Autism & Fine Motor Activities

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke states that "Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior." One in every 110 children in the United States has been diagnosed with some form of autism spectrum disorder. Often, children with autism have difficulty developing fine motor skills but with a few specialized activities you can help your child work on his dexterity.

Reward-Based Toys

• Many electronic toys on the market help to develop fine motor skills, including ring stackers, shape sorters and foam boards. These toys may have blinking lights, vibrate, play music or do all three as a reward when your child manipulates the toy correctly. This provides the sensory motivation to keep your child from becoming easily distracted. Many toys speak when certain buttons are pushed, helping your child to learn letters, numbers, colors and other concepts while also fine-tuning motor skills.

Play Dough

• Many fine motor skills can be developed with the use of play dough. Help your child mold large balls with her palms, small pea-sized balls with only her fingertips and long snake-like shapes between her hands or with her hands and a smooth surface. Many autistic children also enjoy squeezing things, which is great for improving forearm strength, so play dough is a perfect choice for this activity. Use tools to manipulate play dough as well. Cut with plastic knives or cookie cutters, make ridged designs with the flat side of a fork, press it onto buttons, fabric and other textures and show the child the designs he created.

Small Tools

• Teach your child to use tools such as plastic tweezers to pick up mini marshmallows, cheerios, and pennies. Use an eye-dropper to suck up colored water and then squeeze it out for painting. Help your child use screwdrivers, such as those in an erector set.

Writing and Drawing

• Your child can begin to learn how to write and draw by finger painting, drawing lines, shapes, numbers and letters with their fingers. Use paints, or get out whipped cream and let your child have some fun. Magnet board drawing toys or large mats that change color with water-tipped pens can help your child learn to grasp and control a pencil.

Modified Toys and Activities

• If your child is easily frustrated by the toys she already has, consider creating similar toys with modifications so that she feels successful, then move on to the more difficult toys. Instead of a lacing board with many holes, make your own home made version out of cardboard, punching three to six holes instead of a dozen. Create your own peg board with plastic water bottles filled with water and glitter that fit into holes in a cardboard box. Fill some small boxes with sand and use these as blocks; they will be easier for your child to stack than regular blocks.