The idea
At lets unite for Autism our vision is to design, develop and create opportunities that enable children, no matter what their ability to play together.
We believe in the social model of disability. In other words, disability is a socially created problem and it is up to all of us to make the environmental changes necessary to allow for the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of social life. With this in mind, we strive to create completely unique play sessions that punctuate, not define a play space, embracing the true meaning of inclusion.
Special activities, also known as inclusive play, are designed for Autistic kids with the right playground equipment that promotes inclusiveness and comfort. These sessions are backed by independent research and are designed on the basis of guidelines developed by leaders in the field of inclusive design, which confirm that children with autism may do best in structured environments, characteristic of inclusive playgrounds.
What we'll deliver
- Inclusive Play for chidren of all abilites
Why it's a great idea
Playing is an important developmental tool for Autistic children. It could significantly improve the child’s language, social skills and certain cognitive capacities, moreover, play involving sensory activities, including the five main senses of the human body-sight, smell, touch, taste and sound, along with balancing vestibular sense and proprioceptive sense, which includes the relation of one body part with other body parts, can help autistic children naturally understand the scientific processes of investigating, creating, playing and exploring.Autistic young people do best in structured environments, characteristic of inclusive play and what makes these really special is the fact that they address the needs of every child as a whole, encouraging more group playPlay is more than leaving a child to play with toys, the root of play is social interaction and engagement with peoplePlay helps children to develop important skills that they will need for the rest of their lives.
Steps to get it done
- Getting the project off the ground by making sure the children have had visual timetable of activities happening
- Transition programme by visit to the sports hall to familiarise themselves with the new environment
- Introducing the children to all Adults who they will be interacting with to make it easy for smooth transition
Play takes many different forms and there are many different patterns of play including:
1. Attunement play: This is the basic grounding for play and involves a backwards and forwards interaction between the child and the adult. This form of play also supports emotional regulation.
2. Body play and movements: This play includes leaping, climbing, crawling and jumping. It helps prepare the brain and ready the child for the unexpected and unusual. Interestingly, children with autism often do not engage in this form of play and have difficulties with dealing with unexpected change.
3. Object play: Manipulating objects in different ways such as bouncing the ball, this type of play leads to the development of sound problem-solving skills.
4. Social Play: This includes rough and tumble play and celebratory play. This type of play leads to the development of social awareness, co-operation, self-esteem and pride.
5. Imaginative and pretend play. This play leads to the development of mind
