In this episode, parent Mike Carr shares activities for autistic adults, prioritizing exercise through a treadmill and elliptical, and using older technology like the Wii, a keyboard, and puzzles during bad weather. Redundant devices, including backup computers and iPads, also ensure constant access to entertainment. The environment is designed to be safe and secure, offering a variety of options while minimizing breakage.
How We Keep Our Son with Severe Autism Happy and Safe: What’s Worked for Us
Let me tell you about finding ways to keep our son busy and happy. He has severe autism, and honestly, it’s been quite a journey figuring out what works. It’s not just about keeping him occupied – we need activities that he actually enjoys and that keep him safe. Over the years, we’ve discovered that when we find the right things for him to do, it makes a huge difference. He’s calmer, happier, and just seems more at peace.
I want to share what we’ve learned along the way. From exercise to playing games and music, we’ve come up with some pretty creative solutions. Trust me, we’ve had plenty of trial and error, but these activities have become the backbone of his daily routine.
Exercise: The Unexpected Winner
Never thought exercise would end up being one of his favorite things, but here we are. At first, we weren’t sure how he’d take to physical activities. Most people think of exercise as work, right? But for our son, it’s pure fun – a way to burn off energy and find his calm.
The treadmill was our starting point. Sounds basic, but man, does he love it. Something about that steady walking motion just clicks with him. He’ll walk for ages, sometimes breaking into a run when he feels like it. It’s become his go-to way to chill out.
Then there’s this Olympic simulator he loves. He only uses it for a few minutes at a time, but pretending to be in the Olympics? That gets him excited every time. We’ve learned to roll with his changing attention span – mixing things up keeps it interesting for him.
Basketball and Tech: Getting Creative
Basketball isn’t just a sport for our son – it’s his passion. So we found ways to work it into his daily routine, especially with the treadmill. He loves watching games while he walks. But we hit a snag – he kept trying to touch the TV screen like it was an iPad. Ended up with quite a few broken screens before we figured that one out.
After replacing more TVs than I care to count, we got smart and installed a projector on the ceiling. Now he can watch the games on the wall, way out of reach, and everyone’s happy. He gets his basketball fix while staying active, and we don’t have to worry about broken screens anymore.
Making Tech Work for Us
Regular TV didn’t pan out, but we found other ways to use technology that actually work. The Wii has been great, especially for basketball games. Yeah, it’s old school now, but our son loves it. There’s something about actually moving to play the game that really clicks with him.
We also use iPads for games, puzzles, and helping him communicate. Since we know things might get thrown when he’s frustrated, we always have backups. Multiple iPads and computers, all in super-tough cases – if one breaks, we’ve got another ready to go.
Music: His Happy Place
Music has become one of our son’s greatest sources of joy. He has a deep connection with sound, especially rhythm and repetition. We’ve created several ways for him to engage with music in a way that aligns with his sensory preferences. Small portable music players, like EyeShuffles, are perfect for playing his favorite songs or simple beats. We always keep extras on hand, as they’re easily misplaced or damaged.
Another favorite is the keyboard. He loves experimenting with it, creating his own rhythms and sounds. It’s not just entertainment—it’s a sensory outlet that allows him to express himself. The act of playing with the keyboard calms him, and it’s a fun, safe way for him to explore sound without feeling overwhelmed.
Puzzles: Making Them Work
Puzzles are a hit in our house, but we had to get creative about it. Our son loves doing them, but we have to watch out for the pieces – they can be a choking hazard if they end up in his mouth. So we’ve got the puzzle drawers locked up, and he only gets them with supervision. Keeps things safe and saves us from finding pieces all over the floor.
The best ones are these puzzles that play music when you get them right. That little musical reward when he puts a piece in the right spot? Makes his day.
Basketball: The All-Season MVP
Basketball isn’t just for treadmill time – it’s an everyday thing here. We’ve got an indoor hoop for those days when outside isn’t happening. It makes this cool sound every time he scores, which he absolutely loves. Inside or outside, basketball keeps him moving and happy.
Drums: The Loud but Worth It Option
Sometimes the best outlet is just making noise, you know? We got him some drums, and yes, it can get loud, but it’s worth it. It’s his way of letting out energy and expressing himself.
Fun fact: he sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night and heads straight for the drums. Not great for our sleep schedule, but hey – if that’s how he needs to work through whatever he’s feeling at 2 AM, we’ll take it.
Drumming: The Noisy, Creative Outlet
Sometimes, the best form of entertainment is a little bit messy and loud. We introduced drums into our son’s routine as an outlet for his creativity and energy. Though the noise can be overwhelming, it’s an important form of self-expression for him. The drumming helps him release energy and express himself through sound.
There’s an interesting twist to this: sometimes, in the middle of the night, he wakes up and heads straight for the drums. While it disrupts our sleep, it’s a sign that he’s using sound to communicate and self-regulate. It’s his way of expressing what he’s feeling, even if it’s a bit noisy at 2 a.m.
Always Have a Backup Plan
If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s to always have spares. Extra iPad? Check. Backup basketball hoop? You bet. Another music player? Always. When something breaks or disappears (and it will), having a replacement ready keeps his routine going smooth. We keep things locked up when they’re not being used, just to be safe.
Conclusion: Crafting a Fulfilling and Safe Environment
Creating an engaging and safe environment for our son has been a journey of trial, error, and learning. By combining physical activity, interactive play, music, and sensory engagement, we’ve been able to provide him with a variety of activities that meet his needs and keep him entertained. Above all, we’ve learned that safety and redundancy are key to ensuring he can enjoy his activities without frustration or risk.
Every child with severe autism is different, and what works for one may not work for another. But our story is meant to offer inspiration, showing that with a little creativity and a lot of love, we can design environments that cater to the unique needs of children with autism. We hope these strategies will help others create fulfilling, safe, and engaging spaces for their own children.
Thank you for reading, and we hope our journey serves as a resource in your own path toward creating an environment that is both entertaining and safe for your child.
Transcript
Mike Carr (00:08):
So today we’re going to talk about entertainment and how to keep our severely autistic son entertained. One of the things he likes to do is work out and exercise is actually a form of entertainment for him. Believe it or not. I wish I had that same propensity. So he loves to walk on the treadmill or even run on the treadmill. He’ll also do the Olympic some, but of course after a few minutes he gets bored. So what we have over here is we have a television set so he can watch basketball, which he loves to watch, or if he gets tired of being on the treadmill, he’ll come off the treadmill and we have a Wii, and so he can actually play basketball and do some other things with his old we. Now, some of this is old technology, like the Wes came out in 2009, 2010, but that’s okay.
(00:56):
He loves doing it. It’s inexpensive. And so that’s what we do in the way of entertainment in this space. We also have an indoor basketball hoop, and if the weather’s bad, we have this set up inside. This comes out and stays nice and fixed. He will shoot baskets in here and every time you make it, it has a great sound to it and he loves doing this as an alternative to going outside when the weather’s bad. We also like to let him watch his basketball games on tv, but he thinks a television set is like a touch screen where if he touches it, it’ll do something. So he breaks the TV set. So instead we have a projector up on the roof that he can’t get his hands on. It projects over here onto the wall so he can actually watch his basketball game while he’s sitting at the table.
(01:52):
We had a screen that would come down and give you a clearer picture, but even pound on the screen and break it too. This is a very expensive screen. So instead what we’ve done is we just project right up against the wall. It seems to work just fine and everything keeps them entertained. We also have keyboard that he likes to play, so he’ll get this set up on his table. This will entertain him. We have puzzles that are part of his entertainment regime, so he’ll get all his puzzles out. We keep this locked so he can’t get in there and make a mess, and he ends up throwing puzzle pieces all over the floor if he gets into too many puzzles. Some of these puzzles play music, so if he puts his pieces into the right spot and the battery’s charged, which it isn’t now, he’ll play music and that’ll entertain him.
(02:43):
Also, if he breaks a computer, he has another computer over here with the same games and whatnot on it. We do use iPads, and so he has an iPad with all his icons on it, so we can flip through the screen and communicate with us that way, and also play games and puzzles and whatnot with all kinds of icons and things that he can do on here. But if he breaks the iPad, you’ll notice we have this case on here because throw the iPad across the room. So this case protects the iPad, and we have a second iPad inside here. We also have eye shuffles, so he loves these eye shuffles for music. We have three of these in case he loses one of these. So the idea is redundancy, right? So if we lose a computer, he is got a second computer. If he breaks an iPad, we’ve got a second iPad.
(03:39):
If he breaks a shuffle or if it runs out of battery juice, which it often does, he has an extra shuffle or two, we keep everything locked up so he can’t get into it and cause problems and then end up breaking things. We have another basketball goal here so we can play the baskets and have fun, and the team sport. We have drums, which he enjoys playing with and making a huge racket and waking us up in the night. If he gets up and we don’t know, he’s up at night. We have another basketball on the wall with the timer that you can set. I guess it’s out of batteries too, so we need to improve our battery recharging. But anyway, this whole environment is created with redundancy, so if things break, he can still play and we’ve got things in safe places with locks on it. So while he can entertain himself with multiple things, games, tv, puzzles, music, basketball, he hopefully can do it in a very safe way.
