October 26, 2017
By Kids Like Me Contributor
For many Americans, Thanksgiving is a time when family members gather together and give thanks. While it’s often filled with gobbles of food, American football, storytelling and more, this can also be a stressful time for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. The good news is that there are ways to help your son or daughter cope with all of the excitement and activity.
5 Thanksgiving tips for parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder:
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- Prepare your child a few weeks ahead. Children with autism do best when they know what’s coming. Explain the day’s schedule with your child and what is expected of them. If your child benefits from social stories, you can check out this printable social story here.
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- Talk with your family about keeping the noise level at an appropriate volume. This includes conversation, music and television. Now, if you know that this is an impossible feat because your evening’s schedule often consists of: shouting, eating, more shouting, and more eating, then another option may be to have your child wear noise-reducing headphones when he or she is feeling overstimulated. You can also talk with your host ahead of time about a quiet space you can use in this sort of situation with your child’s favorite things.
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- Monitor appetizers and plate food in the kitchen instead of piling the table with serving platters. Let’s face it, over indulging on Thanksgiving food is a problem for most people, not just for children with autism! If you’re worried about your child over doing it though, it may be helpful to place snacks and appetizers in one place and to keep them covered. Ask understanding family members to take turns monitoring the snack area and to help children with appropriate portions. Another idea is to plate food in the kitchen rather than have the all-out feast on the table. This may help everyone at the table with portion control!
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- Have support on hand. It’s wise to have at least one other adult on hand who can take over, either by helping your autistic child or by supervising the other children (or demanding adults) in your group.
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- Lastly, remember to reward your child for being “good.” We can easily get caught up in all of the hubbub of Thanksgiving ourselves that we often forget to reward our children for playing, socializing or eating in an appropriate and healthy manner. Consider setting a cell phone alarm as a reminder to check-in with your child and provide positive feedback right then and there. Doing this periodically may help before a meltdown or disruptive behavior occurs.
We hope these tips are helpful. From our Kids like Me family to yours, have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Credit/Source: Autism Speaks