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With
the 4th of July coming one of my first thoughts is, “I hope my
kiddos are doing ok with all the holiday activities and changes to their
routines.” The summer is a wonderful time full of great family time and vacations. It can also pose some challenges to a family
with children with special needs. If you
take some time to do a bit of work ahead, your summer can be full of wonderful memories.
While
holidays and vacations can be a fun time to teach history and social skills,
they can also be a difficult time for your special needs kids. In order to make
them successful, we need to be aware of all the little changes that occur to
the regular routine and prepare kids for each of these. If we take the time to
do all of this, a holiday can become a huge learning experience.
One of
the common denominators of holidays and vacations is a change in schedule. People have days off, meal times are changed,
and routines altered. It is important to let our kids know in advance that the
holiday or vacation is coming up and what changes to the routine to
expect. Use a calendar to mark the day
and count down to it. Use some sort of
day planner to help plan out the events of the day or extended time if it will
be more than one day, so your child will know what to expect. Be sure to emphasize that these are not exact
times, just guesses or the order things will happen. If at all possible in your scheduling, try to
keep meals to their regular schedule. Trying
to keep some things normal will help.
New people are always a challenge as well. Go
over pictures of the people who will be there and why they will be there. Role play greetings and simple
conversations. Practice appropriate ways
for your child to let you know if they are scared or over stimulated and have a
safe quiet place for them to go where no one will be allowed to search for them
but you and a trusted few. You might want to prepare the people coming as
well. They should be aware that a hug or
kiss may not be welcomed nor should it be expected. Giving everyone clear expectations beforehand
will make all in attendance feel more at ease and comfortable. This is also
important in the school setting.
Holiday activities and rituals can be a very difficult road
to navigate. Summer activities tend to be outdoors and loud, two things that do
not always mix well with our kids. Being
prepared is the key to success in these environments. If you are working with an OT, having a
consultation before your events could save heart ache during. Your OT may be able to recommend some
strategies specific to your child in these environments. In general, being sure
there is a cool shaded place available away from all the chaos and noise would
be recommended. Be sure to have any
fidgets, weighted items, thera-putty etc. your child uses available. If noise bothers your child, try a music
system with head phones and calming music. Just headphone with no music can
even work. This is something I use with
my kids at assemblies. Something else to
be very aware of is hydration. Sometimes our kids have difficulty knowing what
the sensation is that they are feeling.
Be sure to keep the kids hydrated.
In school, my kids are on a restroom water break schedule. It keeps them from the uncomfortable feelings
that may make them irritable. Just keep
thinking an ounce of prevention…
While people are having a great time with the activities you
have planned for the group, your special needs kid will get bored. Their routine has been disturbed. They just want to do what is “normal”. Be sure to have some of the normal things for
them. Have activities that they can sit
and do so that they will feel their needs are being met. You can bring a timer, or use your watch to
time them, but as I have said before, you cannot take the autism out of the child;
you have to work with it. This goes for ADHD and other forms of
disability. A holiday party and get
together is not the time to teach a new lesson.
That should have been done in the weeks leading up to the party. It is a
time to practice skills that have been introduced and your child is confident
in. It is a time where everyone should
have a good time and with a little planning that is very obtainable.
When going on a
vacation, try to plan sensory friendly places.
You know your child’s sensory needs, plan around them. If your family wants to go to an amusement
park, show video from You Tube to your child to prepare your child, but have a
plan for your child to have an alternate activity while the rest of the family
enjoys the park if it is not working.
The sensory over load may just be too much. Some children may be ok with it for short
amount of time while others may not. All
will need to be prepared. Having a plan of
what rides and activities you are going to do before you go to the park is recommended. A call ahead to get a handicap clearance to
avoid the lines would also be recommended. Whatever you plan to do, frequent
breaks and down time to allow for sensory needs should be scheduled into your
day. Be proactive to your child’s needs
and your trip will be more enjoyable.
If a meltdown does occur, try to find out if there is a
sensory issue going on. I was at a water
park yesterday with friend and her little boy with Asperger’s did wonderfully
until we had to leave. It took us a
while, but we found out he did not like the feel of the wet swim shirt and
wanted dry clothing before he left the park.
Once he had the dry clothing all was happy again. Mom did wonderful, she carried him out of the
park to the car to avoid attention seeking behavior and focus in on what was
causing the issue. Distractions were
removed until he had to focus just on what was bothering him. Choices where given to help him key in on
what it was he wanted, and he was able to express what he didn’t like. Once it was obvious what was bothering him,
it was posed to him in the form of a question.
He answered yes. He was then
given the words to use and asked to use them.
He was given lots of praise for using his words correctly. A resolution was found to the problem and he
calmed down. Most meltdowns will be fear
or sensory issues.Help your child find the words to express themselves.
All of these ideas can be applied to the school setting when
you think of special days, assemblies and activities. The teacher needs to plan ahead, prepare the
students for who, what, where, when and why the changes will occur. The teacher needs to think of where will be
kids be when and how will this affect their sensory needs? How can I address these needs ahead of time
and what do I need to have with me? Being proactive can prevent dramatic melt
downs and decrease anxiety allowing everyone to enjoy the exciting events
planned for the whole school.
For more information on The 4th of July and
Holidays with Autism you may want to start here:
For More Information on vacations you may want to start
here:
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