SENSORY FUN FOR YOUR KIDDOS DURING THE CORONA QUARANTINE

It’s tough on everyone being home all day, but it is especially tough on our parents and kiddos with ASD.    Trying to juggle work, homeschooling them and their siblings, and keep everyone on a schedule is hard.    Finding new, fun activities to do that will keep their attention for a little while can be challenging.    Sensory based activities, depending on your child, will often be very reinforcing.    We’ve put together a list of some of our and our kids’ favorites.

1)   PAINTING WITH SHAVING CREAM OR PUDDING.    

Just clear a table and pour the pudding or shaving cream directly on it and let the kids go to town.     Shaving cream is nice and clean but pudding is good for our guys who are mouthers.

2)   BINS FILLED WITH BEANS, RICE, OR WATER BEADS

Water beads are the BEST, but beans and rice work well too.     Just take a big Tupperware bin – big enough for the kids to be able to really get their hands in there (and sometimes their feet!) and play.    It’s fun to hide small toys in the substance also for them to look for.   

3)   MAKE OOO GLOB OR SLIME

Using corn starch and water.     Mix the two until you have the glob at the consistency that you like.     You can add glitter to it, as well!   It can be stored in a Ziploc bag or a Tupperware container.   

4)   KINETIC SAND AND PLAY DOH

Hiding small toys in either of these is a fun activity for kids.

5)   WATER PLAY WITH CUPS, POTS AND PANS, AND OTHER UTENSILS

The more space the better.    If you have a water table, even better.    Water play can literally entertain for hours.      Giving the children paintbrushes and letting them paint the sidewalk and driveway with water is fun, clean and harmless, as well.

6)   “HEAVY WORK”

This is very calming and grounding for many children.    Having them move appropriately heavy boxes from one place to another or pushing a chair from one side of the room to another is heavy work.     Carrying a bean bag would also qualify.     Try to make it functional, if at all possible.    Have them help you around the house and incorporate heavy work in wherever you can.

For many of our children on the spectrum, having sensory friendly activities can ground and calm them.    And most importantly, for a little sanity for mom and dad, these activities can often hold their attention for a while.   

Please feel free to comment and add any ideas that have worked for your kiddos!

NUTURING OUR RELATIONSHIPS DURING THE QUARANTINE

Being shut in during this Covid19 quarantine time is taking its toll on everyone.    However, for our parents of kiddos on the spectrum, the toll is exponential.    Most of our kids have no idea what is going on and why their schedule and routine has been pulled out from under them.    Parents are trying to work, manage their special needs kids, as well as ensure that their neurotypical children are getting their school work done.

All of this is taking a toll on marriages and relationships for these parents – an even greater toll than that of “simply” raising a special needs kiddo.

It’s cliché and is easier said than done, but time has to be carved out somehow to nurture our relationships.    Even if it’s just a few minutes each day.    

6 WAYS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN

1)    If doable, pay an older sibling to entertain the others while you and your spouse go outside and have a glass of wine on the deck alone together.

Even if it’s only for an hour once or twice a week.     Set the timeline for the “babysitter” so he or she knows how long the expectation is for.     Use this time to check in with each other – to dream about what you’ll do after this is all over.    To appreciate each other.

2)    No matter how exhausted you are at the end of the day, take even 15 minutes to connect with your spouse after the kids go to bed.    Even if it just means sitting on the couch together holding hands and not talking.    The dishes will be there.     So will the toys.     This is most important.

3)    Find a show that you’re both into and set a time to watch it together at least a couple of times a week.    Without the kids.     Chances are you can’t binge watch anything right now.     But finding a show that you both love and making time to watch it will give you something to share and look forward to.     Again, the dishes and toys can wait.     This is most important.

4)    Play a round or two of “Would you Rather” every day.     Make your questions fun and centered around things that are fun to think about.     Like, “would you rather go scuba diving or sky diving” or “would you rather have a houseboat as your home or an RV as your home?”

5)    Catch your spouse doing the right thing and reinforce it.   ABA works on everyone, not just our kids.    It’s easy to hone in on the things that are annoying us during this time.     Let’s reinforce the good stuff as much as we can, as well. 

6)    Give each other time to do something alone.    Exercise, take a long hot bath, read a book, take a nap.    Often, getting some alone time to do something “healthy” will revive and give the parent energy to keep on keepin on.

This quarantine has given our parents who already had a full plate, a plate that is overflowing.    Raising a special needs child is tough on a marriage.     Being quarantined is tough on a marriage.     The two together is beyond tough.   Be kind to yourselves and be kind to each other.    

Welcome!

Hi there and welcome to our blog!     

Who are we?     We are a dedicated group of behavior analysts who love working with all families who have kiddos on the autism spectrum.      We all have over 20 years of experience in the field.  

Why a blog now?   We recognize how difficult this time is for everyone, but especially those of you who quarantining with a family member on the spectrum.    The complete change of routine and reduced structure can sometimes wreak havoc.      We wanted to be a resource for parents both during this time of quarantine but also afterwards as we get back to normalcy.    We are a resource for both our families as well as families who are not receiving services through us.    

What can we look forward to?    We plan to post about schedules, dealing with behaviors, potty training, and skills that you can be working on with your kiddo at home.   We will provide you with checklists and resources along the way.    But please don’t hesitate to let us know of specific needs that you have in your household.    Chances are if you’re having a particular issue, someone else is also.

Please let us know what would be of help to you during this time.     In the meantime, we will be posting tips and articles once or twice a week moving forward.