03/10/2025
🌸 Benefits of Playdough for Autistic Children
1. Sensory Regulation
Provides tactile input (soft, squishy, moldable) which can calm children with sensory processing difficulties.
Helps them tolerate different textures.
2. Fine Motor Skills
Rolling, pinching, cutting, squeezing, and shaping playdough strengthen finger muscles.
Improves hand–eye coordination and prepares for writing skills.
3. Creativity & Imagination
Encourages open-ended play, allowing children to create shapes, animals, or objects.
Builds symbolic play skills which are often difficult for autistic children.
4. Communication & Social Skills
Can be used in group play to encourage sharing, turn-taking, and requesting tools or colors.
Provides opportunities for functional language like “I want red,” “Make a ball,” etc.
5. Emotional Expression & Relaxation
Squishing and rolling can be soothing and reduce anxiety.
Children may express feelings by molding shapes that represent emotions.
6. Cognitive Development
Supports concepts like big/small, shapes, numbers, colors, and counting.
Encourages problem-solving (“How can I make this stand?”).
