Should Adults with AUTISM engage in Sensory Games?

WHAT IS AUTISM?

Autism is a Neurodevelopmental condition. In the International Classification of Diseases, Autism is described as repeated deficits in initiating, sustaining, and requiting social interactions and communication. It also involves rigid, repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. These may cause problems in personal, familial, social, educational, occupational, or any other role in all kinds of environments.

WHAT ARE SENSORY GAMES?

Sensory Games include games that engage your senses, such as sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, joint position, or movement. Sensory games help you interact with the environment in a calming way, helping the nervous system relax. This also helps you feel safe in your environment. If done in a group, they can be a conversation starter.

Sensory games are an essential component in the therapeutic toolkit for adults with autism. These games can provide numerous benefits, including enhancing sensory processing, improving social skills, and reducing anxiety. They are designed to engage the senses,  in a structured and enjoyable way. Some simple sensory games include jigsaw puzzles, gardening, quiet walks, organizing beads, sensory bins, stacking blocks, gentle massage, making a potpourri, baking, painting, listening to wind chimes, and water-based games. A scrapbook with different leaves and flowers can also help as a memory game. For adults with autism, who may experience sensory sensitivities or seeking behaviors, these games offer a safe and controlled environment to explore and integrate sensory experiences.

HOW DO THESE AFFECT PEOPLE WITH AUTISM?

Crucially, when playing with another in a competitive or collaborative game, the experience affords practice and development of expertise, including communication, perspective change, emotional regulation, emotional recognition, and sportsmanship. Games also offer the occasion to engage in joint attention and standard action with other social agents, as players imitate other mates’ play actions to encourage everyday engagement (Eckerman and Stein, 1990).

Benefits of Sensory Games

1. Improved Sensory Processing: Sensory games help individuals process and respond to sensory information more effectively. This can reduce sensory overload and improve daily functioning.
2. Enhanced Motor Skills: Many sensory activities involve fine and gross motor skills, aiding in coordination and dexterity.
3. Increased Social Interaction: Group sensory games can foster social skills by encouraging communication, cooperation, and shared experiences.
4. Reduced Anxiety: Engaging in sensory activities can have a calming effect, helping to manage anxiety and stress.
5. Cognitive Development: Sensory play can also stimulate cognitive functions, such as problem-solving, memory, and attention.

Many games are being built to engage people with autism, both children and adults, to help them improve communication and learn different social skills for interaction. This is an alternative approach used with therapy. Pretending play during activities also helps correct false beliefs or rigid thought patterns. Games like multi-round trust games or games involving social scenarios can build social learning.2

Sensory Games in Online Sessions at Kikstart Rehabilitation

At Kikstart Rehabilitation, we have embraced the digital era by incorporating sensory games into our online Occupational therapy sessions. Here’s how we do it:

1. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): Using VR and AR technologies, we create immersive environments that can simulate various sensory experiences. These tools allow participants to engage in interactive scenarios that they might find challenging in the real world, helping them to gradually acclimate to different sensory stimuli.
2. Interactive Sensory Apps: We utilize a variety of apps designed for sensory engagement. These apps include activities that involve visual tracking, auditory discrimination, and tactile exploration, making them suitable for a range of sensory needs.
3. Online Sensory Workshops: Our online workshops are designed to be interactive and hands-on. We send participants sensory kits that they can use during the session. These kits might include textured materials, scented items, or objects that produce different sounds, allowing participants to engage with sensory activities in real-time with the guidance of our therapists.
4. Guided Sensory Activities: During live sessions, our therapists lead participants through guided sensory activities. These might include deep pressure exercises, rhythmic movements, or sensory mindfulness practices, all of which can be adapted to suit individual preferences and sensory profiles.
5. Collaborative Sensory Projects: We encourage collaborative projects where participants can work together virtually. This might involve creating sensory art, participating in sensory storytelling, or engaging in group sensory games. These activities promote social interaction while allowing participants to explore their sensory preferences.
6. Personalized Sensory Plans: Each participant receives a personalized sensory plan tailored to their specific needs and preferences. Our therapists work closely with individuals to identify sensory activities that are most beneficial for them, ensuring that each session is effective and enjoyable.

Conclusion

Sensory games are a valuable tool for supporting adults with autism, offering a range of benefits from improved sensory processing to enhanced social skills. At Kikstart Rehabilitation, we integrate these games into our online Occupational therapy sessions, using innovative technologies and personalized approaches to create engaging and therapeutic experiences. By providing a variety of sensory activities, we help our participants to thrive in a sensory-rich world, all from the comfort of their own homes.

All in all, adults should engage in sensory games. Sensory stimulation helps them channel their energy and stay in tune with their surroundings. It also helps them increase positive emotions and live a more enriching life. Sensory games also give them time to pause from fulfilling expectations and have something familiar, thus strengthening the existing neuronal pathways.

References

1. Eckerman C. O., Stein M. R. (1990). How imitation begets imitation and toddlers’ generation of games. Dev. Psychol. 26, 370–378. 10.1037/0012-1649.26.3.370
2. Cornelius Maurera, Valerian Chambona, Sacha Bourgeois-Girondeab, Marion Leboyercd, Tiziana Zalla. The influence of prior reputation and reciprocity on dynamic trust-building in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder. Cognition Volume 172, March 2018, Pages 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.11.007