Visual Attention Activities for Children with Special Needs

The challenges some kids face that have autism in Glendale California are being able to use visual cues and focus and process with their minds. One of the best autism activities in Glendale, California that will give your child the ability to focus and take some visual cues is to make a ribbon box that requires them to focus on the ribbon and do something with it. This will help their brain process the information given and make a decision for the item.

How the ribbon box works is by using a simple cardboard box that can be closed with a regular lid. Cut a small hole in the top for the ribbon to come out of and then paint the box a bright color that contrasts with the color of the ribbon you’ve chosen. String the ribbon through the lid and place the roll of the ribbon inside the box. This will give your child an activity in which they have to make decisions and use their eyes to process the information given to them.

Whether your child uses the box to string the ribbon out of the box or put it back in or both, they will learn how to process some cues with this box. For other great visual autism activities in Glendale, California, you may want to seek the advice of We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym. This team is dedicated to aiding kids with autism in Glendale, California and will help you figure out what activities you can offer your children to make it easier for them to learn how to process things with the visual cues they’re given to utilize.

Fun Water Activities for Kids with Special Needs

Water can be fun for everyone and when you’re looking for the right activities for children in Glendale California to enjoy being at a pool, even in your own backyard is an all-time favorite. As you learn more about the right activities for kids with autism, you can enjoy these few activities that give you a great way for kids to have a lot of fun and enjoy the play that comes with being at a pool. 

Simon Says – Using your normal rules for this game you can have a lot of fun in the water playing Simon Says and coming up with different ways to give directions and have a lot of fun. This will be a great way to teach your child to follow instructions and give them something fun.

Go Fish – Using a flashlight and a cut out of a fish you can have your child chase the fish around the pool and let them figure out how to catch the fish while they play. This is a fun way for you to let them use some of their energy.

Bucketing the Ball – Using colored balls and buckets that are assigned to each color you can teach your child to put the right colored ball in each bucket make sure they have the right one in the right place.

These are some great activities for children in Glendale, California to make use of and when you want some fun out of the water you can come to We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym. This is the best place for the activities for kids with autism to have a fun play place.

Preschool Activities for Kids with Autism

Preschool is a time of discovery and new understandings. Most kids who enter preschool have never been to a school before and love the new environment while being a bit apprehensive about the separation from both parents for an extended period of time throughout each day. When a child has autism and is ready to enter preschool it’s important to have appropriate activities for children with autism for them to participate in. Here are some great examples of preschool activities for kids with autism that can be fun for all kids.

Play Pretend – One of the best ways to get kids thinking and playing together is to let them pretend to be something else when they play. They can pretend to be an animal or herd of them looking for food, they can play with dolls in a dollhouse and let them do different activities or they can build with blocks or other toys.

Sensory Exploration – Using senses kids can explore different sights, sounds, smells, tastes and even textures. This allows kids to enjoy learning about different things and is one of the best activities for children with autism to help them overcome sensory difficulties they may experience on a regular basis.

Taking Turns – This is one of the best activities for kids with autism to learn social protocol, but most likely with preschoolers, all kids will need to learn this skill in order to understand that taking turns is important. This can be done while playing board games or by playing with a toy that’s passed around the room.

For more great activities, come see the team at We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym in Glendale.

Signs and Symptoms of Autism in Toddlers

When your toddler shows signs of a lack of specific functions in their life you need to consider the fact that your child may become diagnosed with autism. Autism shows up in many forms, often children with autism have difficulty communicating verbally, relating to others and being able to think or behave on their own. There is some amazing support for kids with autism in Glendale, California to make it easier for you to find the help you need. These support organizations even offer suggestions for some great autism activities in Glendale, California for you to take advantage of.

Before you assume your child has autism you need to have them checked by a doctor and gain a diagnosis. The doctor may tell you that your child needs a bit of therapy to help in one area but doesn’t actually have autism. On the other hand, if you do receive a diagnosis of autism, you want to have that happen as early as possible so that you can begin the necessary therapy and activities that will help your child grow and develop over time.

If you need to find a great support organization for autism in Glendale, California, come see the team at We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym. This is a gym full of caring folks who can help you figure out what autism activities in Glendale, California you should have your child participate in to help them grown and develop. Even if you receive a diagnosis of not having autism you can enjoy some fun at WRTS where all kids are welcome to come and play together as they learn and make new lifelong friends.

Activities for the Learning of Your Autistic Toddler

Four key areas of focus for children with autism can help them grow and improve. When you make use of the resources for autistic children in Glendale California you will find that there are specific focusses you need to target. Here are what you’ll find when you refer to the resources for an autistic child and learn how to help a child learn and grow.

Communication Skills – Kids with autism typically have a difficulty understanding spoken communication. This makes it important for you to speak directly and in short sentences with easy to understand words. You can also touch your child so they know you’re speaking to them. You can play a game by asking them to say the word ball and handling them a ball when they do.

Social Skills – Learning to interact with other children is one of the most difficult things kids with autism have to do. You should model how to ask for things so that your children will learn how to do this as well and put the right aids into practice.

Motor Skills – Some kids have motor skills problems, especially when it comes to fine motor skills activities. You need to make a game out of dropping items into a bucket or creating a way for kids to move an object to a specific location to complete a task.

Sensory Integration – Many kids with autism have sensory challenges they need to overcome. This includes things such as going to be ad a specific time. It can be calming for kids to have a massage to help them go to sleep or have a pressure blanket for sleeping.

After School Activities and Games for Kids

Kids don’t always have to play a game to have fun; most kids enjoy the fun of opening their mind and finding the joy in learning. With this in mind there are some great fun activities for kids to do all around you; it’s up to you to introduce them to these activities. Let’s take a look at some of the fun kid’s activities in Glendale, California.

Reuse Recycling – One way we can teach kids to recycle items is to repurpose them. You can do this by taking an item from the recycle bin and turning it into something else entirely.

Comic Strip – Do you have an artistic child? Let them come up with an idea for a new comic strip that can be a lot fun kid activities in Glendale California of fun for you to read and help with as well. Tell a story with pictures and have lots of fun doing it.

Sidewalk Chalk – This is one of the most fun things you can do with kids and let them be creative. They can draw some cool pictures on the sidewalk and have a lot of fun learning to create and see how this chalk actually works.

Science Project- Give kids something they can work with and let them work as a scientist for a few minutes at a time. Have them write down and tell you about their discoveries along the way.

Improv – Have kids stand up and act as an object or another person to mimic that person. Have an audience shout out things to try and do what they want with it.

Enjoy some of these fun activities for kids with your own for family fun.

Types of Technology for Treating Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder that prevents children from being able to communicate, act in a socially acceptable manner, creates behavioral challenges and even causes physical difficulties.  With an extensive amount of research many organizations have learned that children with autism can make use of a variety of technological pieces of equipment to autism equipment in Glendale California  aid in their growth and development. Here are some of the autism equipment in Glendale, California that kids may use.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices

Some kids prefer low tech options that don’t require power to operate and some prefer to have items that require extensive training to be able to use.  Some options are communication books, topic boards, diagram displays, tablets and electronic talking aids.  The high tech options offer apps that kids can learn to use in order to communicate when they’re nonverbal.

Teaching Tools

These items are meant to assist kids in learning the rules of different areas and their schedule.  Some options include activity picture schedules, rules of the bathroom, reminder strips, break cards, first-then boards, timers and video modeling equipment.  These items can all assist kids in becoming used to a schedule that works for them and guides them toward becoming independent.

Physical Tools

Many sensory gyms offer autism equipment in Glendale, California, but none are quite as complete as what you’ll find at We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym.  At this gym you’ll find climbing structures, swings, crawling tunnels, crash pits, a trampoline and even a zip line.  All this equipment has been specially designed to help give kids the physical sensory stimulation they need when in use.  With the use of this equipment kids can learn to make bodily connections through movement.

How to Treat Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder that results in developmental challenges for children.  It’s a complex disorder which shows itself in a wide variety of forms, making it a difficult disorder to address.  Every child who has autism is the same but different from each other.  They all have a similar challenge, facing developmental challenges with regards to behavior, social skills or physical abilities.  In order to help you child with autism in Glendale California  autism in Glendale, California, it’s important you seek the assistance of various autism support groups in the area.

Occupational Therapists – Once you’ve receive the diagnosis of autism from a physician you need to seek the assistance of an Occupational Therapist (OT).  This is a professional who will assist your child with their physical development and ability to perform specific tasks.

Sensory Gyms – A great place for you to bring your child for fun and activity that uses similar equipment as what they are used to at the OT office is a sensory gym.  In fact, your OT might ask to meet at a sensory gym to show you some of the equipment and movements they want you to focus on with your child.

You – You, as a parent, are the best support your child will ever have.  With your assistance your child could develop beyond the diagnosis of autism in order to grow and be able to blend into society easily as they get older.

One of the best places you can bring your child for fun and support is to We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym in Glendale, CA.  As one of the best places to address autism in Glendale, California, WRTS offers an inclusive philosophy of play for all kids.