Special Needs Children's Activities

Play Time

• Children with special needs, like other children, enjoy play time. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play time is a large part of a child's development and contributes to a child' well-being in the cognitive, emotional, physical and intellectual aspects. The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights considers play time an essential human right for all children. It can also foster and encourage better relationships between children and parents.

  Whenever you purchase a toy for your special need child, teach her how it works by playing with it yourself and then engaging in play with your child as she attempts to learn. Find something your child with special needs is interested in and expand upon that. Enroll your child in a class depending on her interests, such as piano, gymnastics or ballet lessons. Give your child opportunities to play with other children by joining play groups in the local area, going to the mall or taking him to the park or local playground.

Art

• Children with special needs often enjoy art activities. Especially for children with language disabilities, such as children with Asperger's or autism, art can provide an outlet for them to express themselves and communicate with others through different mediums. Web sites such as Kinderar have a variety of art projects for children with special needs. Some art colleges, such as the Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia host art workshops for children with special needs to teach them painting and craft skills.

  The type of art a child with special needs can do depends on his age, level of development and personal preferences. Finger painting is an enjoyable activity for many children with special needs, but some children with sensory integration problems might dislike the sensation of paint on their fingers. For those children, they might enjoy sponge painting or creating prints by dipping objects such as apples or toys into paint and pressing the images on a piece of paper. Other art projects children might enjoy include creating objects out of tissue paper, coloring with crayons, coloring snow with food coloring and creating clay designs.

Volunteering

• Volunteering can teach children with special needs valuable life skills and integrate them into the larger community. Regional groups that teach living skills to children with special needs or that serve as special needs social networks often schedule volunteer events for the children in order to teach them the skills needed to get jobs in later life or learn independence. Children with special needs can volunteer at community gardens to learn how to work with others to plan vegetables and work with their hands. Life skills organizations can also help schedule outings where children can learn firsthand what it's like to work in a job, such as as a ringing up items as a cashier or making sandwiches at a sandwich shop.