My best tips to prepare your child with special needs for the holidays + MY BIGGEST SECRET for keeping your holidays meltdown free (at the end of this post!)? Here they are!
This time of year can get very overwhelming for everyone, including children with special needs.
Why are the holidays overwhelming?
1/ People tend to pop over unexpectedly.
2/ You may be hosting a holiday party or parties in your home which means extra people, noise and schedule changes.
3/ The level of predictability in your child’s life goes down during the holidays.
4/ Your child may be very excited for Christmas (+ presents) to arrive! There is a fine line between joyful excitement and difficult meltdowns in the life of a special needs child.
5/ You may be invited to friends’ homes which means new environments, foods and experiences for your child which could be stressful.
6/ If you are traveling over the holidays, your child could be facing all kinds of new and special challenges.
How can you prepare your child with special needs for the holidays and decrease stress and meltdowns?
1/ Prepare your child for schedule changes, new environments, travel and the anticipation of Christmas arriving as best you can.
Happiness tips :
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- Now is the time to make sure you have visual schedules in place so your child knows exactly what’s going to happen next, where they will be going, who they will see and what they will be doing when they get there…
- Try to decrease schedule changes to the best of your ability. Explain to friends and family members how important it is to your child to decrease last minute schedule changes to the best of everyone’s ability.
2/ Carry familiarity with you.
Happiness tips :
- Whether you are invited over to a friend’s house or you’re traveling far from your own, bring a special toy or book from home with you so that your child feels reassured outside of your home.
Related post : 10 Best Board Books to Teach Children with Autism new vocabulary
- All of the visual schedules, communication cards and materials you use to help your child communicate and learn at home should be packed and taken with you to continue sessions during your vacation. It may seem that giving your child a “break” from work is a good idea, but changing your daily pattern can actually lead to unnecessary stress, confusion and behavior problems. Taking a break from being able to communicate effectivley is not restful for a child with autism or other special needs.
3/ Invite friends to your home to help prepare your child with special needs for the holidays.
Happiness tips :
- Make your home an awesome, cheerful, holiday-loving space and invite friends and family to come to you. This will surely be easier for you to plan and will help alleviate the stress of traveling with your special needs child. (Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling and think you should take your child with you as much as you possibly can, but everyone knows that the holidays are one of the hardest times to travel, so I would recommend choosing an easier time during the year to adventure away from your home as a family.)
- If you host holiday parties at your home, your child will be able to stick to his or her sleep pattern and schedule