they find clumps of hair in the child’s bedroom. There are resources for parents and caregivers that may be helpful .

In addition, if an individual is neglecting self-care to the point of sacrificing sleep or forgetting to shower, then it’s time to seek support. 10

These questions can serve as a starting point for professional evaluation:

• Is the student approaching the special interest with such intensity that they cannot stop when they need to? 9
• Is the intense interest or repetitive behavior disrupting family life? 9
• Is it interfering with the student’s enjoyment of other activities? 9
• Is it resulting in the student harming themselves? 9
• Is it interfering with the student’s academic success or social development? 9

Before developing any treatment plan for a student with ASD, special education teachers and medical teams can use questionnaires and other assessments to evaluate the impact that RRBs have on academic success, socializing, and family dynamics . Then, they can include parents in critical decisions and recommend targeted interventions that can be implemented at home and in school.

Management and intervention

When repetitive behavior impairs an individual’s ability to function or poses a threat to family members, medication can seem like the only hope for managing problematic behaviors. Risperidone and Aripiprazole are the only FDA-approved drugs that can be prescribed to treat irritability in children with autism spectrum disorder, but they don’t work for all individuals with ASD. 10 Glen Eliot, medical director of the Children’s Health Council encourages families to first try behavioral interventions, especially with very young children. 11

One alternative to medication is a cognitive-behavioral approach, which teaches students to use other coping mechanisms, problem-solving skills, and relaxation techniques so that they have the tools to self-manage anxiety and distress that triggers RRBs.

Another option is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, which uses positive reinforcement. Some research shows it has been effective in teaching life skills and reducing harmful behaviors.

However, a 2018 study found that ABA therapy, which involves intense repetition, can be grueling and put individuals with ASD at higher risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder. 12

Parents and advocates are critical of it because of these negative experiences. 12,13 In school settings, structured teaching such as the use of visual schedules, can promote greater independence in students with ASD.

Supporting individuals with RRBs

Creating structured environments involves establishing routines and predictable schedules to help individuals with RRBs feel supported. If the student has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 plan, some accommodations could include allowing them to stim at their desk or leave the classroom and go to a quiet, calming space. 14

Another way to support students with ASD is to integrate their special interests into the curriculum. New York teacher Jenny Licata, who teaches autistic students in a mainstream classroom, has found this approach has academic and behavioral benefits. 2 For example, one 6-year-old girl, who has an intense interest in outer space, routinely struggled with transitions. 2 So, Licata turned her folder into a spaceship. Then, she cues the student to put work into the folder and switch activities by saying, “blast-off in 10,” which makes transitions less stressful. 2

Depending on the student’s school placement, effective supports might include:

• Modified environments: Reduce sensory overload with soft lighting, eliminate visual clutter, and provide quiet spaces 14
• Sensory-friendly strategies: Allow use of fidget toys, chewelry (jewelry designed for chewing), or stress balls 14
• Visual supports: Provide visual schedules to help reduce anxiety and promote predictability to ease transitions during the school day 14
• Social stories: Promote social skill development in settings, such as the supermarket, doctor’s surgery, and playground 14

By drawing on evidence-based best practices, special education teachers can develop personalized accommodations and integrate the special interests of students with autism spectrum disorder.

These measures can go a long way toward reducing the impact of challenging behaviors, while fostering a greater sense of belonging.

Collaborating with families of children with ASD

Families are vital in supporting children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). Understanding these behaviors, like repetitive motor movements or ritualistic behavior, is crucial for effective home support.

Parents manage repetitive behaviors by creating supportive routines and advocating for services outlined in the diagnostic criteria. They offer emotional support, aiding their child's navigation of social and communication deficits.

Educators play an essential role as partners in the collaboration between schools, parents, and caregivers; they can help align strategies between home and school environments.

Through open communication channels, all stakeholders can share insights, enabling a holistic understanding of the child's needs, including those related to stereotyped behaviors, autism repetitive behaviors, and repetitive sensory motor behavior.

This collaborative approach ensures that interventions are tailored to the unique characteristics of children with ASD and autistic children, as outlined in the diagnostic criteria. Through this shared understanding, educators, parents, and caretakers can develop effective support plans that address the child's restricted interests and repetitive body movements, promoting success in both academic and social settings.

Gain the expertise to help transform ASD education with KU's Online Master’s in special education

Master cutting-edge teaching methods for diverse learners with a top-ranked online special education master's degree in ASD * from the University of Kansas.

KU’s School of Education and Human Sciences is a national pioneer in ASD education for today’s educators and offers three practicum electives to help online master’s students become effective classroom leaders.

Get your questions answered by scheduling a call with one of our helpful admissions outreach advisors. Start building master’s-level expertise in the ASD specialization you want to excel in most.

* Master of Science in Education (M.S.E.) in special education with an emphasis in autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/the-benefits-of-special-interests-in-autism/
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/rethinking-repetitive-behaviors-in-autism/
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750946721001707
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from ascd.org/el/articles/deepening-supports-for-teens-with-autism
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from aane.org/autism-info-faqs/library/are-autistic-students-traumatized-in-school/
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from verywellhealth.com/repetitive-behaviors-in-autism-260582
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from autismparentingmagazine.com/repetitive-behavior-autism-children/
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from childmind.org/article/autistic-girls-overlooked-undiagnosed-autism/
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from autismparentingmagazine.com/autism-children-special-interests/
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from autismspeaks.org/medications-autism
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from childmind.org/article/autism-and-medication/
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from verywellhealth.com/educational-options-for-children-with-autism-260393
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from childmind.org/article/controversy-around-applied-behavior-analysis/
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from undivided.io/resources/school-supports-and-iep-504-accommodations-for-autism-1340
• Retrieved on March 18, 2024, from usnews.com/education/online-education/education/online-special-education-rankings

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Our car experts choose every product we feature. We may earn money from the links on this page.

Best Car Toys for Kids with Autism

April is Autism Awareness Month. From sensory-engaging wonders to skill-building delights, these toys offer not just entertainment but also support tailored to children on the spectrum.

Last year around this time our parent company Hearst donated over $22 million in grants to organizations including Autism Speaks . Here at Road & Track , we've assembled a list of car-related toys specifically for kids with sensory sensitivities. From fun sounds and colors to puzzles that will allow your child to organize and express their creativity, here is a list of our favorite car-related toys for the budding auto enthusiast with autism.

More Car Toys: Best RC Cars for Kids | Great Toys for Car-Loving Kids | Gifts for Kids Who Love Cars

Our Top Picks

Best for Lining Up & Sorting

Meavia line up sensory toys playset.

Best Lights and Sounds

Artcreativity light up transparent sensory car.

Best for Building

Popular playthings magnetic build-a-car toy play set.

Best for Sorting & Stacking

Melissa & doug wooden stack & count parking garage.

Best for On the Go

Civg stainless steel mini sprockets chain toy.

Best Multiplayer Toy

Plunack fidget toys light up game.

Best for Creativity

Picassotiles 30 piece race car track.

Best for Deconstructing

Coogam take apart racing car with electric screwdriver.

Best for Hands-On Play

Panda brothers screwdriver board set, things to consider.

Sensory Features

Choose toys that engage multiple senses and provide different tactile, visual, auditory, and proprioceptive experiences. Look for toys with interesting textures, bright colors, soothing sounds, or distinctive shapes that can stimulate and engage the child's sensory processing.

Safety and Durability

Prioritize toys that are durable, non-toxic, and free from small parts or choking hazards. Ensure that the toys are sturdy enough to withstand rough handling and play while also being safe for the child to use independently.

Educational Value

Choose toys that promote learning, creativity, and skill development. Look for toys that encourage problem-solving, imaginative play, social interaction, and motor-skills development, such as building sets, art supplies, pretend-play props, or sensory tools.

The Line Up Playset is perfect for kids who love to line up or sort things. The set features 20 cars made from quality metal including Jeeps, pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans. The cars come in five distinct colors and the set includes a fold-up parking lot and line-up strips, giving your child a challenging new way to line up their toys. Additionally, the set comes with a carrying case and number stickers so kids can line up by numbers.

Recommended for children ages three and up.

This car from ArtCreativty offers a dazzling array of lights, colors, and sounds while giving your child several ways to play. The three-mode power switch allows the car to be completely off, illuminate the lights only, or jump into motion along with its lights. Once the car is in motion, the Bump N' Go Mechanism allows it to stay in motion by changing directions when it comes in contact with a barrier.

If you don't think the shape of this car will get your little one going, maybe they'll like the transparent sensory race car , SUV , train , or plane .

The Magnetic Build-a-Car set encourages imaginative play thanks to its 11 distinct pieces that are made to form six different vehicles: a coupe, sedan, pickup, crew cab truck, sporty SUV, and standard SUV. The large magnetic pieces snap together easily providing a durable play experience that's also safe.

Melissa & Doug Wooden Stack & Count Parking Garage

Melissa & Doug is a brand known for nicely made wooden toys for young children. The Stack & Count Parking Garage is great for kids who like to sort and stack. The garage comes with 10 wooden cars in distinct colors and a bonus Scratch Art Mini-Pad. The garage itself features a color-coordinated sliding counter that helps stimulate mathematical thinking.

We've probably all seen or even fidgetted with a fidget spinner. The little gadgets are great for those living with ADHD, ADD, OCD, and autism. Our car brains love this gear-shaped spinner, so if your kid is anything like us, theirs probably will too. It's made from stainless steel and uses two silent bearings to provide a smooth fidgeting experience.

Recommended for children ages five and up.

We like this toy for its four-in-one nature. Inside its cool Lamborghini-inspired bodywork, this toy houses an interactive game with four distinct modes that will keep your child engaged with activities that can enhance sensory stimulation. Memory, scoring, multiplayer, and the challenging breakthrough modes all provide different ways to play.

The materials are durable, and it's just the right size to fit comfortably in a child's hands. It's available in several colors, and because it's made with those with sensory processing sensitivity in mind, the sound can be disabled.

Your child can design and build their own racetrack with this 30-piece set from PicassoTiles. The colorful pieces can be assembled in numerous ways, giving your child a chance to exercise their creativity. It also comes with two battery-powered trucks that race around the track for your child to watch. The chunky pieces are made from eco-friendly BPA-free materials.

Another great toy for the aspiring mechanic who loves disassembling and reassembling things. The 26-piece kit includes a plastic battery-powered screwdriver, a separate body and chassis, wheels, spoilers, and all the screws you need to put it all together. Once its all together, the engine becomes a button that activates lights and engine sounds.

As someone who dabbles in wrenching on my own cars, I know all too well the satisfaction that comes with turning some bolts. For your aspiring mechanic, the Screwdriver Board Set will allow them to indulge that feeling. The board is made from natural wood and the screwdriver, hex key, and wrench are lightweight and have a textured grip. Your child can engage by removing and installing the seven different style screws while practicing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Recommended for children up to three years.

What are sensory toys for kids with autism?

Sensory toys for kids with autism are specially designed toys that aim to engage and stimulate the senses of kids on the autism spectrum, including sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. These toys help children with autism explore and interact with their environment in a safe and therapeutic manner.

How can I ensure the safety of toys for my child?

Choose toys that are age appropriate, durable, non-toxic, and free from small parts or choking hazards. Check for safety certifications and read product labels carefully to ensure compliance with safety standards. Supervise children during playtime and inspect toys regularly for signs of wear or damage.

Are sensory toys suitable for all children?

While sensory toys can benefit many children, they may be especially helpful for children with sensory processing challenges, autism, ADHD, anxiety, or other developmental or sensory-related conditions. However, it's essential to consider each child's individual needs, preferences, and sensitivities when selecting sensory toys.

Why Trust Us?

Road & Track and its sibling publications at Hearst Autos represent three of the most influential automotive publications in the world. We rely on decades of experience in the automotive and gear spaces to help readers make informed purchasing choices. Read more about our testing process here .

With the legacies of Autoweek, Car and Driver, and Road & Track behind us, the Hearst Autos Gear Team is more concerned with the trust our readers have in us than our bottom line. We won't tell you to buy something if we wouldn't buy it ourselves or recommend it to our friends, and we'll never claim to have used or tested something we haven't.

We've evaluated dozens of product categories, like electric bikes , traction boards , wiper blades , and even ice scrapers and radar detectors . Our picks and recommendations of products and gear are based on testing and knowledge, not hype.

The Assistant Commerce Editor for Hearst Autos, Justin Helton is an enthusiast with a passion for heavily depreciated autos and a penchant for philosophical debate. As a lifelong Manhattanite, he has mastered the ins and outs of classic car ownership in one of the least car-friendly cities in the world.

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