As much as parents don’t like to see their children struggle in social interactions, neither do the children. Thankfully, there are many ways to improve social skills in children with autism. You can significantly improve your child’s social skills with patience, understanding, and encouragement. Below are four ways to practice socialization with family and friends at home.

Practice Play With Your Child

You can practice play with your child by acting out scenes with toys and figures. For example, if your child is going to the doctor, sit down with their toys and act out Batman and Spider-Man visiting the doctor’s office. This can also help your child follow the rules and learn how to take turns with their peers.

Using practice play with different scenarios will help your child learn how to appropriately utilize their social skills in various environments.

Role-Play

Role-playing playdates and exhibiting desired and undesired behaviors are additional ways to prepare your child for social interaction. This will help ease any stress or anxiety your child may show before going somewhere unfamiliar. Through role-play, your child will become more comfortable interacting with others or performing new tasks.

Toss a Bean Bag

One of the best ways to improve social skills in children with autism is by playing a game. Bean bag toss is a great tool for promoting socialization in all children. This game offers clear communication through social cues like a head nod or extending hands for the bean bag and is rewarding by having it tossed to them.

You can even remix this into an improv story-telling game. When the bean bag gets tossed to you, you must continue the story. Or, each time you throw the bean bag to your child, they must mimic an animal sound. Using a bean bag is a great way to practice non-verbal social cues.

Allow Your Child To Take the Lead

Sometimes allowing your child to take the lead is the best way to improve their social skills. Too much interaction with unfamiliar people in unfamiliar environments can become overwhelming. For this to be a positive experience, promote socialization by allowing your child to take the lead during games or group activities. They can control the situation by being in charge—stopping when they need to and interacting at their own pace.

Take Advantage of Technology

Using technology offers newer opportunities and techniques to children with autism. Even if the child has excellent motor skills, hearing, and vision, they can use their mobile device or tablet to communicate more effectively. Many applications convert text and symbols to sound to help your child communicate demands and desires.

At HANDS for Autism, we are passionate about helping children diagnosed with autism and their families get the support they need to achieve a new normal. We offer ABA therapy in North Carolina and have an excellent team that can provide personalized treatment and strategies to ensure your child gets the tools to help them thrive. Contact us today for additional information or questions!