Managing Autism - A Personal View

Jack’s favourite place (other than in front of the Playstation) would have to be in the garden.  As do many children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jack has sensory likes and dislikes, and it has been important to us to provide spaces where he (and Annie) would feel really comfortable.  Over a number of years we have worked on creating a ’sensory playground’ for the kids.  And we have also created spaces that would provide opportunites to develop motor skills, as well as let off energy and be heaps of fun!

So we thought we’d share with you a little of ‘Jack’s Place’…..

This is Jack’s ‘running track’, his place to throw and kick balls, and his place to just ‘be him’.  Jack likes having wide open space around him (which is quite ironic considering one of the issues we are dealing with at the moment is recognising other people’s need for personal space).  This is the area where Jack can move freely - he most often runs here (we do laps every afternoon) but rolling around on the ground is also a favourite activity.  Jack loves the feel of grass under his feet, so this is the perfect place for lots of games.

This is a place where Jack goes to hide from the world.  If things get too much for him, or he wants a quiet place to sit, this is often where we will find him (sometimes curled up with the cat).

The play equipment in the ‘kids space’ has been wonderful for Jack.  It has helped him learn and experience climbing, balance and motion (there is also the trampoline and swing set that get a constant workout).

And we are very lucky for Gran and Pa’s contributions to the playground area!

These butterflies have a special place in the ‘kids garden’.  Both kids love to sit and watch the wings flap in the breeze - and if the wind isn’t blowing, they pick them up and flutter them around themselves.  This can be a really calming activity.

This is Jack’s strawberry bush.  Over time Jack has shown a real interest in the practical side of gardening.  He loves digging his hands in the dirt, and looking for worms and bugs in the soil (we’ve found this can keep him entertained for hours!!!).  So the strawberry bush is his contribution to the garden, and he waters it and looks after it all by himself.

This photo shows some of Jack’s favourite textures in the garden.  As we’ve already mentioned, Jack loves the feeling of grass under his feet, but he also loves the texture of the tiny little pebbles on the paths, and the bark chips which lie under the play equipment.

This last photo shows one of Jack’s favourite places to sit and ponder life.  He sits himself on the rocks and plays with his plastic frogs in the bird bath.  He really loves the water play, and again this activity can keep him entertained for a long time.  He tips and pours and squirts the water - it’s a very relaxing place for him to be.

So that’s it for the tour of Jack’s favourite place!  We’d love to hear of others’ favourite sensory spaces to be…

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 9th, 2007 at 6:31 am and is filed under Jack's Stories, Sensory Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.