Leisure or life skills are the capabilities, interests, and hobbies that help people perform daily functions and are integral to living their lives. Developed over time, leisure skills help people to unwind, relax, find fulfillment or enjoyment, and often socialize more comfortably with others Mastering leisure skills helps people connect with their family and community, which can foster satisfaction, happiness, and well-being in life.
For children with autism, leisure skills are the skills these children can do without the help of others. Leisure activities may include coloring, reading, listening to music, playing a game, playing with toys, or watching a movie or television show. Learning a variety of leisure skills enables children with autism to entertain themselves when their parent or caregiver is not able to give them attention. These children use leisure skills to occupy themselves when they have downtime and can independently start another activity when they are done with the first.
Age-Typical Leisure Interests for Children
Children will show more interest in leisure or life activities than other children their age do. It is helpful to follow their lead when it comes to choosing leisure interests. Engaging in age-typical activities will also help children develop the skills needed to master other leisure activities as they get older. Here is a list of ideas:
Elementary-Age Children
- Dress-up
- Dolls
- LEGOs
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Coloring
- Taking walks
- Reading books
- Drawing, painting, or another art
- Playing games like tag and hide-n-seek
Teenagers and Young Adults
- Listening to music
- Watching movies
- Reading comics
- Team sports
- Word search puzzles or Sudoku
- Solitary exercises like hiking, biking, and swimming
- Crafting
- Photography
- Cooking
- Gardening
Why Are Leisure Skills Important?
Learning leisure or life skills helps children with autism develop independence – at home, in school, as part of a community, and in life. As they grow more independent, they also develop their executive function skills such as organizing, planning, prioritizing, and decision-making. Their self-esteem improves, which can lead to more happiness in all areas of life.
How Do You Teach Leisure Skills?
Initially, children with autism may not think they have any leisure interests, or they might get stuck on one activity they like. These children may display unproductive behavior as a result.
Two of the ways Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy supports children with autism are:
- Teaching new skills such as leisure, life, communication, and social skills
- Improving behaviors such as on-task activities or social interactions
ABA therapists use this autism therapy to teach leisure skills to children who often spend their free time engaging in challenging behavior like pacing, running up and down the stairs, staring out of windows, spinning in chairs, throwing toys, pounding walls, and other repetitive behaviors done for hours at a time. When a child engages in age-typical leisure activities that they are interested in and enjoy, the unproductive or intrusive behavior is reduced or it stops altogether. Children often find more leisure interests to occupy their free time as they develop their independent thinking.
5 Ways to Help Children With Autism Develop Independence
While engaging in self-supporting leisure and recreational activities is one-way children with autism develop greater independence, here are a few more helpful and effective ideas:
- Help your child improve their communication.
Strengthening your child’s ability to communicate is essential for developing independence. They need to feel comfortable with spoken language, express their own preferences and feelings, and understand what other people communicate to them.
- Create an appealing calendar of events for your child.
When your child sees a visual schedule of their activities, the transition from one to the next will likely be smoother and take place without you reminding them about it. Review each of their activities with your child as they go through their schedule. Over time, they will be able to make those transitions on their own.
- Make sure your child knows how to take a break when they need one.
If your child feels overwhelmed, make sure they know how to ask for a time out or break. Identify a quiet area where they know they could go, show them how to use their device or words to ask for a break, or give them tools like headphones that can help regulate sensory input so they can regain control over themselves or their environment.
- Work on increasing other skills with your child, such as self-care, household chores, money, and safety skills.
Introducing these types of activities early into your child’s routine will help them realize the importance of life skills in daily living. Brushing teeth and combing hair, taking part in washing dishes or cleaning the house with the family, and learning about how to manage money teaches:
- How to take responsibility for their own actions
- How to be a part of a community
- How to keep themselves safe when out with others
- Talk to your child about what they want to be when they grow up.
As your child gets older, work with them on their vocational skills. Find out what their strengths and interests are as well as their goals for the future.
GBC Autism Services is Here to Help
At GBC Autism Services, we provide ABA therapy to children with autism in the areas of Chicagoland, Peoria, Normal, Rockford, Springfield, Dekalb, and North-West Indiana. Our services include in-home and clinic-based ABA therapy, early intervention services, school consultations, and social skills groups.
The team at GBC doesn’t only focus on the behaviors that might be seen as weaknesses in children with autism. We accept and appreciate each child’s unique abilities and incorporate them into our programming. In fact, we love to learn about each child’s interests and strengths and only look to help them navigate the world better.
