A child maintains any ability and socialization to be with friends, to be able to play and to communicate. If your child is autistic, he probably has the same mastery, it just takes that little push to help you communicate with your environment. Generally people with autism they find a threatening world, where everything that surrounds them is overstimulated.
It should be noted that an autistic child has another form of communication, he maintains another perception of his environment and therefore acts with a different front. They are children with what you can interact, although they only have functional diversity. If their skills are worked with great care, great advances can be created so that the child feels more self-sufficient.
How to play and entertain an autistic child?
Autistic children require explicit organization and routine activities every day. They cannot interpret that now is the time to do something that has suddenly arisen, but they must be taught that if something suddenly arises, it must be accepted like any other.
In order to develop certain skills it is important know the interest and taste of each child. It will also depend on the age and level of development, where you can contribute to activities and games depending on their resources, the simpler, the better. You have to see if the child learns much better with sight, sound or touch.
How we must act so that an autistic child wants to play
Adults must create that bond with the child, that he feels sure that he is going to establish that game and communication with all confidence. The games that most attract their attention are sensorimotor and body contact, as long as they are fun and of interest to the child. The toys that prevail and with which they like to interact are puzzles and simple crafts. In activities where they have to use textures it is better to introduce them little by little.
Act quickly. make the child pay attention with any game to be practiced. The sequence of the moment must be motivating and present it as a fun experience. You have to ensure that what you are going to play with is fun and have a beginning and an end.
We will speak to you in a calm voice and direct and simple words, we will introduce you to a toy, we will invite you to visualize how it works and we will stop for a while to register it in your head. If the child asks you to resume the activity, it is because he likes it, and now you must invite him to interact with the object. We will try have no background noises or anything to distract you and hinder the moment. Do not use confusing words or phrases, or confusing messages, as jokes that she cannot understand.
If the game has levels it is not necessary to raise the dexterity gradually like any child would. Children with an autism spectrum require hours and hours with the same ability to play (repetition play). Much later we will be able to require in raise that level when necessary. On the other hand, there are children who require a great interest in certain things and create a strong bond, especially with number games or with objects with many curious details.
The fact that they have to interact with other people who are not from their environment it may seem complicated to you. They do not know how to understand another person's point of view and that is why they cannot act in a predictable way to be able to anticipate events that will occur. Nor can you follow a conversation in great detail unless you are passionate about the topic at hand, and your tone of voice may seem different or strange.
The purpose of playing with them is to let them know they learn to interact with people. An adult can guide you with all the necessary guidelines to advance your communication through the game. The fact that an adult does it will be much better for that they learn how to imitate them. Music is one of the best resources to enhance the capacities of these children and they can do so through music therapy.