09/06/2026
Branching out, learning to love new things. How do we know that we like it or don't like it, if we don't try something out?
My work means I get to visit a lot of therapeutic clinics and the following is a conversation I have often:
*inside a small, bare therapy room, with work materials and 1 exercise ball*
Therapist: “Levi loves bouncing on the ball when he’s in here, it’s his favorite thing to do!”
Me: “Yeah, I’m sure he does…there’s not any other options.” 😔
Autism, by definition comes with limited interests, so seeing a rather bare therapy space is not uncommon.
I’m not going to tell you a simple environment is a bad environment, because that’s not true. Sometimes simple is exactly what someone needs.
But “simple” should still leave room for expansion.
Later, I’ll ask that same therapist: “Is there anything else Levi likes to do?”
She answers, “He likes to color - well, he likes to watch ME color.
He picks out the markers and points to where he wants each color to go.”
When autism makes novelty difficult, our clients may not seek out the experiences that could eventually become new interests, new skills, or new ways to connect with other people.
You might pull out the blocks and Levi pushes them away.
You might suggest a new game and he gets upset.
So over time, it's easy to fall into a routine of offering the things you already know will work.
But part of therapy is helping someone build a bigger life.
If nobody introduces new possibilities, how are they supposed to discover what else their life could include?
When I worked 1 on 1 with clients I taught myself to start thinking like a social media algorithm.
When you open Instagram, you don't have to search for videos.
The algorithm remembers what you’ve watched before and starts making educated guesses.
If you watched a cute baby duck…maybe you'll like a puppy.
If you watched someone decorate a cake…maybe you'll like watching someone paint.
We can do the same thing for our autistic clients.
Notice what PART Levi likes about an activity.
We learned he likes watching his therapist color…
Maybe he likes watching something change as another person manipulates it?
Maybe he likes choosing what happens next?
Maybe he likes being involved without having to physically do the activity himself?
Oftentimes, we CAN’T just ask, “Levi, what new hobbies would you like to try?”
Because even an autistic person with lots of language may struggle to imagine an unfamiliar experience, or predict whether they'll enjoy it.
You can't request an experience you don't know exists.
That's where we have to do some of the guessing.
Take what you know they enjoy, figure out what seems important about it, and use those clues to generate the next possibility.
You're going to guess wrong. A LOT. It’s ok! The algorithm guesses wrong too!
Does your client love throwing things?
Maybe try pushing a doll down the slide, or throwing balls at a target.
Do they watch the same 30 seconds of a video over and over?
Maybe they’d like using action figures or puppets to recreate that scene.
Do they monologue about a special interest?
Maybe that interest becomes trivia, a matching game, or an interactive presentation.
The question isn't just, “What does this person like?”
It's “What is it ABOUT this that they might like…and where else can we find that?”
Think like the algorithm.
Use what your client already loves to make an educated guess about what else they might enjoy.
And please, get rejected in the process!
You’re not trying to uncover a new hidden passion every session.
Expansion doesn’t have to mean huge change. It can simply mean adding another possibility. ❤️
