What to do when free time isn't going well
In this video, Becky Thal discusses what parents can do to help their neurodivergent kids who might be overwhelmed with too much free time, including creating an activities menu.
Transcript
"I'm bored."
You're probably going to be hearing that a lot all through the summer. Free time can be exhausting for neurodivergent students because it takes a lot of effort and executive functioning skills to decide what to do and to actually start doing those activities. This is why you might notice your child become irritable or shut down when you ask, "So what do you want to do?" Or you might even see your kid cycling through options without actually sticking to any one of them for very long.
One way you can help your child is by building an activities menu together. You only need to include three to four activities so that whenever they're bored, they're only picking from those rather than considering endless possibilities, which can be overwhelming for anyone.An activities menu reduces the pressure to evaluate lots of options while still giving them choice.
This is just one of the scenarios we cover in our free Social Cipher parent guide. Check it out, and let us know if there are any other scenarios you want us to explore. What are some activities you think your child would enjoy? We want to know in the comments.
Follow us @socialcipher on TikTok and YouTube for more educator-focused videos about neurodivergence!
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