Top Tips For An Autism-Friendly Christmas

The most wonderful time of year, whether you’re hosting a big family event or spending hours decorating your Christmas tree – the holidays are simply magical. However, for children with autism and related disorders, they can also be a little daunting. This is due to the fact that they’re leaps and bounds away from their usual routine; with unplanned visitors popping by, time off school, and the potential for sensory overload at every possible corner. 

However, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are plenty of elements of the festive period that your children are sure to love – from giving and receiving gifts to rewatching their favorite holiday movies. As with any celebrations, from birthdays to thanksgiving, it’s easy to make the event as autism-friendly as possible, it simply requires some careful planning ahead of time.

With that in mind, here are some top tips for an autism-friendly Christmas! 

Keep routines consistent where possible. 

Putting together a clear routine is a great way to help your child thrive in any environment. This is due to the fact that it can provide them with the structure and stability that they require to function as normal. While it may be impossible to stick entirely to your usual routine during the festive period, being as consistent as possible in your day-to-day activities will go a long way towards helping your child feel more comfortable. For example, you could ensure that you: 

• Stick to your usual meal times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 
• Set your alarm for the same time each morning. 
• Add Christmas events to your calendar, so your child/children know what to expect. 
• Let your children know when you are expecting guests, and encourage them to arrive at a specific time so your children are not caught unaware.
• Help your children stay up to date with their hobbies and daily activities where possible, including attending any in-person or online therapy sessions used to help them better manage their autism. 

Think carefully about your decor.

Whether you prefer an artificial tree or the real deal, decorating your home for an autism-friendly Christmas can be a lot of fun – especially as it is an activity that the whole family can get involved in. However, when decorating, you should be particularly mindful of any sensory issues that your children may deal with as you do not want to make them feel uncomfortable in their own home. For example, while fairy lights are a great way to bring some sparkle into your lounge, they aren’t always the most autism-friendly choice of decorating, especially if they blink on and off or change colors frequently. 

Keep the Christmas songs on a low volume.

Playing (and replaying) your favorite Christmas songs is a great way to get the party started – whether you’re a fan of Mariah Carey or Michael Buble. However, if you want to keep your party as autism-friendly as possible, you should ensure that you keep the noise down to an acceptable volume. This is due to the fact that children with autism and related disorders often react negatively to loud noises. In fact, a recent report from the interactive autism network found that approximately 65% of children with autism are sensitive to noise. It may also be worth purchasing some noise-canceling headphones for your child.

Put together an autism-friendly Christmas menu.

While each and every child experiences autism in a different way, many children with autism and related disorders are also quite specific regarding the kinds of food and drink they enjoy. Again, this is often linked to the way in which they approach certain senses, such as taste and texture. For example, they may not like the texture of certain foods, or the way they feel in their mouth – and as a result, will refuse to eat them moving forward. While your parents may always have encouraged you to eat everything on your plate, it’s important that you do not force your child to eat something they do not enjoy. Instead, you should ensure you put together dishes and meals that you know they will enjoy. 

Listen to how they are feeling.

Listening to your child, and encouraging them to find ways to express themself is another great way for the whole family to enjoy the holidays. For example, when you put together your schedule for the holidays, you should discuss it with them in-depth and ask how they feel about certain events or activities. If they express discomfort, you’ll be able to soothe their worries or put alternative plans in place.

Whether your favorite part of thanksgiving is the famous football matches, spending time with your family, or second (and third) helpings of pumpkin pie – you’ll likely already have put some plans in place for how you plan to celebrate the big day. After all, many thanksgiving celebrations were put on hold last year, meaning that we have twice as many reasons to celebrate in 2021.

However, when a child deals with autism or a similar condition, enjoying a big family event can be a little more difficult. This is due to the fact that celebrations not only mark a clear deviation from their usual routine, they are also busy, loud, and over-stimulating – which could leave your child feeling incredibly uncomfortable. However, this does not mean that they have to miss out on the fun!

With that in mind, here are some top tips for planning the perfect (autism-friendly) thanksgiving celebrations.

• Talk to them about your plans ahead of time. Children with autism and related conditions prefer to stick to a strict routine in their daily lives since it provides them with a sense of structure and stability. Therefore, in order to ensure that you do not deviate too far from this during your thanksgiving celebrations, you should tell them about your thanksgiving plans in advance. This way, they will know what to expect from the day and will not be caught unaware. Mark the date clearly on your calendar, and speak about it frequently over the dinner table.
• Put together a new routine for the day. While you may have to abandon your daily routine to make room for your Thanksgiving plans, this doesn’t mean that your child’s day has to be without structure entirely. For example, you could put together a schedule for your day – whether you will spend time cooking in the kitchen or visiting friends and family.
• Read social stories. Social stories are short stories crafted to explain certain events or activities to children with autism so that they know what to expect from these scenarios. They are often written to introduce children to new concepts, such as starting school or visiting the dentist. However, they can also be used for big events and holiday celebrations. Here are some great examples of Thanksgiving Social Stories for you to try out.
• Keep the volume down. If your child deals with sensory issues, they may find loud noises particularly distressing. Therefore, you should speak with all guests ahead of time to request that they keep the conversation at a reasonable level when possible. You should also ensure that you do not play music or the television too loud. It may also be worthwhile to purchase some sound-canceling headphones for your child to wear (especially if your favorite team is playing football).
• Let your child step outside for a moment. If you notice that your child is showing signs of becoming overstimulated, then you should make it clear that they are free to remove themselves from the situation. For example, if you are having dinner over the table – let your child know it’s okay to go to their room for a little bit to calm down. If you are staying at a friend or relative’s house, create a safe (and quiet) space somewhere in their home for your child to retreat to if necessary.
• Go easy on the decor. Whether you’re a centerpiece pro or like to try your hand at arts and crafts around the holiday, you must ensure the dinner table is as autism-friendly as possible. Therefore, you should ensure that you don’t have too much decor around the house, as this could lead to overstimulation.
• Keep up with therapies. At Alee Behavioral, we offer a wide range of therapies for autism spectrum disorder that help children with autism and related conditions thrive in every situation, including the holidays. Therefore, while it may be a busy time for your family, it’s important that you don’t skip your therapy session – in fact, it may even be beneficial to schedule in an extra session during this time. If you’re away from home, you could even look into online therapy.

While many travel plans may have been put on hold as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the success of vaccination schemes and safety procedures means that we could very soon be traveling freely again. This means that it’s finally time to start planning your family vacation (or staycation, if you want to stay a little closer to home).

However, while many view vacations as something exciting and relaxing, children with autism or related disorders may view them with a degree of apprehension. This is because vacations often signify a break in their daily routine – which for many is a cause of discomfort. Nevertheless, this does not mean that they don’t enjoy traveling and won’t have a good time on vacation; it just means you need to find a way to make it as fun and exciting as possible for them.

With that in mind, here are some ways to help prepare your child for a fun family vacation.

Involve them in the planning process as much as possible.

As mentioned previously, children with autism and related disorders often thrive when they can stick to a certain routine or schedule. As you will be interrupting that schedule, you must help them prepare for this change so that it does not come as a surprise. Thankfully, there are various ways in which you can do this:

• Start talking about the vacation as soon as possible, giving them a confirmed date as to when you will be traveling and for how long.
• Ask them for their input on potential holiday destinations, showing them plenty of pictures and videos, so they know what to expect.
• Once booked, show them the website for your hotel or Airbnb. This means they can begin to familiarize themselves with the new environment ahead of time.
• If your child attends therapy, you could ask their therapist to discuss the upcoming vacation with them.

Put together an itinerary.

Though you may want to spend most of your vacation relaxing, an itinerary is a great way to help your child make the most out of their vacation. It takes away the element of ‘surprise,’ which can help them feel more comfortable and relaxed. When putting together an itinerary, consider the following:

• Try to ensure that your itinerary in some way resembles your usual routine. For example, you could aim to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same time each day.
• Find (and plan out) some activities that you know your child will enjoy. For example, you can find activities that align with their hobbies or special interests.
• Ensure each family member is happy by allowing them to select some activities to participate in – whether this means museum visits or other local attractions.
• When traveling from one place to another, let your child know how long each journey will take.
• Put together your itinerary as soon as possible. This gives your child the chance to familiarize themselves with the schedule.

Focus on making them comfortable.

When heading out on vacation, ensure you do whatever it takes to keep your child feeling relaxed and comfortable. Thankfully, there are various ways in which you can do this, such as:

• Allowing them to ‘veto’ certain activities if they don’t feel like they want to participate.
• Asking them plenty of questions and listening to what they have to say.
• Bringing some home comforts along with you in their suitcase so that they can turn to something familiar if they need it. For example, if they prefer to eat a specific kind of cereal for breakfast – you might want to bring a box with you.