If you’re looking for entertainment programming ideas for ABA Centers, here is our list of the top 5 ideas we’ve seen work well for our ABA Center clients!
Kaleidoscope has been serving ABA Centers in CT, MA, RI, and NH for close to a decade and works with an accessibility & inclusion consultant to make sure that our artists know how to modify and adapt performances for all children at every event–including at ABA Centers! Entertainment and programming ideas only work if they work for everyone, and Kaleidoscope is committed to making sure that’s the case.
5 ABA Center Entertainment and Programming Ideas
1. Face Painting and Balloon Twisting: Together and with Modifications
At A Glance: Face painting and balloon twisting are classic kids entertainment that are popular with all ages.
We Love It For:
- Open houses (listing “free face painting and balloon twisting” are great magnets for new families)
- Family days (especially with siblings of ABA clients who would enjoy being included)
- RBT appreciation days (even adults love face painting and balloon twisting)
Accessibility Problems: Children may not want to be touched by a stranger (or at all) or may be fearful of balloon textures or noises.
Accessibility Solutions: Make sure you hire artists who can do and bring both face painting and balloon twisting together so children can pick which art they can tolerate. If the station has more choices, more children can participate.
2. Mascot Visits
At A Glance: A favorite cartoon character can come visit your ABA center.
We Love It For:
- Special evenings (parents night out, family celebrations)
- Camp weeks (featuring a different character on different days)
Accessibility Problems: We’ve actually found that children in ABA centers prefer mascot visits to “face characters” (like princesses or super heroes), so this programming idea may be an accessibility solution to itself. However, some children are still nervous about tall mascots walking towards them.
Accessibility Solutions: Have a meet and greet room where children can choose to approach the mascots instead of having mascots walk into the center of your ABA Center. This room can also double as a changing room for your mascot actor, but is a better contained space for sensitive kids and offers them entertainment which they can consent to participate in.
3. Versatile Magic Shows
At A Glance: A sensory-friendly magic show for young children with lots of silliness that doesn’t require a long attention span!
We Love It For:
- Seated programming for vacation camps or special events
- Marketing added value to parents choosing between centers
- Indoor programming
Accessibility Problems: Children may not be able to sit down for a full 30min show, may not be able to tolerate loud noises or unexpected movements, or may not be able to follow longer magic show plots.
Accessibility Solutions: Make sure your magician can:
- come with more tricks than they typically need,
- can pivot to close-up magic if the group isn’t able to sit and watch the show,
- is able to moderate their volume and the volume of any tricks,
- and can perform their show without on-stage participants.
4. Bubble Shows (with Bubble Play)
At A Glance: A bubble performance and bubble play station are a great mix of seated entertainment and sensory play that can be assessable to many children with different play styles.
We Love It For:
- Outdoor ABA center summer camp programming and entertainment ideas
- Low-sensory splash day alternative programming
- All-ages hands-on entertainment
Accessibility Problems: ABA clients may not be able to sit for a full show, even if the show is modified for young children. Other children may not enjoy the sensory experience of bubble liquid on their hands.
Accessibility Solutions: Make sure your bubble artist can pivot to a bubble play sensory station with the kids if they’re unable to sit and watch the full show. Ask your bubble artist if they’re able to bring wands of contained bubble liquid for children who don’t want to free play with bubble wands and open trays of liquid.
5. Science Shows (with Slime Lab)
At A Glance: If your ABA center loves shows, a kids’ science show can be a great alternative to magic or bubbles.
We Love It For:
- Educational programming ideas for ABA centers
- Themed camp weeks
Accessibility Problems: Like our other shows, kids may not be able to follow a longer plot of a show or sit for a full 30min show.
Accessibility Solutions: We love the combination of a science show with a slime lab to entertain both children who are higher energy and lower energy; hands on or shy. As long as your science show performer understands that different children may be more or less drawn to different aspects of the performance, they can find some way to engage everyone.
Bonus: Entertainment and Programming Ideas We Don’t Recommend for ABA Centers
After a decade of providing accessible entertainment and programming for ABA centers, here are the top entertainment and programming ideas we don’t recommend.
- Caricatures. We love them, but young or high energy children often struggle to sit still long enough for it to work (and often the pay out for sitting still isn’t worth the struggle!)
- Stilt walkers. These are fun for huge events, but often intimidating for young children of any ability (and unpredictable movement or behavior near a stilt walker can be dangerous for everyone).
- Hair art. Hair art can be a great alternative to face painting for a festival atmosphere, but can often be harder for parents to remove than face painting, especially if their children already struggle with bath time.
- Tarot or psychic services. We don’t perform this type of entertainment for any group under 16, as they don’t understand the difference between metaphor or story telling and facts.
3 Tips for ABA Centers Communicating with Entertainers or Programming Vendors
Kaleidoscope is committed to the entertainment and fun of kids of all abilities, with an accessibility & inclusion consultant on our team; ethical labor practices that include accommodations for artists with invisible disabilities; and required internal trainings so that everyone on our team is both the best performer they can be and the safest adult to all children.
However, if your center is not located in New England (we serve all of CT, MA, RI, NH, and most of VT and ME) then here are our tips for making sure that your entertainment and programming vendors can adapt their ideas to your ABA center.
1. Make sure they understand what autism and an ABA Center is.
Don’t assume they know as much as you–even the basics.
When sending an introductory email to an entertainer, explain the demographic of your center and what your needs are (not just their pricing and availability).
2. Ask what entertainment or programming modifications they can prepare.
If your entertainer does have an idea about autism or ABA, still explicitly ask what modifications they can make for common problems like touch aversion, noise sensitivity, communication difficulties, or unpredictable movements/behavior.
3. Ask if they can prepare backup or alternative entertainment or programming.
Can your entertainer bring more than what you’ve hired them for if your original programming or entertainment idea for ABA centers doesn’t work?
Many can, so in your research make sure this is possible.
Categories: Party Ideas (CT MA RI NH)