Meaningful activity can be helpful for maintaining physical fitness, as well as improving well-being and combatting depression, anxiety and loneliness. It can even help improve the quality of sleep. The main aim of involving people in meaningful activities is to help promote independence and increase their fulfilment in life, whilst teaching life skills that further promote independence if the person moves into accommodation where they may not have round the clock support.
Managing money and finances can be difficult for people at the best of times. For autistic people this is no different and can be an often overlooked skill for parents to teach their children. As with many life skills it is important to engrain this skill early in the person’s life. There are a variety of strategies to help teach good monetary skills, some of these activities can be introduced early in the child’s life, and will help to instil a sense of the value of items, and general money management:
get the child or person to pay for things in a shop. Make sure the shop is somewhere where they are comfortable and, if possible, work with a cashier they have already met. Also consider the time of day, as if the shop is busy this activity may lead to stress for the child as well as other shoppers
give the child an allowance. This will mean they will have their own level of independence when deciding what to spend the allowance on. Remember to work with the child to come up with a ‘dream’ purchase, so they have a goal to aim for
setting up a bank account for the child is a good idea as this introduces the banking system, and with the advent of online banking, it has become easier than ever to introduce this without the stress of taking the person into a branch.
Autistic people tend to have special interests, this can be anything ranging from music or art, to buses or computers. Anyone caring for an autistic person should make use of these interests to build trust. They can be used to engage the person, especially when it comes to something they may not be very interested in. For example, placing the person’s special interest into a daily visual timetable may help them relate to their day better, this shows that value has been placed in both the person and their interests. It may also increase their engagement with other activities as they know when there is time for them to be involved with their special interest.
Sometimes special interests do need to be managed, but be careful not to take them away from the autistic person as it will induce anxiety and may make the situation more difficult. Remember that many special interests can be made very useful. For example, an interest in computers could lead to a career in IT, or an interest in certain sounds could be turned into an interest in music by gifting the person a keyboard or a guitar to emulate the sound.
For some autistic people, taking on new skills can be a daunting task and can often take a long time. It is important to teach autistic people skills from an early age, to ensure that they are equipped and prepared for adult life. Some of the skills have already been covered in this section; however, there is more to promoting independence.
Providing autistic people with training for various skills may not be the only way to promote independence, making small changes throughout their day-to-day life can also help. For example, strengthening communication skills by making a game out of asking for a drink or letting people know when they are hungry. If possible, helping the person complete tasks, such as household chores, not only creates a valuable life skill but also provides an activity that can be made into a regular occurrence to instil a sense of routine.
Technology can often be harnessed to make the life of autistic people easier. For example, Google Maps can be a way to introduce a journey to an autistic person. By using the street view, they can begin to build a picture of what the journey will look like. Likewise, task planning and calendar apps help to create a sense of manageable routine, that also gives the person the choice to input the events and keep on top of their own activities. Online shopping can also help promote independence by removing the unpredictability of being out in public.
Many smart devices now also have apps for communication, so if the person is non-verbal, they may be able to use an app to help them communicate with others. These apps usually use symbols or pictures which produce the appropriate sound when tapped. Although relatively easy to use, their use will be dependent on the ability of the autistic person.