Activities for an young autistic person who isn’t sure what to do

Suggestions of projects that I use to keep myself occupied during my gap year (I don't think I got quite as deep as your son but there have definitely been periods where I was suffering from lack of activity which was causing a further spiral), some may or may not help him but it's a range of option and some may click with him or you:

- Doing programming courses. In my case this was python. I did a future learn and udacity beginner programme course and then did loads of problem solving on things like Hackerrank (much more innocent than the name suggests) it was really fun and is a very useful skill to have

- Doing some supercurricular stuff. I'm fairly maths obsessed, and my sixth form didn't offer all of the further maths modules I wanted so I spent some time self studying this stuff. While this specifically may not be suitable, there may be some other stuff around it, or maybe a private research project similar to an EPQ but less formalized, or maybe with the structure if it's beneficial for him.

- Music! all the music. I don't know whether he already plays an instrument, or is interested in music, but whether he does or not, practicing a certain song or peice or maybe learning a new technique can be a really good occupation.

- Making stuff. Having physical evidence of having made something with your own hands can be really cool. My favourite types of this is yarn work, so sewing, crochet, lacemaking kind of stuff. But art, clay, painting, gardening, woodwork, weaving, whatever takes your fancy, can be great

- Kind of similar to the last one. Cooking. I love technical cooking, especially when following recipes, but giving it a go isn't a bad thing. Especially when watching videos and cooking, I get to keep in touch with my mild obsessions with various series, and cook delicious stuff. As I often forget to eat, my love of cooking can be really important for ensuring that I'm well fed too.

- Joining a club, in small doses. Hear me out here. I find social situations incredibly triggering, but they are very important to ensure I don't lose all of my hard won faking it skills. And I found activities that do very small groups, and are quite niche, so there aren't constantly new people and there are usually no more than 10 people. For me, that is dog agility, dog obedience and renaissance dancing. Renaissance dancing is probably the biggest group, but it is very structured and I can go hide or sit out if I need to which helps on the rare occasions I do get overwhelmed. The other two can never have more than 4 dogs so no more than 8 people and usually only 5, so very small and having a dog to cuddle helps too. Maybe your son could find some kind of structured group that could help form a bit of a set routine, and at least a motivation to get out of be which I'm aware can be super hard.

- Walking is cool. Walking into areas you've never been usuing a map is also very cool. I love map reading, although I know it's not for everyone, and feel a lot more secure in knowing that I can walk on footpaths everywhere I need to go in an emergency (sixth form to home, shop to home, nearest city to home, as I'm quite rural these tend to be at least 2 hours walk one way so they're good time users)

I hope this has given some ideas and even if none of them suit your son, you or he may be inspired to think of another ideas

I hope he finds something that can catch his interest and continues his recovery

Suggestions of projects that I use to keep myself occupied during my gap year (I don't think I got quite as deep as your son but there have definitely been periods where I was suffering from lack of activity which was causing a further spiral), some may or may not help him but it's a range of option and some may click with him or you:

- Doing programming courses. In my case this was python. I did a future learn and udacity beginner programme course and then did loads of problem solving on things like Hackerrank (much more innocent than the name suggests) it was really fun and is a very useful skill to have

- Doing some supercurricular stuff. I'm fairly maths obsessed, and my sixth form didn't offer all of the further maths modules I wanted so I spent some time self studying this stuff. While this specifically may not be suitable, there may be some other stuff around it, or maybe a private research project similar to an EPQ but less formalized, or maybe with the structure if it's beneficial for him.

- Music! all the music. I don't know whether he already plays an instrument, or is interested in music, but whether he does or not, practicing a certain song or peice or maybe learning a new technique can be a really good occupation.

- Making stuff. Having physical evidence of having made something with your own hands can be really cool. My favourite types of this is yarn work, so sewing, crochet, lacemaking kind of stuff. But art, clay, painting, gardening, woodwork, weaving, whatever takes your fancy, can be great

- Kind of similar to the last one. Cooking. I love technical cooking, especially when following recipes, but giving it a go isn't a bad thing. Especially when watching videos and cooking, I get to keep in touch with my mild obsessions with various series, and cook delicious stuff. As I often forget to eat, my love of cooking can be really important for ensuring that I'm well fed too.

- Joining a club, in small doses. Hear me out here. I find social situations incredibly triggering, but they are very important to ensure I don't lose all of my hard won faking it skills. And I found activities that do very small groups, and are quite niche, so there aren't constantly new people and there are usually no more than 10 people. For me, that is dog agility, dog obedience and renaissance dancing. Renaissance dancing is probably the biggest group, but it is very structured and I can go hide or sit out if I need to which helps on the rare occasions I do get overwhelmed. The other two can never have more than 4 dogs so no more than 8 people and usually only 5, so very small and having a dog to cuddle helps too. Maybe your son could find some kind of structured group that could help form a bit of a set routine, and at least a motivation to get out of be which I'm aware can be super hard.

- Walking is cool. Walking into areas you've never been usuing a map is also very cool. I love map reading, although I know it's not for everyone, and feel a lot more secure in knowing that I can walk on footpaths everywhere I need to go in an emergency (sixth form to home, shop to home, nearest city to home, as I'm quite rural these tend to be at least 2 hours walk one way so they're good time users)

I hope this has given some ideas and even if none of them suit your son, you or he may be inspired to think of another ideas

I hope he finds something that can catch his interest and continues his recovery

Thank you so much Fibonacci Squid for this wonderful reply - I hugely appreciate your thoughtful and very helpful suggestions. So much here to think about - so many positive suggestions, so many of which I haven’t already considered. It’s so helpful and so kind of you to take the time to reply. You’ve obviously developed excellent skills of self help in this regard. This is just what myself and my youngest son need (we are both autistic - as are my eldest and my husband). As an autistic mother I can relate to my son’s struggles but as I am very similar to him I often struggle to ‘think outside the box’ when it comes to strategies to help him cope with his depression and anxiety issues. When we are both struggling we get quite stuck. We are very isolated and don’t have much support. This is one of the reasons why I so appreciate this community - there is so much understanding and support on here - it’s so helpful. 

Your ideas are great and I will ask him if he thinks he might like to give any of them a go. Thank you so much