Autumn Leaves & Sensory Ease: Using Nature to Regulate the Senses
Autumn is one of the four seasons with a natural setting to build various skills, including sensory input (Flourishing Lives, 2023). Different sensory inputs during the autumn season include smelling cinnamon and pumpkin, hearing leaves crunch, and feeling the vibrantly colored leaves on the ground (Flourishing Lives, 2023). Read more for some great autumn activities your child can participate in and the skills they are developing!
Skills Gained during Autumn
There are a variety of skills gained as your child participates in autumn activities, such as:
Gross motor
Fine motor
Muscle strength
Balance
Sensory input
Hand-eye coordination
Bilateral coordination
(AASL, 20218)
Activities for Autumn Season
Outside Activities
Jump into a leaf pile: This can help with big movements such as rolling, jumping, running, stomping, and crawling in and out of the leaf pile. It also gives tactile, proprioceptive, and vestibular input.
Take a walk: This can be an excellent opportunity to work on visual scanning to search for different colored leaves, acorns, stones, and sticks. Your child can also implement other sensory inputs, such as auditory (to hear birds chirping or the leaves crunching while walking) or interoception (as they feel the cool, crisp air and may need to dress in warm layers before going out for a walk).
Hayride/wagon rides: Autumn festivals or orchards are great places for the entire family to join in on a hayride or a wagon ride at home when going for a walk. This can help provide vestibular input with uneven surfaces. Other sensory input can also be implemented when looking at the colored leaves, hearing the sound of leaves, or smelling the different autumn scents while in motion.
(Beck, 2016; Tools To Grow, 2022)
Indoor Activities
Apple Stamping: Cut an apple in half, paint any color on the half of the apple, and have your child stamp on a piece of paper. This is a great way to practice tactile, proprioceptive, and visual sensory input. Stick a fork on the back side of the apple to help create an easy grip.
Orange-themed snack: To help your child explore a variety of foods and increase sensory input, put together an autumn-themed snack. Your child can try a wide range of orange foods, such as pumpkin, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, mangoes, carrots, and oranges. This variety will provide a rich sensory experience for your child.
Apple Tasting: Did you know there are over 7,000 types of apples worldwide, with over 2,500 in the United States (Stephen’s Place, n.d.)? This interesting fact can be a great conversation starter as you and your child try different types of apples! This activity can help stimulate some of the sensory systems, such as gustatory, olfactory, tactile, and auditory. Your child could then talk or write down their experience when they took a bite of the apple, turning it into a fun learning opportunity.
Carve pumpkins: This is an excellent opportunity to apply a variety of sensory inputs such as tactile when feeling the different textures of the pumpkin, olfactory of what the pumpkin smells like, interoception of the temperature of the pumpkin if it's cold from being outside or warm from being inside. An adaptive tool to help with grasping when carving is using grip tubes. These tubes can be used on any tool when carving pumpkins. The tube grips are made of foam to provide comfort and support when grasping a utensil or tool and come in various sizes. The link to grip tubes can be found below! Another tool that can be beneficial is cookie cutters. The carving tool kit found below comes with over 20 pieces of shapes to create all kinds of carving styles! It also comes with three carving tools (rubber mallet, pumpkin scooper, and carving spoon) and battery-operated candles to provide a safe way to light the pumpkins. If any difficulty with gripping tools, you can simply paint your pumpkin!
(Beck, 2016; C, 2022; Crane, 2023; Stephen’s Place, n.d.; Tools To Grow, 2022)
Autumn Bucket List
Fill free to check out this bucket list for the autumn season that you and your child can participate in together!
References
AASL. (2018). At-home occupational therapy with fall activities, arts & crafts. All About Speech & Language. https://aaspeech.com/at-home-occupational-therapy-with-fall-activities-arts-crafts/
Beck, C. (2016). Fall vestibular sensory activities. The OT Toolbox. https://www.theottoolbox.com/fall-harvest-theme-vestibular-sensory/
C, K. (2022). Where it’s at. the ability tools blog. Where Its AT The Ability Tools Blog. https://abilitytools.org/blog/adaptive-pumpkin-carving/
Foam Tubing. Amazon. (n.d.-a). https://www.amazon.com/foam-tubing/s?k=foam+tubing
Flourishing Lives. (2023). Autumn’s Symphony: Nature’s sensory playground for kids. Flourishing Lives. https://flourishinglivesmi.com/autumns-symphony-natures-sensory-playground-for-kids/#:~:text=These%20experiences%20can%20significantly%20enhance%20their%20sensory,where%20kids%20sort%20leaves%20based%20on%20their
Shuttle Art 40PCS Halloween pumpkin carving kit, 22 pcs stainless steel pumpkin carving stencils with 15 electronic candles & 3 carving tools, easy safe fun and durable for kids adults pumpkin carving: Home & Kitchen. Amazon. (n.d.). https://www.amazon.com/Shuttle-Art-Halloween-Stainless-Electronic/dp/B0CF56Z4G3
Stephen’s Place. (n.d.). 5 fall sensory activities for adults with special needs. Stephen’s Place. https://www.stephensplace.org/blog/5-autumn-sensory-activities-for-adults-with-special-needs?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3P-2BhAEEiwA3yPhwA9_wnde4YQUESFMbC8Y1Z7qzEZ7lGEv-zqLkE9KvoFYAu2KcHXwBBoCY6IQAvD_BwE
Tools To Grow (2022). 20 autumn themed ideas for pediatric therapists & parents. Tools To Grow. https://www.toolstogrowot.com/blog/2022/10/02/20-autumn-themed-ideas-for-pediatric-therapists-parents#:~:text=So%20much%20fun!,the%20back%20of%20the%20apple.