How to Teach Personal Space to Autistic Children Through Play
Anyone who works with children—or has children of their own—is probably familiar with the pushing, shoving, whining, and complaints that happen when someone gets a little too close.
“He’s touching me!” “She’s in my spot!” “Move over!”
Personal space comes up during everything from circle time to a trip in the car. When children have different movement, attention, sensory, or anxiety-related needs, figuring out a comfortable amount of space can become even more complicated.
In a group that includes children with autism, ADHD, or OCD, you may be supporting very different needs: a child who seeks lots of movement, one who does not notice how close they are getting, and another who finds someone nearby particularly uncomfortable.
What may be less familiar is the idea that personal space is a skill we can teach—and we can teach it in fun, playful ways.
We can show children how to find an open spot, move around another person, ask before touching, and communicate when they need more room. Games, art, and pretend play give them opportunities to practice those actions while doing something they enjoy.
The activities below are designed for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary learners.
TL;DR
Make personal space visible with circles, pictures, and demonstrations.
Practice specific actions: finding an empty spot, moving around someone, and stepping back when asked.
Use playful activities before expecting children to apply the skill during busy routines.
Support speech, gestures, pointing, and AAC equally.
Explain that personal-space needs change and that everyone can ask for more room.
Table of Contents
What does personal space mean for young children?
Personal space is the room around someone’s body that helps them feel comfortable. For young children, learning about personal space includes noticing where other people are, leaving room to move, asking before touching, and responding when someone needs more space.
A “space bubble” can be a useful way to explain this. It is an imaginary way to describe space, rather than a fixed boundary that must stay the same all day.
A child may choose to sit close to a trusted adult and want more room during a noisy group activity. Two children may agree to sit beside each other to look at something. Someone else may prefer more distance.
Research has documented differences in personal-space awareness in autism. For example, a study by Kennedy and Adolphs found that parents reported more frequent difficulties with standing too close among autistic children than their non-autistic siblings. The study also discusses differences between people and situations.
For teaching, the useful question is: What does this child need help noticing, communicating, or doing? One child may need a visible place to stand. Another may need support asking before touching a friend’s belongings. Another may need adults to notice and honor their request for more room.
Why use play to teach personal space?
Play gives children a reason to use the skill. They move around classmates to collect a beanbag, find an empty circle when the music stops, or leave room for another person at a pretend veterinary clinic.
These activities make it possible to demonstrate a small action, support the child as they try it, and repeat it within a familiar game.
The National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice identifies visual supports, modeling, naturalistic interventions, and social narratives among evidence-based practices for autistic learners.
Naturalistic interventions embed teaching within typical activities and routines. These findings support using intentional teaching strategies during play.
You can apply these ideas by showing a child how to find an open space, using a picture reminder, and giving them time to try with support.
Personal space also connects with early friendship skills. Being near someone, sharing an activity, and leaving each other enough room are small parts of playing together. My post on basic friendship skills for autistic children explores more of those building blocks.
Start with a simple explanation and visual support
Begin when children are comfortable and ready to participate. You might say:
“Personal space means leaving room around people’s bodies. We can look for an open place to stand or play. If someone asks for more space, we can move back.”
Include the child’s own boundaries: “You can ask for more space too.”
Show what you mean, then connect the explanation to the activity you are about to do. A short introduction is enough; children will have more opportunities to explore the idea as they play.
Want a simple starting point? Sign up for my email list to get the Free Personal Space Mini Coloring Book Social Story. It prints on one sheet of regular printer paper, which you cut in half and staple into a small booklet. Read it together before introducing a personal-space activity, and invite your child to color it if they enjoy coloring.
Seven personal space activities to practice through play
These seven ideas come from my Personal Space Games & Hands-On Activities resource. You can try them with familiar classroom or household materials or use the prepared lesson plans and visuals if you would like additional support.
1. Jumping Bubbles
Draw large chalk circles outside, or make circles using yarn or hula hoops if you play this inside. Provide two or three more circles than the number of children so an empty space is always available.
Children move around the circles while music plays. When it stops, they find an empty bubble. If another child gets there first, they look for a different one.
Begin with walking and adapt movement to each child. Nobody is eliminated for needing help finding a spot.
Choosing another bubble also gives children a concrete opportunity to practice changing plans. That connects naturally with teaching flexible thinking to autistic children.
2. Can You Stay in Your Bubble?
Give each child a hula hoop or another clearly marked circle, leaving enough room between children. The children all attempt different motor actions while staying in their hoola hoop or "space bubble".
For a simple version without printables, an adult or child demonstrates a movement while the others try it inside their own spaces. The resource also includes action cards you can use to guide the game.
Children take turns being the leader. Model unfamiliar actions and allow adapted movements.
The aim is to notice their body in relation to the "space bubble" and the other children while moving. Children do not need to perform identical movements or copy the leader perfectly.
3. Personal Space Maze
Place painter’s tape markers around an open area. Children stand on the markers while one child starts at a cone and moves through the group to collect a beanbag.
The child then travels back, places the beanbag beside the cone, and chooses someone to trade places with.
Leave wide pathways and demonstrate how to slow down or change direction. If an accidental bump happens, calmly help the child find a more open route.
This activity also involves waiting and taking turns. If those are emerging skills, my free Taking Turns Social Story is a useful companion.
You can also read my waiting activities for preschool and kindergarten for ideas about supporting that part of group participation.
4. Space Bubble Crossing
Mark a starting line and finish line, then blow a small number of bubbles across the area. Children begin by crossing one at a time, practicing slowing down, stopping, or changing direction when bubbles move nearby.
As they become comfortable, two children can cross together while also watching the space around each other.
Keep the game cooperative: the group succeeds when everyone reaches the other side. A bubble touching someone does not mean they have failed or need to restart.
5. Make-Your-Own Personal-Space Bubbles
Children help measure and gently mix 4 cups of distilled water, 1 cup of dish soap, and ¼ cup of vegetable glycerin. Cover the solution and let it rest for approximately 24 hours before the outdoor activity.
During bubble play, each child has a wand and looks for an open space before blowing. Practice pointing the wand away from people’s faces and moving over when more room is needed.
The personal-space practice happens during the shared experience: checking surroundings, noticing friends, and adjusting position. Supervise the solution and wands, and watch for slippery spills.
6. My Invisible Space Bubble
Prepare a white crayon or white crayon circle on white paper. Children paint over it with watercolors to reveal the circle. Once the paper dries, they add a photograph or draw themselves inside it.
Use the painting to explain that we can imagine the room around someone’s body even though we cannot see an actual bubble.
7. Pretend Play
Start with something your children already enjoy and look for natural opportunities to practice personal space within that pretend-play theme. Where will people wait? How can they move around one another? When might they need to ask before touching or reaching for something?
For children who are interested in animals, a pretend veterinary clinic is a fun example. Gather stuffed animals, a toy doctor kit, small towels or mats, and a few bowls. Children can take turns being the veterinarian, assistant, receptionist, or pet owner.
Give each animal a place to wait, and leave room between the people bringing their pets for a checkup. Children can practice approaching, asking before touching someone else’s animal, and moving back when more room is needed.
This theme is especially useful because even the animals need personal space! During pretend play, talk about what might happen if all the animals are pushed together in one small area? What do they think would happen? What could the veterinarian do to make sure all the pets have the personal space they need? Do the children want to make a psoter to put on the wall to tell the animals where they can sit?
Use the stuffed animals to act out pausing, giving more room, and approaching gently.
Then connect the idea back to people: “Your puppy needed more room. Sometimes people need more room too. We can notice, ask, and move back.”
My activity pack includes a prepared veterinary pretend-play setup with signs, role badges, action cards, and waiting-space markers if you would like those supports ready to print.
Want the prepared lesson plans and visuals? Explore my Personal Space Games & Activities. The resource includes the activities above, supporting printables, and class and individual data sheets.
Help children use personal space during everyday routines
After a child practices during a game, connect that action to a familiar routine. Before lining up, remind them how they found an open spot during the circle game. During pretend play, point out the waiting places and leave time for children to choose one.
Keep reminders specific:
“There is an open spot beside you.”
“Move back a little so there is room.”
“Ask before touching your friend’s animal.”
Notice what the child actually did: “You saw someone there and went around.” This gives clearer information than a general “Good job.”
Choose one small skill to observe across activities. For example, does the child find an empty space independently, after a gesture, or after an adult demonstrates?
A child’s comfort and willingness to participate matter too. If a crowded activity is difficult, create more room or reduce the group size.
Support different communication, sensory, and movement needs
Children can participate without speaking. They can point to an open spot, use gestures or AAC, and show that they need room by moving away. Adults should respond to those messages.
Adapt the physical setup as well. Enlarge circles, widen maze pathways, and allow walking, rolling, or another comfortable way of moving. Choose actions each child can attempt safely.
If a child dislikes bubbles, music, or paint, choose another activity from the pack. Participation does not depend on enjoying every material.
Teach personal space as a shared responsibility. Adults and peers should also ask before touching, respond to requests for room, and allow children to decline unwanted closeness. The goal is comfortable participation and mutual respect.
Personal space teaching resources and freebies
You can introduce the idea with a short story, practice through play, and revisit it with pictures and discussion.
For a free first step, sign up for my email list and download the Personal Space Mini Coloring Book Social Story. Keep the little booklet available to reread before a game or send it home so families can use the same simple idea during everyday routines.
If you want more prepared activities, the Personal Space Bundle provides lesson plans and visual materials for practicing through movement, art, and pretend play.
For a broader set of teaching materials, my Personal Space Bundle brings together:
Personal space games and hands-on activities.
A personal space social story.
An adapted book.
Worksheets and printables.
Punch cards.
If you are also deciding which other early social skills to work on, you can get my free Kindergarten Social Skills Checklist. Use it to help organize your observations and choose a manageable next teaching focus.
Frequently asked questions
How do you explain personal space to an autistic child?
Use a short explanation such as “Personal space means leaving room around people’s bodies.” Show what that looks like with a marked space, picture, or demonstration. Explain that children can ask for more room themselves and that people’s preferences can change.
What if a child understands the pictures but still gets too close during play?
Identifying an example and using the skill during a busy activity are different tasks. Return to a short, supported game, model one action, and use a familiar visual reminder. Check whether the child has enough physical room and knows what to do next.
Can children who do not speak join personal space activities?
Yes. Offer pointing, gestures, AAC, picture choices, and adapted movement. A spoken explanation is not required to take a turn, find an open space, or communicate a need for more room.
Should children always stay an arm’s length apart?
An arm’s-length demonstration can help illustrate space when there is room to do it safely, but it is not a rule for every situation. The amount of room people need depends on their preferences and what they are doing. Teach children to notice, ask, and adjust.
Can a social story teach personal space by itself?
A social story can introduce the idea and provide a familiar reminder. Pair it with demonstrations and supported opportunities to use the skill. Reading about stepping back and practicing it during play give children different ways to learn.
Research and further reading
Kennedy, D. P., & Adolphs, R. (2014). Violations of personal space by individuals with autism spectrum disorder. PLOS ONE, 9(8), e103369. Read the full study.
National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (2020). Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Access the report and supporting resources.
For a quick overview, see Table 3.1: Evidence-based practices and definitions, including visual supports, modeling, naturalistic interventions, and social narratives.
Hume, K., et al. (2021). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism: Third generation review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51, 4013–4032.Read the research review.
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