Tips for an Autism Friendly Christmas!

Empowrd • Dec 05, 2019

Christmas can be a fun and exciting time of year, but for some people with Autism it can be overwhelming. We have provided a list of tips that can help with communication and planning over the Christmas period.

Preparation

Plan and talk about Christmas as early as possible. Discuss what they are looking forward to and what might be a concern for them.
Where appropriate use a calendar to prepare for Christmas. For example, to highlight school days and home days or a countdown to Christmas (advent calendar).
Think about and plan around sensory issues that could cause distress.
Prepare and talk about any changes to meals, cutlery or table set ups, or avoid making these changes all together.
Keep food and meal times the same.
Consider how many people will be visiting and when. Always communicate this in advance and ask friends and family to plan visits ahead.

Schedules

Keep the daily schedule the same as far as possible, including on Christmas Day.
Spend Christmas day at home to avoid visiting less familiar family or friends homes.
Introduce Christmas activities into the daily schedule, eg. Christmas shopping, opening the advent calendar, putting up decorations or switching on the tree lights.
Have a quiet, safe space prepared for your family member to retreat to if or when they become overwhelmed.

Presents

Too many presents may be overwhelming, so discuss and set a limit on the number of presents. For example, one from mum and dad, one from grandparents and other family members could perhaps give money.
Some people with autism don’t like the surprise of presents they aren’t expecting, think about planning in advance and making a list of presents they want.
Introduce presents one by one instead of all at once, or spread over the festive period.
Discuss whether presents should be wrapped or not and consider alternatives, for example in a gift bag.
If the present has to be built or put together- do so before your child opens it.

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