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E-mail: indianafedfam@comcast.net
Fax: (765) 622-0643
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The 12 Tips of ChristmasContributed by Cathy Pratt, Ph.D.
Director, Indiana Resource Center for Autism
While many happily anticipate the coming holiday season, families of sons/daughters on the autism spectrum also understand the special challenges that may occur when
schedules are disrupted and routines broken. Our hope is that by following these few
helpful tips, families may lessen the stress of the holiday season and make it a more
enjoyable experience for everyone involved. The following tips were developed with input
from the Autism Society of America, the Indiana Resource Center for Autism and the
Indiana Autism Leadership Network.
1. Preparation is crucial for many individuals. At the same time, it is important to
determine how much preparation a specific person may need. For example, if your son
or daughter has a tendency to become anxious when anticipating an event that is to
occur in the future, you may want to adjust how many days in advance you prepare
him or her. Preparation can occur in various ways by using a calendar and marking
the date of various holiday events, or by creating a Social Story that highlights what
will happen at a given event.
2. Having decorations around the house may be disruptive for some. It may be helpful to revisit pictures from previous holidays that show decorations in the house. If such a
book does not exist, use this holiday season to create a picture book. For some it may
also be helpful to take them shopping with you for holiday decorations so that they are
engaged in the process. Or involve them in the process of decorating the house. And
once holiday decorations have been put up, you may need to create rules about those
that can be touched and those that can not be touched. Be direct, specific and
consistent.
3. If your child has difficulty with change, you may want to gradually decorate the house. For example, on the first day put up the Christmas tree, then on the next day decorate the tree and so on. And again, engage them as much as possible in this process.
4. If your child begins to obsess about a particular gift or toy they want, it may be helpful to be specific and direct about the number of times a child can mention the toy. One suggestion is to give your child 5 chips. They are allowed to exchange one chip for 5 minutes of talking about the desired gift. Also, if you have no intention of purchasing aspecific toy, it serves no purpose to tell the child that maybe they will get the gift. This
will only lead to problems in the future. Always choose to be direct specific about your
intentions.
5. Teach your child how to leave a situation and/or how to access support when an eventbecomes overwhelming. For example, rather then having a behavioral episode, the
individual should be taught ahead of time that they should go to their room when
feeling overwhelmed. This self-management tool will serve the individual into
adulthood.
6. If you are traveling for the holidays, make sure you have the child’s favorite foods or toys available. Having familiar items readily available can help to calm stressful situations. Also prepare them via social stories or other communication systems, for any unexpected delays in travel.
7. Know your child and how much noise and activity they can tolerate. If you detect that a situation may be becoming overwhelming, help your child find a quiet area in which to regroup. And there may be some situations that you simply avoid (e.g., crowded shopping malls the day after Thanksgiving).
8. Prepare a photo album in advance of the relatives and other guests who will be visiting during the holidays. Allow the child access to these photos at all time and also go through the photo album with your child while talking briefly about each family member.
9. In preparation for the holiday season, you might want to practice opening gifts, taking turns and waiting for others, or giving gifts to others. You might also choose to practice certain religious rituals. Work with a speech language pathologists to construct pages of vocabulary or topic boards that relate to the holidays and family traditions.
10. It may also be helpful to prepare family members for strategies to use to minimize anxiety or behavioral incidents, and to enhance participation. Help them to understand if your son/daughter prefers to be hugged or not, needs calm discussions, or provide other suggestions that will facilitate a smoother holiday season.
11. If you child is on special diet, make sure there is food available that they can eat. And even if they are not on a special diet, be cautious of the amount of sugar consumed. And while we are talking about health, try to maintain a sleep and meal routine.
12. Above all, know your child. Know how much noise and other sensory input they can take. Know their level of anxiety and the amount of preparation it may take. Know their fears and those things that will make the season more enjoyable for them.
Our hope above all is that you will have a wonderful holiday season!
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IFFCMH has many resources available to help you. Visit our Publications page to see a list of flyers, booklets and reprints of news stories as well as manuals for families and support groups and reprints of our past newsletters. PDF files can be emailed to you at no cost as can limited numbers of hard copies. Larger numbers of hard copies can be sent to you for the cost of printing and postage. Please call us at 1-866-247-8457 or email indianafedfam@comcast.net
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IFFCMH is seeking new members for its board of directors. Applicants must be a resident of the state of Indiana, and a primary caregiver (parent, grandparent, guardian, etc) of a child up to age 18 diagnosed with a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder, or of a young adult up to age 25 receiving transition services from youth to adult.
For an application, click the link below. For more information, phone Brenda Hamilton at 1-866-247-8457 or email us at indianafedfam@insightbb.com
Application for IFFCMH Board of Directors (PDF,19k)
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