The autistic children I have worked with are usually not lacking in creative ideas and artistic creativity. But when it comes to collaborating with others on a creative endeavor, they can get confused and frustrated without adult guidance and clear cooperation rules to follow.
This printable activity sets up a one-page drawing and writing activity that two kids on the spectrum have to complete jointly. Each group of two children, in either a social skills group or a classroom setting, are instructed to invent, name, describe and jointly draw a pizza together. It’s hard, but fun, and in my own work children usually like it.
It’s important to go over these cooperation rules carefully ahead of time and to practice aloud the specific “cooperation language.”
I have used this cooperative drawing activity with children age 8 right up to young adult.
In my experience, some kids need very close supervision in completion of this project, as they may highly value their own ideas and find it jarring and offensive to have someone else draw on “my pizza.”
This activity is frequently downloaded from my website.
More collaborative drawing tasks for children on the spectrum – see below.
There are lots more great ways to help pairs and groups of kids with ASD to practice cooperation and creating things together. I have a whole section on this for you to explore: See “Collaborative drawing tasks for social learning” for information and ideas, like the one shown above.
In this engaging set of activities, children explore how they all “fit together” as a group or a class even though they are all different.
The download provides a variety of puzzle sheets. You can either cut them out, or not, depending on how much prep time you have.
The completed, cut-out puzzle pieces can be fitted together by the children on the floor or on the wall. It also makes an attractive and meaningful wall display.
You can introduce the activity using words something like this:
“When we are part of a group, we have to learn how we all fit together. Fitting together well means knowing how you are like the other people and how you are different from them.”
I hope you enjoy this social skills activity for children with (and without) autism.
NOTE: For an updated variation of this activity with the option of drag-and-drop images in PowerPoint, follow this link to “Problem & Solution Cards” below:
Many children with autism spectrum disorders are quite fond of fantasy characters. Social skill teaching interventions which employ fantasy characters can tap into these predilections, increase insight and sustain interest in the social skills teaching work.
These “Dark Force – Light Force” social skills worksheets are a great way to help children and teens with ASD’s to think about issues affecting them and possible solutions.
Many children can be engaged in learning activities quickly if we employ imagination to capture and sustain their interest.
Why bother to incorporate imagination and art into social skills work with kids on the spectrum?
1. Children with ASD lose stamina in social skills work if we don’t lighten it up a little. Think about it. Many are in for years of listening to people like us scrutinize and edify them.
2. Children with Asperger’s and other autism spectrum disorders very often have a special fondness for fantasy worlds.
3. Children with ASD often do much better identifying problems if we employ a strategic, indirect approach to it. If you ask a child on the spectrum, “Are there ever any problems with changes or dealing with new schedules and routines?”, the child might answer “No, not really.” But if you show the same child a picture of Rock Brain (from Social Thinking) or Rigidity (a Ryuu character), and ask, “Do these characters ever cause any problems for you?”, you will very often get a completely different answer.
Drawing worksheets, based on fantasy characters, to explore social skills challenges in kids with ASD
Start by introducing social skills fantasy character kits such as the two introduced in Part 1 of this blog series.
Then, to introduce the drawing activity, you can try using language like this:
“No one is perfect. Almost everyone has lots of problems. There is a very important kind of smartness called “insight.” That means, you are able to look inside yourself to see what things you are good at and also what things are hard for you. People who have lots of “insight” are especially good at noticing what problems they have.
I wonder which of you kids is going to be good at knowing what your problems are?
To find out, we are going to do a fun and challenging drawing activity. Here is how to do it. Think of a problem that you are working on. Now, give it a name, and think about what it might look like if it were actually alive! Draw a picture of it on the Dark Force sheet and write about it in the blank on that page.
Next, think about how you could work on that problem. Imagine that this “Light Force” is also a creature with a name. Write down the name of this Light Force, draw a picture of it, and then write about it on that page.”
The worksheets are are designed to be completed in pairs, with a “Light Force” opposing a “Dark Force”
You can suggest these possible categories below before the kids start inventing and drawing.
1. Dealing with anger
2. Dealing with worries
3. Dealing with sadness
4. Calming down your body. This could cover hyperactivity, or else finding appropriate places and times to stim.
5. Getting along with others. This could cover cooperation, conflict avoidance, concern for others, friendship skills.
6. Spending too much time alone
7. Trouble being organized
8. Talking too loud or too soft
9. Talking too much about what YOU like
How to print out the worksheets:
Click on the red PDF link at the top of this blog post.
