Play skills do not come naturally for many children with autism. So, it will be up to the adults in their lives to help them to build play skills. This can be done a variety of ways.  Most importantly, it will be essential to keep it fun.  Be sure to make it feel like play and not like work. Many times, the play will need to be taught directly and intentionally using age appropriate items, when possible. These worksheets offer ideas for teaching play skills. This resource puts a twist on teaching play development by having students complete an interactive journal about play skills. It is crucial to build a rapport at first so that you can make the play time as fun and interactive as possible. Remember that “free time” is not usually helpful to children on the spectrum who are not yet skilled at managing their own time or skilled at playing games. Also remember, some sort of structure is required for children without these skills to be successful at play. 

 
Resources for play skills: