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.
