Autistic child Christmas

[Shooowop]

Solidarity to those dealing with the needs of an autistic / special needs child today, as we know the sensory challenges and general excitement of the day can cause a lot of deregulation and challenging behaviour (my own is non verbal so makes it more difficult to explain what’s going on)

I'm sat having a cuppa alone savouring the last few minutes before everyone wakes. We go very low key and calm, presents not wrapped and staggered throughout the week so shouldn’t be too chaotic (famous last words), for us it’s more the meal that’s challenging and also staying inside (our usual places to go being closed etc)

And just so you know you’re not alone, not everyone’s Christmas looks like it does on social media or the telly.

I hope we all have some peace and some joy as much as possible 🎄 💪🏻

@Jimmyneutronsforehead nah , let him at them! They should've brought their own ammo.

Happy Christmas and solidarity to you all! My 'child' is 42 so we're well-used to donning festive tin hats and making the best of it all.

Thank you for this
Ds aged 6 is autistic. He has no concept of Christmas. No excitement for father Christmas and doesn't want to open anything, we hadn't wrapped but family members had. He's currently screaming away because other people are talking

Happy Christmas all x

I'm so glad both my dcs and dh are autistic. I'm NT but after a little adjustment now absolutely love our low key Christmas. No guests. I cook Christmas dinner but only dh and I eat it, so it feels a bit like a date. Dd will make and eat her own food in her quiet room tonight, ds has his stocking chocolate and a ham sandwich like every day. Everyone chills, watches whatever they like on their own devices, I get to read the newspaper. We convened to open presents together, 2 each, at 9am, that's the organised group bit finished now, it was lovely, but now all group activity is done and everyone is free to do what they like. Pure bliss.

I like this a lot. We've done something similar. The convening went on for about half an hour earlier on and now we're all doing our own thing and will be for the rest of the day. Adults and children all have their own space and no one demands anything of anyone. That's the intention anyway. I'd like to sit in splendid isolation in my own quiet room, watching stuff and reading stuff and browsing online. But wife and daughter keep popping in. Wife isn't autistic. She's trying to respect my need for isolation so I'm trying to be as welcoming as I can. Daughter is on my sofa with me, playing Roblox with her Xmas robux and her BFF online. It's all bearable so far.

And I've decided not to make a roast.

It’s funny I was just thinking exactly the same thing as I shovelled a load of chicken korma bites out of the air fryer - I’m so grateful for the Christmas we get to have. Almost had a panic when I realised just now the mini pizzas hadn’t arrived in the food shop 😱 but thankfully DS requested Dominos for dinner last night and he’s happy with leftovers for lunch!

One of mine looks thoroughly miserable. We're supposed to go to my parents for lunch but I'm not sure I'll get them there. I think it's the whole being watched whilst opening presents that's done it (even though they open at the same time as siblings).

This is the first year my DD11 has asked for a specific present - she got what she asked for and has shut us out of the living room and is playing with it.

All her many other gifts are unwrapped and put to one side. She will play with them over the next few weeks.

She was up at 3am asking to go downstairs to see if santa had brought the present, I managed to persuade her to go back to sleep.

She was up at 6.30 a.m. and we watched Shaun the sheep the movie in bed before coming down, which she asked for.

I am cooking a roast, she will only eat her usual food, which is okay.

We have learnt that the day being as normal as possible is the best outcome for everyone, even if other family members don't agree, that is their problem, not ours, our DD comes first.

Merry Christmas to you all 🎄

Merry Christmas.

I've just placed my teens Xmas presents outside her room so she can open them at her pace. She hasn't had a meltdown about her stocking yet which is a bit of a win. She's requested fishfingers with Xmas Dinner as she doesn't like the chicken as it's not in a beige nugget.

Child with autism has been handed with world’s largest box of technic lego - so he’s fine. Happy for hours that one. But that is all he will do today. Will have to given him a count down to eating dinner but he should be fine.

Child with ADHD - slightly over excitable and keeping a close eye on because he has been mainlining chocolate for hours and if he pukes on the dog/carpet I’ll kill him. He is unlikely to eat a proper meal today but it’s one day.

Would have liked to invite friends/neighbours over for a mince pie and a glass or hosted a larger family Christmas but both would have been quite the error.

Spoke to soon. There is a lego piece missing.

Yep we have 4 too, think we are mostly having different foods from each other and just trying to keep the peace - currently all 4 in seperate rooms, feels very lonely and I'm on tenderhooks waiting for the next meltdown

All good so far, here. We have a very quiet, very low key Christmas, here with just myself and DD. As I'm also Autistic like DD, I know what works for us. (Which is why nobody else is involved lol)

Lego has gone down well as always. She did, however decide last night that she's going vegetarian now, so is only having carrots, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings for dinner. I'm now looking at a whole turkey crown and 24 pigs in blankets wondering how many days I'm going to be eating it for. (I'll freeze some)

Merry Christmas, all. 🌲

Oh and we don't suffer with autism. There's no suffering going on here, there's lots of punching and kicking and biting and crying and screaming, and joy and laughter and stimming and brilliance every single day.

What we suffer from is other people and their inflexibility and insistence that we adhere to their way of doing things. Those so called normals!

our boys are older now so we’ve passed the days of “battening down the hatches” but it’s still just us, and fairly low key.

Hello gang! Unfortunately a bit disastrous here today, he’s screaming won’t eat anything and just generally miserable. Scratching me, throwing himself to the ground etc,the usual :(

Trying to just enjoy the happy moments even if they’re fleeting. What I’d give to be able to eat something sat with my husband without one of us having to watch him at a time. Determined not to make today a pity party for one!

sending love to all of you xx

DS1 is 24 and DS2 is 18. We convened at the agreed time to open presents. Both boys had chosen their own gifts as they hate surprises.

But they enjoy the dog's excitement at opening his present.

Now we are in our own rooms to deal with the upcoming roast.

Oh my goodness your dog’s face! 😭💓

We make it about the dog

Hi everyone, solidarity to you all dealing with Christmas in your own way and putting your families needs first. Which is often difficult in my experience. We’re all ND apart from my DS and this year we’re spending our first Christmas abroad (very lucky but also had its challenges). The main reason was to get away from the pressures from our families who don’t understand us. Having read all your posts, I realise it could have been easier to set strict boundaries for our own family has stayed at home! Still loving being away though although one child wants to come home!

Hope it gets better for you, and your DC.

I never thought I'd be making fish fingers and chips Christmas day

Merry Christmas all 🎅

What a marvellous dog.

Solidarity to all of you. It sounds utterly crap. What a terrible hand you have all been dealt in the parenting game of cards.
Real sympathy with all of you and hope that one day things improve.

You may say that trying to be nice (I’m giving you benefit of the doubt) but you sound exceptionally patronising