New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline - Ministry of Health

Part 5: Living in the community
Part 5
using money and waiting in line). Control and
choice are at the core of self-determination and
should be the principles on which any recreation
or leisure involvement is based. A person’s
strengths should therefore be taken into account
to ensure that he or she has a sense of control
and choice 381 .
Two independent reviews of literature and
health and disability services for people with
intellectual disability in New Zealand have
identified a number of strategies to promote
community participation 159 376 . These include:
• person-centred planning with a focus on
individual abilities, including strengths,
capacities, interests and experiences, and
respecting the choices and preferences of the
person concerned (Recommendation 5.2.3)
• working with local neighbourhoods and
communities to promote participation in and
planning for integrated activities
• working to change communities to ensure
they become less prejudiced and more
inclusive of people with ASD
• identifying and using natural (unpaid)
supports
• providing formal support
• using visual supports (eg, social calendars to
promote choice and preferences)
• developing individual leisure plans that are
regularly evaluated (Recommendation 5.2.4)
• identifying services and staff with
responsibility for leisure plans, and ensuring
they have appropriate education and
resources (Recommendation 5.2.4)
• ensuring that policy and service design
address barriers to leisure.
In New Zealand, the Halberg Trust links people
with disability to sport and active leisure, as
do disability not-for-profit community groups.
Information about recreational programmes
in the community can be accessed through the
Needs Assessment and Service Coordination
(NASC) agency, the Citizens Advice Bureau,
Autism New Zealand and Disability Information
Advisory Services.
5.2.c Children with ASD
Difficulty in understanding and following social
situations and cues can cause problems during
interactions for people with ASD. Problems with
self-initiation, motor planning and sequencing,
plus a restricted repertoire of interests and
play activities, mean that many children with
ASD have difficulty developing play skills that
enable them to occupy themselves productively.
Play can be one of the most difficult times for
children with ASD: it is less structured and
harder to understand because of the many social
aspects to follow and involves initiation and
follow-through 374 .
Many children with ASD need to be taught
play skills that can provide the basis for more
complex social play later on. All children with
ASD should have access to good-quality play
opportunities, including one-to-one support and
adapted toys and equipment (Recommendation
5.2.5). Consideration of the environment and
the context in which new skills are to be taught
is important, because some children with
ASD experience difficulty transferring skills
to different settings. For example, planning
and communication between families and
carers is important, where children and young
people are provided with a respite service. Any
environment needs to be structured, predictable
and support the function of the child in
communication, personal independence and safe
leisure skills 374 (Recommendation 5.2.6).
A child with ASD is likely to need help to
explore recreation options. Children with ASD
often display initial resistance to try a new
experience, which could be driven by dislike
of new or novel situations, or resistance to
change. All children develop new interests and
have preferences, and children with ASD can
have strong and unusual interests. Determining
whether these interests are appropriate needs
careful consideration. The challenge is to explore
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New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline