Key Points:
- Social games for autism are designed to support connection, communication, and shared play among children with different social needs.
- These activities help build skills like joint attention, turn-taking, and emotional understanding in a fun, structured format.
- With the right tools and environment, children with autism can thrive in group settings while enjoying meaningful peer interaction.
Children with autism often face challenges with social communication and interaction, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to connect with others. In fact, many kids with autism enjoy group play when the setting is structured and predictable. That’s where social games for autism come in. These targeted activities are more than just fun—they’re opportunities to build real-world social skills through play.
Whether your child is verbal or nonverbal, prefers parallel play, or is ready for full cooperative activities, the right games can meet them where they are. This article covers a range of evidence-informed games and activities that foster social engagement, emotional learning, and communication for children on the spectrum.
What Are the Best Social Games for Autism?
The best social games for autism are structured activities that support shared attention, communication, and turn-taking, while minimizing sensory overload. These games focus on developing connection through predictable routines and visual supports, often tailored to individual preferences and abilities.
Children with autism benefit from repetition, clear roles, and consistent expectations during play. Many social games emphasize nonverbal communication, cooperation, and emotion recognition—all critical components of social development. These activities can take place at home, in therapy, or in group settings and are often adapted for different developmental levels.
Why Are Social Games Important for Children with Autism?
Social games give children with autism the chance to practice interaction in a safe, predictable way. Many autistic kids struggle with spontaneous conversation or interpreting social cues, which can make typical peer play difficult. Games create a clear structure around interaction, allowing children to build skills one step at a time.
When used regularly, these games help children:
- Understand the concept of sharing and taking turns
- Practice joint attention (focusing on the same activity with someone else)
- Express emotions and recognize them in others
- Follow verbal and nonverbal instructions
- Enjoy peer engagement without the pressure to talk constantly
Parents, therapists, and teachers often find that consistent use of social games leads to improved peer relationships and reduced anxiety in group settings.
What Are the Top Social Games for Kids with Autism?
Not every game will work for every child, but there are several tried-and-true activities that can be adapted to suit most skill levels. Below are structured, research-supported options that support social development through play.
1. Turn-Taking Games
Turn-taking is foundational to any type of social interaction. These games help children learn patience, recognize order, and anticipate their role in a sequence.
Turn-taking activities may include:
- Simple board games like Candy Land or Zingo
- Rolling a ball back and forth with clear verbal or visual cues
- Taking turns hitting a drum or musical instrument
- Stacking blocks in alternating turns
These activities help reinforce the idea that other people have a role in play, and that waiting and watching are part of interaction, too.
2. Emotion Matching Games
Understanding emotions—both their own and others’—can be a challenge for children with autism. Games focused on emotional recognition help children read facial expressions and associate them with feelings.
Examples include:
- Emotion flashcards that children match with the correct facial expression
- Feelings bingo, where children match spoken emotions with images
- Act It Out, where children draw emotion cards and act out the feeling while others guess
- Using emoji cards to describe how characters in a story might feel
Emotion recognition games build empathy and help children respond more appropriately in real-life situations.
3. Simon Says and Imitation Games
These classic imitation games promote listening, following directions, and nonverbal communication—all essential for social success.
You can try:
- Simon Says, with a visual support board for gestures or movements
- Copy Me, where one child performs a movement and the others mirror it
- Musical imitation, using dance moves or instruments to follow a leader
- Follow the Leader, adapted for motor or sensory preferences
These activities are especially helpful for nonverbal children and promote shared attention.
4. Role-Playing and Pretend Play
Pretend play is more than imagination—it’s how children learn about social roles, perspective-taking, and cooperation.
Helpful role-play activities include:
- Playing “store,” “restaurant,” or “doctor” with defined roles and simple scripts
- Puppet shows to act out short social stories or feelings
- Dollhouse play, practicing daily routines like getting dressed or bedtime
- Animal pretend games, where each child plays an animal and interacts accordingly
Use visual supports or scripted options to ease anxiety and provide a model for interaction.
5. Cooperative Building Projects
Some children prefer structured, task-based activities over unstructured social play. Cooperative building projects use that preference to encourage joint action toward a common goal.
Try these activities:
- Building a LEGO set from instructions as a group, with assigned roles
- Creating a puzzle together, each child is responsible for a section
- Constructing a cardboard fort or race track for toy cars
- Art projects, where each child contributes a piece to a shared work
These games promote communication, flexibility, and problem-solving—all through shared effort.
6. Sensory-Friendly Group Games
Sensory needs often interfere with group play. Tailored group games that honor sensory sensitivities allow autistic children to engage without becoming overwhelmed.
Examples of sensory-friendly games include:
- Parachute play, which uses gentle movement and visual stimulation
- Freeze dance with calm, predictable music
- Tactile bin exploration, where children take turns pulling toys from a sensory bin
- Quiet scavenger hunts, finding soft or textured objects based on pictures
These options keep the focus on calm, supportive interaction rather than fast-paced competition.
How Can You Adapt Games for Different Abilities?
Every child with autism is unique. What works for one may not work for another. That’s why most social games for autism need to be adapted for different communication levels, attention spans, and sensory needs.
Tips for adapting games:
The goal is to make participation achievable and enjoyable. When children feel successful, they’re more likely to engage again.
What Makes a Good Social Game for Autism?
A good social game for children with autism promotes interaction, builds communication skills, and accommodates sensory and developmental differences. These games should include clear rules, visual supports, and structured turn-taking to reduce anxiety and encourage participation. Flexible formats that allow for individual adaptation—such as nonverbal communication options or shortened playtimes—are essential.
Games that emphasize cooperation over competition, include interests relevant to the child, and provide consistent routines help autistic children feel more confident and engaged. When social games are enjoyable, predictable, and tailored to a child’s needs, they become powerful tools for skill-building and connection—much like thoughtfully designed environments that support learning and comfort, as explored in Creating the Ideal Learning Space for Autistic Students.
Help Build Essential Skills with ABA Therapy
Structured social games for autism are a valuable tool, but children often need consistent support to generalize these skills into real life. That’s where ABA therapy can help.
If you’re looking for ABA therapy in Utah, Acclimate ABA specializes in creating personalized, play-based programs that reinforce social communication and emotional understanding.
Contact us today and explore how ABA therapy can complement your child’s growth in social engagement—turning play into progress, one game at a time.
