Activities for Teens with Autism: ABA Ideas to Try at Home

Parenting an autistic teenager comes with a new kind of guessing game.

Sometimes I find myself wondering, Is this autism, or is this just being a teenager? Not wanting to talk, wanting more privacy, suddenly deciding something you suggested is the worst idea ever: those things can sound pretty familiar to any parent of a teen.

At the same time, autistic teens may still need extra support with things like communication, friendships, managing frustration, daily routines, or becoming more independent.

That's why activities at this age need to feel different. A teenager probably doesn't want every moment turned into a lesson, and they definitely don't want activities that feel designed for a little kid.

The best activities for teens with autism build on what your teen already enjoys while giving them opportunities to practice useful skills along the way. Many of the ideas below borrow from applied behavior analysis (ABA), a therapy that teaches skills in small, doable steps, so they can double as ABA therapy activities at home.

Key Takeaways

• Build on what your teen enjoys: Activities work best when they're age-appropriate and connected to something your teen already likes, such as music, gaming, art, sports, or a special interest.
• Use everyday routines: Strategies from applied behavior analysis can be worked into cooking, laundry, budgeting, and getting around town without making home feel like a therapy session.
• Keep social practice low pressure: Social activities don't have to mean forcing conversation or eye contact, and the goal can be confidence, shared interests, or handling situations your teen cares about.
• Get help choosing goals: If you'd like a behavior analyst to help turn these ideas into goals for your teen, you can get started with Alpaca Health.

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What makes an activity work for a teen with autism?

The first rule is pretty simple: it has to feel like something a teenager might want to do.

You can have the best therapeutic goal in the world, but if the activity feels babyish, your teen may be done before you start.

This is also the age when parents have to get more comfortable with giving our kids a say. Instead of deciding, “We're working on social skills tonight,” you might ask whether they'd rather play an online game with someone, grab a drink at a coffee shop, or invite a friend over to build something.

The skill is still in there, and you're just meeting your teen where they are.

Chronological age isn't the only thing that matters. Your teen's developmental level, communication, interests, and support needs matter too.

“I talk about this with parents very often - kids can be way ahead in one area and still need a lot of help in another. I’ve met plenty of 15-year-olds who can stay up studying everything about their favorite topic but still need a checklist to get out the door in the morning. Parents sometimes see that difference and worry their kid is being lazy, but those are just two different skill sets that don’t always grow at the same pace.”

Turn these ideas into a plan built for your child.

Activities at home are a good start, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst can shape them into a program around your child's goals. Alpaca Health matches you with one.

Get matched with a BCBA →

The ABA methods behind each activity

You don't have to set up formal ABA sessions at home to use some of the same teaching ideas.

Source: Adapted from the AFIRM modules (Autism Focused Intervention Resources & Modules), Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, UNC-Chapel Hill

The methods in the table come from practices that a review of 972 studies found had enough research to count as effective. Most of those studies involved preschool and elementary-age children, though, so there's less research on teens.

Keep in mind that reinforcement doesn't always mean earning candy or a prize.

For a teenager, the natural payoff may be much more meaningful. Learning to order at a coffee shop means getting the drink they wanted. Learning to use the washing machine means their favorite sweatshirt is clean when they want to wear it.

That's a lot more relevant than a sticker chart.

Social activities for teens with autism

Social skills can be tricky to talk about with teens because the goal shouldn't be to make an autistic teenager act less autistic.

The more useful questions are whether our teens can communicate what they need, connect with people they like, handle awkward situations, and feel more confident when social interaction matters to them.

LEGO build challenges

Give two people the same set of pieces or one shared project.

One person might have the instructions while the other has the materials, so they have to communicate to finish the build.

You can work on:

• Asking for clarification
• Giving instructions
• Taking turns
• Problem-solving together
• Handling it when the plan doesn't work

And if LEGO isn't your teen's thing, use whatever is: a model kit, Minecraft build, craft project, or computer setup.

Two truths and a lie at dinner

Everyone says three things about themselves, and the rest of the family guesses which one isn't true.

It's simple, but it can practice conversation, listening, humor, and learning something new about each other.

Don't force it if your teen hates games like this. That's useful information too.

Coffee shop ordering

Let your teen choose what they want before you get there.

They might practice:

• Looking at the menu
• Deciding what to order
• Asking a question if needed
• Placing the order
• Paying
• Waiting for the drink
• Handling a mistake in the order

You can help as much as necessary at first and gradually step back.

The goal is for your teen to get what they need in the real world, and that doesn't require perfect eye contact or a perfectly scripted conversation.

Co-op gaming with a communication rule

Gaming can create a lot of natural communication opportunities.

Try a cooperative game where players have to exchange information or work together. You might make one simple rule, such as everyone has to ask before taking another player's item or each person has to tell the team what they're doing before the next round.

That keeps the practice connected to something the teen already cares about.

Texting role-play with screenshot review

Texting has its own social rules, and those rules aren't always obvious.

Create sample text conversations and talk about what different responses might mean.

For example:

Friend: “Maybe. I'll let you know.”

Does that mean yes, no, or maybe?

You can also talk about:

• How many follow-up texts are reasonable
• What to do if someone doesn't respond
• How humor or sarcasm can get lost in text
• What information should stay private
• When a message should be handled in person instead

This may be more relevant to a teen's actual social life than practicing small talk at a table.

Free printable kit

Step Lists for 10 Teen Life Skills

Step lists your teen can follow for ten everyday skills, plus a four-week plan.

Send me the kit

Instant download, plus a copy in your inbox. We send occasional resources for families and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Download the kit (PDF)

We also sent the link to your email.

Life skills activities for teens with autism

This is one area where it helps to look ahead a little.

What does your teen need to know now that will make life easier at 18, 20, or 25?

It doesn't mean they have to master everything immediately. Independence can be built one step at a time.

Grocery run with a budget envelope

Give your teen a short list and a set budget.

They can:

• Find the items
• Compare prices
• Decide between brands
• Keep a running total
• Pay
• Check the receipt

Start with three items if that's enough.

Later, they might plan an entire meal and shop for the ingredients.

One-recipe cooking night

Let your teen choose one meal they'd like to know how to make.

Break the recipe into steps and use a written checklist or a visual schedule if needed.

Instead of correcting every little thing while they're cooking, decide ahead of time which parts require help for safety and where you can let them figure things out.

A slightly ugly quesadilla still counts as learning to cook.

Laundry with a step card

Laundry is perfect for task analysis because it has a clear sequence.

For example:

• Gather dirty clothes
• Sort if needed
• Put clothes in washer
• Add detergent
• Choose the setting
• Start washer
• Move clothes to dryer
• Choose dryer setting
• Fold or hang clothes
• Put them away

Your teen may initially need help with nearly every step.

Over time, you can fade the prompts.

Hygiene routine checklist

Teen hygiene can be one of those places where autism and typical teenager behavior overlap pretty heavily.

Plenty of teenagers need reminders to shower.

For some autistic teens, the challenge may be needing more help understanding the sequence, noticing when something needs to be done, handling sensory discomfort, or remembering the routine independently.

A simple morning or evening checklist may help without turning every day into you saying, “Did you brush your teeth?” five times.

“When hygiene comes up in evaluations, it’s not always that the teen isn’t concerned with hygiene. Sometimes the shower feels uncomfortable: the water pressure, the temperature, the smell of the soap. Other times there are just a lot of steps to keep track of and initiate. Figuring out which one it is (or if it’s both) is helpful with coming up with solutions.”

Public transit practice run

If public transportation is part of your teen's future, don't make the first independent trip the first time they've ever tried it.

Practice together first, starting with:

• Finding the route
• Reading the schedule
• Identifying the right stop
• Paying the fare
• Knowing where to sit
• Watching for the destination
• Knowing what to do if they miss the stop

Eventually, you may ride separately or meet them at the destination.

Coping skills activities for autistic teens

Teenagers have big emotions.

Some autistic teenagers may also deal with sensory overload, communication frustration, unexpected changes, or difficulty recognizing when they're becoming overwhelmed.

Coping skills work best when they're practiced before they're desperately needed.

Feelings thermometer and coping card deck

Create a simple scale from 1 to 5.

Maybe:

• Calm
• Starting to feel irritated
• Getting overwhelmed
• Very upset
• I need space now

Then make cards with coping options your teen likes, or adapt the calm-down cards from a printable ABA activities kit.

That might include headphones, walking outside, music, texting someone, sitting somewhere calm, squeezing a stress ball, or taking a shower.

The point is to help them figure out what works for them, instead of telling them how they should calm down.

Box breathing with a visual timer

Box breathing follows a simple pattern:

Inhale → hold → exhale → hold.

A visual breathing app or timer can make the pattern easier to follow.

Not every autistic teen likes breathing exercises, though. If focusing on breathing makes your teen more irritated, choose something else.

Five senses grounding walk

Take a walk and notice:

• 5 things you can see
• 4 things you can feel
• 3 things you can hear
• 2 things you can smell
• 1 thing you can taste

You don't necessarily need to call it a “coping exercise.”

Sometimes it's just a walk.

Three wins journal

Each evening, write down three things that went well.

The wins can be small:

• Asked for help
• Finished an assignment
• Tried a new food
• Talked to someone at school
• Got through a change in plans
• Remembered deodorant without being reminded

That last one absolutely counts.

Support for the hard days.

When you're ready for expert support, Alpaca Health matches your family with a BCBA who can help with the hardest moments, at home or in a clinic.

Get matched with a BCBA →

Hobbies, sports, and creative activities for autistic teens

Not every activity needs a therapeutic goal attached to it.

Teenagers need hobbies because hobbies are enjoyable.

They can also create natural opportunities for confidence, friendships, movement, communication, and belonging.

Music and instruments

Your teen might play an instrument, make digital music, build playlists, learn DJ software, or go to concerts.

Art, photography, and digital design

Photography, drawing, animation, video editing, graphic design, and digital art can be great creative outlets.

They're also areas that can eventually connect to classes, clubs, volunteering, or employment.

Board games and tabletop games

Board games can naturally involve:

• Turn-taking
• Strategy
• Flexible thinking
• Losing
• Negotiating rules
• Conversation

Choose games your teen likes instead of picking one because it supposedly “teaches social skills.”

Sports, hiking, and other movement

Your teen doesn't have to play a team sport.

Movement might mean swimming, walking, weight training, martial arts, dance, biking, rock climbing, or shooting basketball alone in the driveway.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least 60 minutes of activity a day for kids and teens ages 6 to 17. Anything that gets your teen's heart beating faster counts.

Clubs built around a special interest

Special interests can make social connection easier because everyone already has something to talk about.

Look for clubs related to:

• Gaming
• Anime
• Coding
• Robotics
• Animals
• Trains
• Theater
• Art
• Chess
• Books
• Music
• History

The interest doesn't have to be “age typical” to be meaningful.

School and job-readiness activities

Adulthood can feel like it's approaching very quickly once your child becomes a teenager.

You don't have to prepare for everything at once.

If your teen has an individualized education program (IEP) for special education, the IEP that's in place when they turn 16 has to include goals for life after high school. Those goals cover education or training, employment, and, where it fits, independent living skills, and the IEP team can set them sooner. The activities below can feed right into them.

Sunday-night planner setup

Spend 10 minutes looking at the week ahead.

Have your teen add:

• School assignments
• Appointments
• Activities
• Work shifts
• Transportation
• Deadlines

Over time, let them take over more of the planning.

Mock job interview at home

Keep it casual.

Ask questions such as:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why do you want this job?
• What are you good at?
• What would you do if you didn't understand an instruction?
• When can you work?

Then switch roles and let your teen interview you. Sometimes that's considerably more fun.

First resume draft

A first resume doesn't need to contain much.

Include:

• School
• Volunteer work
• Clubs
• Projects
• Skills
• Certifications
• Informal experience such as pet care or helping a family member

Creating the first draft makes updating it later much easier.

Volunteering or a job shadow day

A short volunteer shift or job-shadowing experience can help your teen learn what different workplaces feel like.

It can also reveal things you might not discover during practice at home: noise tolerance, stamina, communication needs, or what kind of work they enjoy.

“I worked with a family whose daughter loved animals, so a pet shelter seemed like a good place to help out and build some skills. After one volunteer shift, though, it was clear the sounds, smells, and lighting were way too overwhelming for her. She switched to helping out at the aquarium nearby instead, which was a way better sensory fit and still let her be with animals.”

Video modeling, apps, and other tech-based activities

Technology doesn't have to be the enemy.

For many autistic teens, it can make learning more comfortable and predictable.

Video modeling with family phone clips

Record a short video showing how to complete a task.

For example:

• Using the washing machine
• Ordering lunch
• Taking the bus
• Making a sandwich
• Checking in at an appointment

Your teen can watch the clip before doing the task themselves.

Video modeling has been studied as a way to teach everyday and social skills to autistic teens and young adults.

Goal tracker in a habit app

If your teenager already lives on their phone, use it.

A habit app or reminders app can track:

• Medication
• Hygiene
• Homework
• Exercise
• Laundry
• Work schedule
• Sleep routine

Eventually, the phone may become the prompt instead of you.

That can be a win for everybody.

Virtual reality social practice

Virtual reality (VR) is also being studied as a way for autistic kids and teens to practice social situations in a controlled environment.

Research is still developing, and some studies reported side effects such as dizziness, eye fatigue, and sensory overload. View VR as another tool instead of a replacement for practicing skills in real life.

How to make home activities stick

The goal is to help your teen learn something useful and then gradually need less help doing it, which doesn't take an elaborate home therapy program.

Week 1: Your teen follows the entire laundry checklist while you stay nearby and prompt each step.

Week 2: You point to the checklist instead of verbally reminding them what comes next.

Week 3: Your teen starts the routine independently, but asks for help with washer settings.

Week 4: You check in after the load is finished rather than staying in the laundry room.

Later: Laundry becomes something your teen manages with a phone reminder and occasional help.

That's progress: your teen needs less support for something that matters in everyday life, even if it never looks perfect or exactly the way you'd do it.

And some skills will take much longer than four weeks. That's okay too.

How Alpaca Health helps families of teens with autism

ABA goals can and should change as autistic children get older.

For teens, treatment may focus more on independence, communication, emotional regulation, safety, community skills, self-advocacy, and preparing for adult life.

Through Alpaca Health, your family works with an independent Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who writes the treatment plan with your teen's input and adjusts it as they progress. Sessions can happen at home, at school, or in the community, and providers work with clients through age 21, so care doesn't have to stop at 18. Before services start, the care team checks your insurance benefits and handles the authorization paperwork.

If you're wondering what ABA might look like for your teenager, Alpaca Health can help you understand your options and build goals that fit this stage of life.

Free printable kit

Step Lists for 10 Teen Life Skills

Step lists your teen can follow for ten everyday skills, plus a four-week plan.

Send me the kit

Instant download, plus a copy in your inbox. We send occasional resources for families and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Download the kit (PDF)

We also sent the link to your email.

Frequently asked questions about activities for teens with autism

What is the 6 second rule for autism?

There isn't a formal autism treatment rule called the “6-second rule.”

The phrase usually refers to giving an autistic person extra time to process a question or instruction before repeating it. Some autism guidance suggests allowing about six seconds, but the right amount of processing time varies from person to person.

Some autistic people do need more time to process spoken language.

“Sometimes in testing when I ask a question, I can see that a teen knows the answer; they just need a few extra seconds to get there. If I jump in and rephrase the question, I’ve basically reset the clock on them. Waiting in silence can feel uncomfortable at first, but a lot of the time, just waiting is the most helpful thing you can do.”

Rather than counting exactly six seconds, give your teen enough time to respond before repeating the question or adding more words.

How can autistic teens manage anger?

Start by figuring out what's underneath it.

What looks like anger can sometimes be frustration, sensory overload, anxiety, communication difficulty, exhaustion, or feeling out of control.

Help your teen notice the early signs that they're becoming overwhelmed, since catching them early can sometimes head off an autistic meltdown. Then build a short list of coping strategies that work for them.

If anger is frequent, severe, suddenly different, or creates a safety concern, talk with their healthcare provider rather than assuming it's simply autism or adolescence.

What if my autistic teen refuses to do activities?

Start by finding out why.

Maybe the activity feels childish, or they're tired, or they don't understand what you're asking. It might be too hard, or they might simply not want to do it.

Teenagers are allowed to have preferences.

Offer choices when you can and connect practice to goals that matter to them.

“Learn to manage money because you're going to need this someday” may not be very motivating.

“Let's figure out how much money you'll need to go to that concert” might be.

Do I need a BCBA to do ABA activities at home?

You don't need a BCBA standing beside you to break laundry into steps, practice ordering food, use visual schedules, model a skill, or give your teen more independence.

But an individualized ABA treatment plan, especially when you're addressing significant behavior, safety concerns, or complex clinical needs, should be developed and supervised by a qualified professional.

Home shouldn't have to feel like a clinic.

If you'd like a BCBA to set goals with your teen and track progress, you can start an intake with Alpaca Health.

What are good sensory activities for autistic teenagers?

It depends on what your teen finds regulating.

Autistic people can be much more or less sensitive to sensory input than other people, so options might include:

• Weight training
• Swimming
• Walking
• Swinging
• Yoga or stretching
• Music
• Noise-canceling headphones
• Crafts or hands-on projects
• Cooking
• Spending time outdoors
• Using preferred sensory tools

Ask your teenager what feels good instead of assuming every autistic person needs the same sensory activities.