20 Social Communication Activities for Children with Autism

Children on the autism spectrum often benefit from structured, explicit teaching of social communication skills that others might learn naturally. These 20 evidence-based activities are designed to help your child develop pragmatic language skills, social interaction abilities, and meaningful connections with others.

Understanding Social Communication Challenges in Autism

Social communication involves using language and nonverbal skills to interact with others effectively. Children with autism may struggle with:

Pragmatic Language Skills:

• Taking turns in conversation
• Staying on topic
• Understanding and using nonverbal communication
• Adjusting communication based on the listener
• Understanding social rules and expectations

Social Interaction Challenges:

• Initiating and maintaining social interactions
• Sharing interests and emotions
• Understanding others' perspectives
• Reading social cues and body language
• Developing friendships and relationships

Key Principles for Success

Structure and Predictability:

• Use consistent routines and visual supports
• Break activities into clear, manageable steps
• Provide predictable frameworks for social interaction
• Use visual schedules and social stories

Follow Your Child's Interests:

• Incorporate their special interests into activities
• Use preferred items and activities as motivation
• Build social skills around things they enjoy
• Let their interests guide initial engagement

Start Small and Build:

• Begin with brief, successful interactions
• Gradually increase complexity and duration
• Celebrate small improvements
• Focus on one skill at a time

Foundation Skills Activities

Activity 1: Joint Attention Building

Purpose: Develops shared focus and connection

How to Practice:

• Sit together with a preferred toy or book
• Point to interesting parts and say "Look!"
• Follow your child's gaze and comment on what they're looking at
• Take turns pointing to different things
• Use animated facial expressions and voice

Progression: Start with highly preferred items, then expand to new objects

Tips: Don't demand eye contact; accept looking in your direction or at the object

Activity 2: Turn-Taking with Preferred Activities

Purpose: Teaches fundamental social interaction skills

How to Practice:

• Choose an activity your child loves (rolling a ball, taking turns with blocks)
• Clearly establish "my turn" and "your turn"
• Use visual cues like cards or hand signals
• Start with very short turns (2-3 seconds)
• Gradually increase turn length

Visual Support: Create "My Turn/Your Turn" cards to make the concept concrete

Activity 3: Imitation Games

Purpose: Builds social connection and motor planning

How to Practice:

• Start with simple actions your child can do (clapping, waving)
• Say "Do what I do" and demonstrate
• Celebrate when they copy you
• Take turns being the leader
• Add sounds or words to the actions

Examples: Simon Says, Follow the Leader, Copy Cat games

Adaptation: Use preferred movements or actions from their interests

Communication Initiation Activities

Activity 4: Requesting Practice

Purpose: Teaches functional communication initiation

How to Practice:

• Place preferred items in clear containers they can't open
• Put favorite snacks on high shelves
• Wait expectantly for them to communicate their need
• Prompt appropriate requesting ("Help please" or pointing + looking)
• Respond immediately to any communication attempt

Communication Options: Accept words, gestures, picture cards, or AAC device use

Activity 5: Comment and Share Interests

Purpose: Develops social commenting beyond requesting

How to Practice:

• During preferred activities, model commenting
• "Wow, that's a fast car!" while playing with cars
• "The tower is so tall!" while building blocks
• Pause expectantly for them to add comments
• Celebrate any attempt to share observations

Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters like "I see..." or "That's..."

Activity 6: Greeting Routines

Purpose: Practices social initiation and closure

How to Practice:

• Create consistent greeting routines for different people
• Practice saying "Hi" and "Bye" with gestures
• Use songs or chants for greetings
• Practice with family members, then familiar others
• Make it fun and celebratory

Examples: "Hello song" with actions, special handshakes, high-fives

Conversation Skills Activities

Activity 7: Topic Maintenance Practice

Purpose: Teaches staying on topic during conversations

How to Practice:

• Choose a preferred topic (dinosaurs, trains, favorite show)
• Take turns making comments about the topic
• Use visual supports (pictures related to the topic)
• Gently redirect if they go off-topic
• Practice with 3-5 exchanges on the same topic

Visual Support: Topic boards with related pictures to maintain focus

Activity 8: Question Asking and Answering

Purpose: Develops conversational exchange skills

How to Practice:

• Start with simple "wh" questions about their interests
• "What color is the car?" "Where is the ball?"
• Teach them to ask questions too
• Model curiosity: "I wonder what's in this box?"
• Practice back-and-forth question exchanges

Progression: Who/what questions → where/when questions → why/how questions

Activity 9: News Sharing

Purpose: Practices organizing thoughts and sharing experiences

How to Practice:

• Create a "news time" each day
• Share something interesting from your day first
• Ask about their day with specific questions
• Use pictures or objects to support their sharing
• Create a visual template: "First, then, next, last"

Support Tools: Photo journals, visual schedules of daily activities

Nonverbal Communication Activities

Activity 10: Emotion Recognition and Expression

Purpose: Develops understanding of facial expressions and emotions

How to Practice:

• Use emotion cards or pictures of facial expressions
• Make different faces in the mirror together
• Read books about emotions
• Practice matching emotions to situations
• Role-play different emotional scenarios

Daily Application: Notice and label emotions in real situations throughout the day

Activity 11: Body Language Awareness

Purpose: Teaches reading and using nonverbal cues

How to Practice:

• Practice different body positions (crossed arms = closed off, open arms = welcoming)
• Use pictures showing different body language
• Play "body language charades"
• Notice body language in favorite shows or books
• Practice appropriate physical distance

Make It Fun: Turn into a guessing game or use their favorite characters

Activity 12: Gesture and Sign Practice

Purpose: Builds nonverbal communication skills

How to Practice:

• Teach functional gestures (thumbs up, stop sign, come here)
• Practice pointing to request and comment
• Use simple sign language for common words
• Add gestures to songs and stories
• Make gesture games and activities

Remember: Always pair gestures with spoken words

Social Problem-Solving Activities

Activity 13: Social Story Creation

Purpose: Teaches appropriate responses to social situations

How to Practice:

• Write simple stories about common social situations
• Include what to do, say, and expect
• Use pictures or photos of your child
• Read stories before encountering the real situation
• Practice the skills described in the story

Topics: Playground interactions, sharing toys, asking for help

Activity 14: Role-Playing Social Situations

Purpose: Provides safe practice for challenging situations

How to Practice:

• Act out common social scenarios (meeting new people, playground conflicts)
• Take turns being different people in the scenario
• Practice different solutions to problems
• Use dolls or action figures if direct role-play is too challenging
• Keep scenarios short and focused

Examples: What to do when someone says "Hi," how to join a game, what to do if someone takes your toy

Activity 15: Perspective-Taking Games

Purpose: Develops theory of mind and empathy

How to Practice:

• Use simple "I spy" games
• Hide objects and guess where others might look
• Practice "What is [person] thinking?" with pictures
• Read books that show different characters' perspectives
• Play "detective" games about others' feelings

Start Simple: Begin with basic wants/needs before moving to complex emotions

Group Interaction Activities

Activity 16: Parallel Play Practice

Purpose: Builds comfort with others' presence during activities

How to Practice:

• Set up side-by-side activities with the same materials
• Do the same activity without requiring direct interaction
• Gradually add simple comments about what you're both doing
• Practice sharing materials naturally
• Celebrate peaceful coexistence

Examples: Both coloring, both building with blocks, both playing with sensory bins

Activity 17: Cooperative Games

Purpose: Teaches working together toward a common goal

How to Practice:

• Choose games that require cooperation, not competition
• Work together to build something
• Take turns adding to a collaborative art project
• Play games where everyone wins together
• Focus on the shared accomplishment

Adaptations: Modify traditional games to be cooperative rather than competitive

Activity 18: Group Listening and Following

Purpose: Develops skills for group instruction and participation

How to Practice:

• Practice following group directions with family members
• "Everyone touch your nose"
• "All together, let's clap three times"
• Take turns being the leader
• Practice waiting for everyone before starting

Benefits: Prepares for classroom and group activity participation

Advanced Social Communication

Activity 19: Complex Conversation Skills

Purpose: Develops sophisticated social communication

How to Practice:

• Practice conversations with multiple exchanges
• Work on listening and responding appropriately
• Practice showing interest in others' topics
• Learn to ask follow-up questions
• Practice agreeing, disagreeing politely

Scaffolding: Provide conversation starter cards and response options

Activity 20: Community Practice

Purpose: Generalizes skills to real-world settings

How to Practice:

• Practice greetings with store clerks
• Order food at restaurants
• Ask for help when needed
• Practice appropriate public behavior
• Use community outings as social practice opportunities

Preparation: Use social stories and role-play before community outings

Creating Supportive Environments

Physical Environment:

• Reduce overwhelming sensory input when possible
• Create predictable spaces for social activities
• Use visual supports and schedules
• Have quiet spaces available for breaks
• Organize materials to support independence

Social Environment:

• Start with family members and familiar people
• Gradually introduce new social partners
• Choose understanding, patient practice partners
• Celebrate attempts, not just successes
• Maintain positive, encouraging atmosphere

Using Visual Supports Effectively

Types of Visual Supports:

• Picture schedules for social activities
• Social story books with photos
• Emotion charts and feeling cards
• Turn-taking cards and timers
• Topic cards for conversation practice

Creating Effective Visuals:

• Use real photos when possible
• Keep visuals simple and clear
• Make them portable for different settings
• Update visuals as skills develop
• Involve your child in creating supports

Adapting for Different Communication Levels

For Minimally Verbal Children:

• Focus on nonverbal communication and gestures
• Use picture exchange systems (PECS)
• Practice joint attention and shared enjoyment
• Emphasize functional communication
• Accept any form of intentional communication

For Verbal Children:

• Work on conversation skills and pragmatics
• Practice complex social scenarios
• Focus on perspective-taking and empathy
• Develop friendship skills
• Address abstract social concepts

Measuring Progress

Track Improvements In:

• Length of social interactions
• Frequency of communication initiations
• Ability to maintain topics
• Use of appropriate nonverbal communication
• Success in group situations
• Generalization to new settings and people

Documentation Ideas:

• Video short interactions to review progress
• Keep a simple log of social successes
• Note situations where skills are used spontaneously
• Track expansion of social communication partners
• Document reduction in social challenges

Troubleshooting Common Challenges

Resistance to Social Activities:

• Start with very brief interactions
• Use highly preferred activities as the foundation
• Don't force interactions; build gradually
• Ensure the child feels successful
• Take breaks when overwhelmed

Difficulty Generalizing Skills:

• Practice skills in multiple settings
• Use consistent language and cues across settings
• Practice with different people
• Use visual reminders in new situations
• Be patient; generalization takes time

Overwhelming Social Situations:

• Prepare in advance with social stories
• Provide escape plans and break options
• Start with shorter exposures
• Practice coping strategies
• Debrief after challenging situations

Working with Schools and Professionals

Share Successful Strategies:

• Document what works at home
• Share visual supports that are effective
• Communicate about your child's interests and motivators
• Collaborate on consistent approaches
• Advocate for appropriate support levels

Professional Support:

• Work with speech-language pathologists
• Consider social skills groups
• Explore autism-specific therapies
• Connect with occupational therapists for sensory support
• Build a supportive team around your child

Building Long-Term Success

Focus on Functional Skills:

• Prioritize skills needed for daily life
• Practice in natural, meaningful contexts
• Teach skills that will enhance quality of life
• Focus on communication that serves your child's goals
• Celebrate progress at your child's pace

Maintain Hope and Patience:

• Every child develops at their own pace
• Small steps lead to significant progress
• Consistency matters more than perfection
• Your child's unique strengths are valuable
• Social communication skills can continue developing throughout life

Remember, the goal isn't to make your child "appear neurotypical," but to help them communicate effectively and develop meaningful connections with others. These activities should support your child's authentic self while building skills that enhance their ability to navigate social situations successfully.

Focus on your child's individual needs, interests, and pace of development. Celebrate every attempt at social communication, and remember that building these skills is a marathon, not a sprint. With patience, consistency, and love, your child can develop the social communication skills they need to connect with others and thrive in their community.