Autism Magazine

Play Skills For Children With Autism I have been observing how children play and why children with autism would rather keep to themselves instead of playing with their peers. Children with autism tend to play alone for different reasons, some of the reasons are: They play differently (they would rather line up toys instead of using them for their purpose) Hold on to a particular toy for a while Repeat some actions over and over again They can not focus on one game for a long time They enjoy walking or running around Some children diagnosed with autism are less likely to engage in games that require following rules, pretend play, social skills and communication.  How to teach your child to engage and play with other children Teach imitation skills When teaching your child imitation skills you can start with simple skills like feeding the doll or pushing a car, make sure you prompt the first few times until they get used to it. This technique teaches them to play with their toy

Early Pre-verbal Communication Non verbal does not always mean that a person can not hear you. You should not stop speaking to your child just because they do not have words, speaking with children helps to improve their communication and language skills. The first step to teaching communication is eye contact , eye contact does not only improve attentiveness but it is also important for catching  and responding to other people's social cues. Children learn to communicate even before they can start speaking. Early pre verbal communication is when a child communicates with you without using words (when they start directing you or pointing at a desired item).  Strategies of communication and early language development Children learn more by the need to communicate. You need to be creative and create a situation that requires a child to request for items( signing or saying please) eg instead of giving a child a whole packet of chips, give them in small portions so that they ca