The Midwest is gearing up for a winter storm this weekend with some areas slated to get more snow than we’ve seen in quite some time. Winter weather can be exciting for kids, but for children with autism it can also cause a disruption to their normal daily routine. It’s important to keep things as structured as possible, but with icy or snowy conditions, it’s sometimes inevitable for changes to occur. Don’t worry, though! There are plenty of opportunities to use the weather to your advantage, using the snow into sensory-friendly activities and teachable moments that help reinforce ABA Therapy related goals.
ABA Skill Practicing During Winter Weather
ABA-friendly skills that can be practiced during a winter weather event include:
Patience: Waiting for the snow to begin (or end!) is the ultimate practice in waiting, a crucial skill in ABA Therapy.
Following Directions: Plan for winter-weather friendly activities (see below for ideas). This gives the opportunity to practice following step-by-step instructions, whether you’re baking snow day treats together or heading outdoors to build a snowman.
Fine Motor Practice: Winter-themed crafts will help your child work on further developing and improving their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Communication and Emotional Awareness: Changes in routine, temperature changes, more time indoors - all of these things can evoke different emotions in children, especially those with autism. This can be a good opportunity to talk about how they are feeling to recognize emotions and a deeper understanding of their feelings. A child-friendly activity that can help with this is to create paper snowflakes with different emotions (write the words and/or create faces to match the emotion on each one). Take turns with the snowflakes talking about what each one means and naming times you each have felt that way.
Expand Vocabulary and Knowledge: A change in weather - especially a big one - is a great opportunity to learn about the concepts of weather and seasons while introducing new vocabulary words. You can create flashcards with appropriately themed words, such as “snow,” “ice,” “sled,” etc. Download a set here to print and cut out to use!
Sensory Friendly Winter Activities
Snow days are a great opportunity to enhance learning and to have fun together! Consider implementing one or more of the following sensory friendly winter activities to make the snow days more fun for the whole family!
Outdoors:
Snow Painting: Fill spray bottles with different colors of water. Bundle up and head outside for some snow painting! This fun activity allows for creativity in the snow without directly touching the snow!
Snow Treasure Hunt: Designate a small area outside and hide colored items throughout the snow (think toy animals, cars, blocks). Create a visual checklist of the items to be found and send your explorer on their way! This is a great way to explore the snow without too much overwhelming sensory input.
Build a Snowman: If the snow is conducive to building, this is a great way to practice multi-step directions and use their creativity to create the face, arms and clothing options.
Snow Walk: If conditions are safe enough, take a short walk through the neighborhood. Snow can muffle sound and create a peaceful, quiet environment that looks vastly different than normal circumstances. It’s a great way to get physical activity, see the effects of nature and compare to what you’d usually see on a walk.
Indoors:
Snow Sensory Bin: Bring the snow indoors! Grab a clean tub and haul some of that snow inside. Use spoons or plastic shovels to give your child a chance to play with the snow in a warm, cozy and familiar environment. Add small toys, build a mini-snowman or build a tiny igloo. The possibilities are endless!
Snow Dough: If the idea of real snow is too color or too messy, create a sensory-friendly alternative! Make snow dough by mixing cornstarch and unscented conditioner. For a calming effect, add a few drops of an essential oil such as lavender.
Hot Cocoa Calming Station: A big snow storm can create a mix of emotions and feelings in a child with autism. Create a cozy calm-down station with hot cocoa, marshmallows and other favored toppings, calming music and a favorite blanket.
Snow Ice Cream: Is it even a proper snow storm if you don’t make snow ice cream?
Ingredients: 8 cups of fresh, clean snow / 1 cup of milk / 1/3 cup sugar / 1 tsp vanilla extract / optional: toppings.
Directions: Gather the snow in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, sugar and vanilla until the sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture over the snow and gently fold it in until it seems like ice cream! If it’s too runny, add in more snow. Serve immediately! Don’t forget toppings like sprinkles or chocolate syrup if you’d like! (Download and print this visual checklist for your child to help through the process)
Learn More About ABA Therapy
Hopefully these ideas give you plenty to do on your upcoming snow days! One of the great things about ABA Therapy is that it can easily be incorporated into any situation to create or improve life skills without even feeling like it. If you’re interested in learning more about ABA Therapy, including how to receive services from Bloom Behavioral Healthcare, contact us today!
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