FAQautism

Sometimes something as simple as having a theme for summer activities can add the structure necessary to help our friends with autism who get extraordinarily agitated or frustrated during relaxed, unstructured summer vacation. No need to spend a lot of time, energy, or money. Just add a theme to add focus and organization to rather random activities.

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Here’s an example of a summer theme that one of my obsessive, extraordinarily structured friends with autism still talks about several years later. His family enjoyed a “Retro Summer” featuring fun times from the childhood of the parents in the 1950’s.
+ Grandparents sent black and white photos of the parents as children – snapped on a Brownie camera and printed with the date on the side of the picture.
+ The teens in the family searched iTunes for classic songs from the 50’s.
+ The whole family spent a bit of time every evening with activities the parents remembered from their childhood: blowing bubbles, making paper airplanes, playing with a hula hoop, playing in a sandbox, having water gun fights, playing hide and go seek, playing horseshoes, or eating watermelon and spitting the seeds.
+ Throughout the summer, the family occasionally sat down to watch an episode of a television show popular in that era while munching on popcorn.
+ The family also gathered around the table to play games from the parents’ childhoods – Bingo, Go Fish, and checkers.
+ The family had an on-going, informal “kick ball tournament” throughout the summer.

TIP FOR THE DAY: It seems like a small thing, but having a theme to the summer made a big impact on the attitude of this young teenager. Because he saw some purpose and organization to summer, he was much less agitated and much more content. Family members were very relieved that he wasn’t constantly bugging them. And, to top it all off, everyone in the family had fun during that retro summer, even reluctant Dad and normally negative teenage daughter.

NOTE TO READERS AND LISTENERS: I am Cathy Knoll, a board certified music therapist and long-time friend of many folks with autism. At FAQautism.com we are committed to providing free, practical, everyday tips for making life better for people with autism. Feel free to send me a confidential email at talk@FAQautism.com with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solution. And don’t forget to check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. http://FAQautism.com

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