Therapy Supplies for Autistic Children on a Budget

Autistic children require a lot of care, support and therapy to enable them to function in society. Taking a child with Autism to see therapist is only part of what has to be done. You will need to continue to actively give your child a version of therapy at home using what you learned during the therapy sessions given by professionals.

The therapist that you take your child to has a lot of supplies; in clinics with multiple therapies provided therapists will often share supplies to make it easier for them to provide the necessary services. The tools used in therapy vary widely from child to child and the prices range from a few dollars to a few hundred depending on what is required to achieve the goals set for your child. The cost of raising an Autistic child is high both initially and in the long run; therapy supplies can cost parents thousands of dollars if they are not careful. There are some ways that therapy supplies can be provided to your Autistic child even when your budget is tight.

Child's Needs

Prior to spending money on supplies to continue your child's therapy at home you will want to determine your child's needs. Autistic children can have delays in a variety of areas where skills should be present and possess skills that children their age should not have. Focusing on areas where your child is behind will help to make the process of finding affordable supplies simpler. Talking to your child's therapist about the curriculum they use and taking your goals for your child into consideration will help you to decide which areas to focus on at home and when.

If your child is in school they will bring home items from the school's therapist from time to time. Taking a few moments to go over what they have done in school with them will help to save money on therapy supplies.

Kitchen Timer

Autistic children can sometimes have difficulty focusing on a task or just sitting still. A kitchen timer can assist with this. Rather inexpensive and available in discount stores you can set the timer for five minutes to work on sitting still or simply to time a therapy session at home so you don't lose your child in a tantrum.

Reusable Supplies

When it comes to therapy for Autism some areas will have to be worked on longer than others making reusable supplies an invaluable asset. Items that can be reused will allow you to pay for an item once and use it multiple times. Some of the items may eventually wear out and need replacing but with proper care you'll be able to get hundreds of uses out of them. What supplies can be reused?

Paper Supplies

Items such as workbooks can have pages copied out of them so that you can use them multiple times with your child while keeping the books. Ink cartridges to print out supplies are expensive but changing the printer settings, buying refurbished cartridges and even refilling ink cartridges can reduce the cost of printing them. An Internet search for preschool or other printable pages depending on your needs can produce hundreds of pages for free. Covering the pages with a sheet of plastic and using a dry erase marker can allow pages to be used multiple times.

Chalk/Dry Erase

Chalk and dry erase boards can be used multiple times with the main expense being replacing chalk or markers when they are used up. Chalk and dry erase markers can both be found relatively inexpensively. Writing words on these boards can help your child with reading; allowing them to write on the boards can help them with penmanship. Reaching above their heads to use the boards is something that an Occupational therapist will do with them so you can take advantage of your child's height or lack of when placing the board for younger children.

Play dough

Play dough is inexpensive to begin with especially when you purchase the generic brands at discount stores. There isn't any need to invest in a large play set at first although you can and set aside the parts that you don't need for later. Cookie cutters can be found for less than a dollar if you look for specials. Using these with the play dough can help to teach your child their shapes along the way. Ensuring that the play dough is put back in the containers after each use can prevent it from drying out.

Books/Puzzles/Flash Cards

You can use puzzles and books to help your Autistic child. Goals such as putting together age appropriate puzzles can be worked on a few minutes a day by sitting down with your child and having them work on a puzzle. Once a puzzle is mastered you can move onto the next one while still allowing your child to put together the one they are familiar with for fun.

Books and flash cards can be used to ask your child questions like who, what, when and where. These can also be utilized to teach children to point to items, touch items and match items. Bath toys, magnetic letters and even a refrigerator magnet can be used in therapy with an Autistic child.

Replaceable Supplies

There are a number of replaceable supplies that can be used in therapy as well. When the budget is tight the use of these will be monitored carefully to ensure that you keep them on hand when needed. Items that fall into the replaceable category are things such as play dough (usable multiple times), paints, markers, paper, crayons and chalk. These are items that will have to be replaced from time to time. Watching for sales, clipping coupons and purchasing larger sizes will help to prevent replacing them as often.

Used Items

While parents love to buy Autistic and non-Autistic children new items sometimes used items have to be purchased to make it easier on the budget. Searching websites such as e-Bay and shopping in stores that sell used items can help to stretch the budget you have for purchasing therapy supplies to aid your Autistic child.

Everyday Items and Experiences

A lot of money can be saved on therapy supplies for Autistic children by using everyday household items and daily experiences to aid you with therapy at home. Appliances such as the washer, dryer, refrigerator and even your blow dryer can be used to help children answer questions. The dishes in your kitchen and sitting down to dinner can even be used to assist with therapy. You have the items on hand already and use them regularly; taking advantage of them to get your child talking is simple.

When it comes to therapy for an Autistic child something as simple as a trip to the grocery store or getting them dressed in the morning provides you with the opportunity to give them therapy. Talking about what you're doing, where you are and what they are wearing, even about the things you pass along the way will provide you a free therapy tool to aid them in functioning properly.

Therapy supplies for an Autistic child are expensive and can drain a budget quickly. Remembering that you can buy used or reusable items, using items around the house and daily experiences can go a long way to obtaining all the supplies you need without putting you into hawk. You can also take a few moments and make supplies from inexpensive recipes found on the Internet. Even a television show that asks your child questions can aid the interaction with others.