Fun and Engaging Activities to Reinforce ABA Skills at Home

Applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy) helps to support children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a variety of ways. The treatment plan is extremely customizable, with its success being determined by the fact that ABA therapy is personalized to each individual child’s unique strengths and challenges.

ABA therapists work hand-in-hand with children on the autism spectrum to help support them in whatever ways they need. Typically, this includes helping them to learn new skills so they can improve communication and social interaction, as well as reduce problematic behaviors such as aggression and self-injurious behaviors.

A lot of time during ABA therapy sessions is spent with the child interacting directly with the therapist — whether it be in a clinical or home-based setting. A major aspect of ABA therapy is integrating parents, caregivers and other family members into the process so that they can help reinforce the skills in real-world settings.

This treatment for children with ASD is most successful when those around them at home are able to support them in similar ways in which they are supported during therapy sessions. Luckily, there are many fun and engaging activities you can do to reinforce ABA therapy skills at home.

Here are some examples.

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Matching Games

A great way to teach children with autism is by playing matching games. This game can be played to help them learn colors, letters, animals, words and more.

There are a few ways that you can play this game with your child at home. You can get a game where there are cards with different pictures, letters or colors on them, and work with your child to match them to other cards.

You don’t have to have anything official like this to play, though. You can use objects around your home, such as your child’s toys, to help them identify and match colors, for instance.

Using Toys

Your child’s toys can also be used to teach them a variety of other ABA therapy skills. Depending on what behavior or skill you’re trying to target, you could create a fun and engaging activity for them to do at home.

For instance, you could use building blocks to work on your child’s motor skills. These can also be helpful when reinforcing skills such as patience, overcoming adversity, managing emotions, sharing and more.

Other useful toys in this regard could be puzzles or Playdough. Working with your child’s ABA therapist, you can come up with different ways to use these toys in a fun and effective way.

Modeling Videos

Modeling is a very effective strategy for teaching children on the autism spectrum new skills. At home, you can do some of this modeling yourself, but you can also rely on videos to help your child learn.

There are many videos available online that can help your child learn how to greet people, how to express their emotions appropriately, how to use utensils to eat, how to make a request and so much more.

Your child may be drawn to watching videos, which will instantly engage them in learning. They’ll see another person modeling the skill or behavior for them, and then have a chance to practice those skills and/or exhibit those behaviors themselves.

Learn more about video modeling

Sorting Items

A great way to teach practical life skills is by playing sorting games. You can find cards or illustrated boards of different rooms in your home as well as the items one might typically find in those rooms.

Many toy stores have these materials nowadays, but they can also be found online. You will use them as a great visual aid for your child so that they understand more easily what you are doing.

Then, you can help your child to match items that they see on the cards or board with actual items in that room. It’s almost like a real-world “I Spy” game that your child can play.

This game will help them work on similar skills to the matching games, plus it will help them apply those skills to actual real-world scenarios.

Blue Gems ABA Works with Parents to Reinforce Skills

A big part of the success of ABA therapy is parental involvement. That’s why parents, caregivers and other family members are involved in the therapy process, so they can learn how they can best reinforce skills learned during sessions in real-world scenarios

At Blue Gems ABA, we always involve parents and others into our ABA therapy sessions, providing them with information, education, tools and strategies they can use to work with their child at home. The great part about this is that there are many fun and engaging activities to reinforce ABA therapy skills at home, making it an enjoyable way for everyone to learn and interact.

To learn more, please contact us today.