Sensory Bin Activities for Autism

Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.

– Fred Rogers

Firstly, sensory input is a very crucial part of every child’s development. In other words, sensory play and the ability to feel the input from the five senses help in brain development. Furthermore, the five senses, including touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste, help us understand the world.

Similarly, children gain vast cognitive experiences from sensory activities. Further, sensory bins are used in therapy as reinforcers and also to calm down Autistic children. In this blog, we will discuss some fun sensory bin activities for Autism to do at home.

Sensory Bin Activities for Autism

Do the activities with your child only under your supervision!

Model speech and language while you play along!

Make sure to do the activities slow and take the child’s lead.

Sensory bin with Pulses:

Activity 1:

To do this activity you may need a box or a bottle, fill it with various pulses available in your kitchen. Further, you can use, chickpea, rajma, dal, rice, etc., Now, mix them all up in your sensory bin. Next, play along with your child, by gently tapping the box or bottle to make noises. Therefore, this gives children auditory stimulation and calms them down.

Activity 2:

Another way is to hide small toys within the sensory box. Firstly, look for each item in the box by gently moving your hand around in the bin. Then, allow your child time to discover the toys and feel the touch input from the sensory bin. This stimulates the tactile system and allows the child to concentrate better. You may talk about the item discovered to give speech inputs during the play.

Sensory bin with Playdough:

To begin this activity, take an empty box or bin. Now use edible playdough or you may also make homemade play dough with all-purpose flour, salt, and water. Add the contents together with some food coloring, glitter, and scented oils. Hold your child’s hand and help him/her kneed the dough. This activity is a great way to offer maximum tactile and olfactory (smell) stimulation to your child.

Sensory bin with Ice:

Ice cubes are a great way to offer enriching tactile and auditory stimulation to your child. Freeze ice cubes by adding different colors to them. Once frozen, take the ice cubes and help your child stack them into building blocks or float them in water. Allow your child to feel the cold sensation of the ice. You can also fill the sensory bin with ice cubes and rattle the bin to give auditory stimulation.

Sensory bin with Shaving foam:

You can make sandcastles at home to give your child the feel of a beach. To do this, you need play sand and some shaving foam. Help your child mix the play sand and shaving foam and make a sandcastle. This given them rich tactile stimulation and relaxes them.

Sensory bin with Ocean animals:

This is a fun activity to play. Fill the sensory bin with some sand. You can add a bowel with water and play along with your child to put in the ocean animals one by one. You may also add some beach toys, seashells, and toy people playing at the beach. This is a great sensory activity for your child.

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