Children with autism (ASD) find some types of play difficult. It’s common for them to have very limited play, isolated play, or play in a repetitive way.
Repetitive movement of objects is among the first signs of autism to emerge in toddlers (research suggests). It was one of the earlier differences we noticed in Franklin compared to his sister.
Play is an integral part of child development. Through play, children learn vital social skills. Autism can affect the development of these important play skills – like the ability to copy simple actions, to respond to others, to share with others, or the desire not to play solitary. Franklin needs help and support developing his play skills. They do not develop naturally for him.
He often sits in our sandpit and pours sand repetitively from one container to another. Here’s a video from Sunday (see link below) – Before I pressed record, Tabitha was skipping (noisily and attention seekingly!) directly behind him for a good 15 minutes but he was so engrossed in the repetitive play he didn’t turn to look.
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Spinning in Circles 