Helping Children Meet Their Full Potential Faster
“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” – Quote by Stephen Shore.
The much-awaited holiday season is upon us. With the observation of the necessary COVID–19 protocols at all times, the season of giving, love, and relationships needs to be celebrated with gusto and happiness. However, for children on the spectrum and for their families it can be a stressful period. This is because people with ASD thrive under a set routine and predictability. The leisure time that comes with the holidays, socializing, and decorations can be a bit too much for them. To help families manage the leisure time that comes with the holidays, we have assembled a few handy suggestions. Let’s read about them.
Prepare the child way in advance for what’s to come. With the help of visual tools such as schedules & calendars, your child will be able to cope better. The visual tool will enable the child to do a self-countdown to the start of the holidays / an important occasion etc.
A picture album book is a great visual tool to prepare a child for the annual Christmas period. Creating a picture album book about the holidays / festive season over the years and re-introducing them to the album every year in advance is a good way to prepare.
Continue with the daily routine as much as possible. Even if is the holidays, you would need to carry on the daily routine. Mealtimes, bath time, and bedtime should follow the same schedule. This way your child thrives in the holidays where there is no school etc. It is also not a good time to introduce the child to new food / drink items and so on.
Arrange for some entertaining activities for the family. These must revolve around the interests of the concerned child. Examples could be visiting the community's indoor heated pool for a refreshing splash, winter sports, visiting a library, neighborhood park, or local zoo.
You can make allowances for downtime/unstructured time that would give the child and the family some needed time to rest & rejuvenate.
With the above suggestions, the leisure time that comes with the holiday season won’t have you scratching your head on how to ensure a pleasant & memorable time for the entire family.
