Creating the Perfect Outdoor Learning Space for Your Autistic Child

Did you know that being outside is highly beneficial for kids on the autism spectrum? The outdoors exposes kids to new smells, textures and sounds that can help them deal with everyday sensory stimulation. Being outside is a great way for autistic children to experiment with different sensory experiences at their own pace. However, ensuring the safety of your outdoor space is just as important as making sure it’s welcoming to your child. Follow these tips to create a functional and safe backyard where your child can learn and have fun.

Create Sensory Play Areas

Your backyard is the ideal place to engage your kid with sensory play. This is where your kid can get messy as they experience different textures such as sand and water. You can easily make sensory bins using large, shallow containers like those typically used for food storage. Fill these bins with birdseed, sand, rice, beans or beads. Add tools to the bins so your child can dump, pour and practice their hands-on skills. Sandboxes are wonderful for sensory play since they’re full of interesting textures and allow kids to use their imagination. If you have the time, try creating this DIY water wall by Happy Hooligans. Kids will be fascinated watching and touching the water as it travels down the paths you’ve created.

Keep it Safe

Autistic kids tend to run away or wander, making outdoor play a bit of a source of worry for parents. To put your mind at ease, install fencing with a locking gate surrounding your backyard. Make sure kids cannot climb the fence or undo the latch themselves. You could even install an alarm on the gate to alert you when it opens. Next, take care of any household hazards that exist in your backyard.

For example, pools, fountains and drainage ditches can be dangerous and should either be fenced off or removed. Items such as lawn fertilizers, gas for your lawnmower, or paint should be locked away in a shed or garage. Regardless of how safe you deem your backyard to be, always make sure to supervise your child outside.

Reduce Sensory Overload

The outdoors can be a place of loud noises, especially if your yard is close to a busy road or intersection. Luckily, there are many ways to dampen noise from reaching your backyard. The most effective of these is building a long, tall, solid wall along the source of the noise. You can also create natural sound barriers using vegetation. Though, this works better for temporary sounds rather than constant traffic noise. Plant trees and shrubs densely along your fencing to block sounds from your neighbor’s noisy lawn mower or the occasional passing car. Running water such as a fountain can create soothing white noise that drowns out jarring sounds, which can be distressing to autistic kids. Just make sure these water features are safe for your child.

Plant a Sensory Garden

Sensory gardens can be an inviting place for children to retreat from sensory overload. According to Therapeutic Gardens, sensory gardens help children with autism deal with their hypersensitivity to sensory information. When designing your garden, consider engaging all of the senses. Choose a variety of balanced colors using flowers, stones and gravel. Add grasses, such as Pampas grass that make interesting sounds when the wind blows through them. Gentle wind chimes also can be a nice addition. Choose some plants that release calming scents such as lavender and mint. Finally, plant vegetation with different textures for your kids to touch and feel. For example, Lamb’s-ear plants are fuzzy and soft while African Sundew feels sticky.

Better yet, get your child to help you plant and design your sensory garden. They’ll love digging in the dirt and watching things grow. Just make sure you protect their hands with some good gardening gloves since dirt can harbor bacteria and fungi.

Spending time outdoors is important and beneficial to all children. Just because your kid is on the autism spectrum doesn’t mean they should stay inside all day. Make some simple changes to your backyard space to ensure their safety and design special sensory areas where your kid can develop valuable coping skills.