Autism Awareness Activities for Kids
Autism awareness is a very important topic to cover with children. Since recent statistics show that as many as 1 in 100 children have autism, the chances of children meeting an autistic individual in their life is extremely high. In order to understand and interact with autistic individuals, children need to understand the disability, how it affects people and what it looks like. Once they understand autism, they can accept others with autism and be able to have positive interactions with them. It is always important to focus on acceptance of autistic individuals and what children can do to help them and befriend them.
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Books
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There are several children's books available on autism, from the autistic child's point of view, a sibling's point of view and even detailing autism in general. Read a book in class and discuss autism as a group. Have children give examples of what autism might look like and what they can do to include autistic individuals in activities despite their limitations.
Share
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With the incidence of autism rising, odds are a few of the children in the class know someone with autism. Ask the class to bring in photos of anyone they know that might be autistic. Discuss the positives. Focus on how they are both the same as well as different.
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Visit
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Schedule a visit with an adult diagnosed with autism. Have them relay their difficulties and how they overcame them. Ask them to speak about what their childhood was like, and both the hurtful and kind things that other children did. Let the class ask questions about autism and what it's like to actually have it.
Give Examples
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Many famous people in history had autistic traits and many fit the criteria established to diagnose autism today. Because autism is a fairly new diagnosis, it wasn't diagnosable in their childhood. The list of likely autistics includes Ludwig van Beethoven, Alexander Graham Bell, Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Vincent Van Gogh. Discuss the importance of these individuals and how autism likely influenced their lives.
Volunteer
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Have the children help out in a special education class. Give them a child to partner, both to teach them and to give the autistic child a chance to interact with other children. Talk about the importance of treating those with disabilities with respect and helping others that have a harder time than they do. Afterward, have the children talk about what their partner was like, what they liked about them and how they think the autistic child's life is different from their own.
Watch a Video
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You Tube, a popular video website, has several videos depicting children with autism. These video clips show the common behaviors, problems and difficulties that children with autism face. Engage the class in finding what is upsetting the child and discuss their response. Videos help children see what autism is and teach them the reasons behind the behaviors.
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References
Resources
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Comments
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for chelsea and my mom.
