Welcome to "Playful Possibilities: Everyday Items, Endless Fun," where we explore creative ways to use everyday household items to foster learning and interaction for young autistic children. In this article, we'll dive into the surprising potential of pillows and how these items can be used to create fun, interactive play experiences. By incorporating Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) strategies, we'll show you how to enhance attention, boost motivation, and support social engagement using this simple household item.
The Power of Everyday Play
Pillows are often underrated as play items, yet they provide endless opportunities for open-ended, imaginative play. When paired with NDBI strategies, they become a valuable tool for developing foundational social and communication skills. Let’s explore how this simple, everyday object can foster meaningful connections through interactive play.
1. Toss and Catch
Description: Use different sized soft pillows that you have around the house. Take turns catching and throwing the pillows with the child.
Learning Opportunities: This activity helps support back and forth social interactions, as you take turns throwing and catching the pillows together, coordinating eye gaze and orienting towards one another. It’s also a great way to support gross motor skills (e.g., jumping, throwing, hopping, running, etc.)
NDBI Strategies: Try working as a team by setting a goal to catch the pillow a certain number of times in a row. Celebrate each successful throw and catch together to strengthen cooperation. Encourage the child to orient their body towards you before each throw by saying something like, "Ready, Set, Throw! This strengthens social connections and helps with nonverbal communication. Describe your actions and the child's as you play. For example, "I’m throwing the pillow to you—ready, catch!" or "Wow, you caught it!" This helps build joint attention and supports language development. Use silly sound effects, make silly noises, or animate your facial expressions to dial up the fun!
2. Pillow Pathway
Description: Place the pillows on the floor to create a pathway to walk on for the ‘Floor is Lava’ game. You can follow the child as they lead the way on the path, or encourage them to follow you as you navigate to ‘safety.’
Learning Opportunities: This activity helps support imitation, gestures, and receptive communication skills.
NDBI Strategies: Exaggerate your actions as you walk on the pillows. Extend your arms out to the side to balance and encourage the child to do the same (imitation). You can pause and look expectantly at the child before hopping from one pillow to the next. You can have the child direct you where to go, by following their point. Take turns jumping from pillow to pillow. Ask the child which pillow they want to go to next, then wait for their response or gesture; this encourages communication and social reciprocity. Introduce teamwork by suggesting both of you cross the “lava” together or by holding hands while jumping between pillows; this fosters connection and cooperation. Encourage brief moments of eye contact by making playful faces or giving cues like, “Phew! We made it!” to strengthen social interactions.
3. Pillow Fight
Description: Some children enjoy rough-and-tumble play, which provides an excellent opportunity to promote social interaction, coordinate eye contact, and support communication. You can use soft pillows to gently bump the child or toss them in a dodgeball-style game to keep the play fun and engaging.
Learning Opportunities: This game enhances anticipation and focus as the child prepares for the next pillow throw or gentle hit. A pillow fight not only builds excitement but also promotes social engagement as the child learns to take turns, follow cues, and react to the playful challenge. Coordinating eye contact before each throw or hit encourages joint attention, while narrating actions like, "Here comes the pillow!" adds to communication and shared enjoyment.
NDBI Strategies: Provide verbal hints or gestures that the pillow is coming their way. You can say, “Uh oh” or “Oh, no” to see if they will look in your direction before you gently throw the pillow to get them. Exaggerate your actions. When they hit you with the pillow or throw it at you, fall down to the ground, make silly sounds, or laugh. You can model short phrases “Got you!” “Fall down” or “Oopsie!” that the child can imitate. You can take turns running around the room, encouraging the child to watch and follow your movements before trying to catch you. This helps build attention and coordination, making the game both fun and interactive.
Enhancing Attention - While throwing the pillows at each other (pillow fight), you can make silly anticipatory sounds each time before the child throws the pillow. This is a great way to build anticipation, and sustain engagement with the child. You can move the pillow in an exaggerated and playful manner, making a big show of getting ready to throw it slowly. This gives the child more time to watch you, share laughs, and build excitement as they anticipate the big moment.
Boosting Motivation - For some children, the big event for the activity can be highly motivating (e.g., they make it safely to the end of the pillow path, catch the pillow, hit you with the pillow etc.). For other children, they might need you to try other strategies to help maintain social motivation during the activity. If they enjoy throwing items up in the air and watching them fall, you can have them lay down on the floor, stand above them, and throw the pillow up so it falls gently down on top of them. If the child enjoys being chased, you can try to catch them as they walk along the pillow path. Pretend they're too fast, and act as though you're just about to grab their shirt or arm. Many children will find this incredibly funny and will frequently look back to see how close you're getting, encouraging social engagement and playful interaction.
Supporting Social Engagement - During the toss and catch game, you can enhance social engagement by pretending to almost drop the pillow after you catch it, jump up to catch it so you don’t miss it, or create other silly ways to help the child orient towards our actions. During the pillow pathway game, hold hands with the child and navigate the path together so that you don’t fall into the ‘lava.’ Take turn hopping, stomping, or skipping pillows to get across the path. Watch the child and follow their lead, copy their actions, and encourage them to copy your ideas. During the pillow fight activity, gently hold onto the pillow and pretend that it’s stuck, inviting the child to help you pull it free. Share excited glances, make silly sounds, and continually create opportunities for the child to engage with you throughout the activity.
Conclusion
The charm of using pillows (and other everyday household items) lies in their low-cost, accessible nature, making them effective tools for igniting creativity and social engagement in young autistic children. By integrating NDBI strategies, such as providing choices, matching your energy to the child's, and expressing excitement during play, these simple items transform into powerful catalysts for learning and interaction. Keep an eye out for more inventive ways to promote fun and learning in our "Playful Possibilities" series! Whether it’s pillows, laundry baskets, or other household items, the possibilities for play and connection are truly limitless.
Check out this handout for more Playful Possibilities!
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