- Oct 29, 2023
- 3 min read

10 Fall Activities For Kids with Autism

Autism and outings can be challenging for some, however, that doesn't mean you and your family need to skip out on all the fun. Luckily, the changing season provides many sensory experiences for our little sensory seekers! Despite having a difficult time with change, these outings or even in-home activities can bring some acceptance and fun into our daily activities.

In our family, fall means pumpkin spice, apple everything, leaves, crisp air, and football.

Fall Fun Activities

Paint Pumpkins. This is a great activity that involves sensory input as well as practicing fine motor skills. Most people do carve pumpkins, but for us, we paint them! We find it's more engaging for Ellis (and even the other kiddos) plus it's also much safer. Sometimes Zack will carve them and then they paint around the carvings.
Pick Apples. If your child runs off a lot you may want to invest in a wagon to pull them around the apple field, but this is still a fun activity and gets a lot of necessary energy out. Reaching, climbing, and removing this activity is a great body strength for gross motor skills, not to mention it can be a lot of fun!
Visit a Pumpkin Patch. Pumpkin patches provide a lot of sensory stimuli from the leaves, hay, vines, and pumpkins to the fun things that are also offered at pumpkin patches! A lot of times patches with have free activities for kids, playgrounds, and even food. It's a great experience to have outside.
Jump in Leaves. The crunch, the feel, the smell, and the 100% fun opportunity are seriously 100% fun right outside your door. Raking up a pile of leaves just to jump in may just be something that is 100% up your child's wheelhouse.
Go on a Hay Ride. Hay rides are a lot of fun and they give off several different visual and tactile stimuli. The crunch of hay, the movement of the carriage, and the sights to see can create a fantastic experience for your little one. Not to mention they're pretty cheap!
Create a Fall Sensory Bin. This is where you could either explore the wilderness and build your own or buy one online. Things to add to your sensory fall bin include leaves, acorns, corn, hay, sand, pumpkin, squash, pebbles, and more!
Visit a Petting Farm. If your little one is obsessed with animals then this may be the perfect time to head to a petting farm and experience the goats, cows, rabbits, pigs, and horses. It's crisp and cool out so the smells aren't as pronounced and it's cooler for you and the animals versus in the spring and summer months.
Play in a Corn Bin. This is my son's favorite thing! He loves the corn bin mostly because of the sound. The corn, when moved around in a cup, makes this rain-maker sound. The texture of corn seeds is soft and smooth so the tactile feedback is amazing. We found one at a local pumpkin patch, but these are super easy to make!
Bake Treats. If you have a sweet lover then maybe it's time for some life skills in the kitchen. Cooking can be a great way to teach those life skills that we need plus it's a great bonding experience with many different tactile sensations.
Take a Walk. One of our favorite activities is just a nice walk around the neighborhood. The air is crisp, the sound of the leaves is soothing, and the colors of all the trees are brilliant so it really opens up our senses and calms everyone's stress and anxiety.

Shop the Fall Activities!

I figured that time is of the essence with moms so I thought it would be nice to have one place where all these items had links and portals to get you to your destination as quickly as possible.