Christmas for an autistic child

[standbyou]

Every parent wants to prepare a beautiful Christmas for their children. However, for autistic children, Christmas can present stress, anxiety, and sensory overload. We put a lot of effort into baking, decorating, cleaning, and putting presents under the Christmas tree. Parents are then often disappointed that all their efforts have failed. The child did not touch or taste the food prepared, and unwrapping the presents ended in a meltdown.

Every autistic child is different, so consider the following tips as a possibility for reflection. You are the expert and know your child the best.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Thank you for this :) DS is 4 and the last few Christmases haven't gone how we thought they would. Just like you mentioned, he didn't touch the food nor the toys we got him. This year we are a little more prepared and having a quieter Christmas to avoid crowding and lots of noise

Hi, it is great that you can try it a different way this year. It is a trial-and-error process. It can be extremely hard and frustrating, but you are on the right track. Keep going. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Son is 18 now and I'm king gone over trying to have the perfect neurotypical Christmas x
We keep routine with same food for him,limit guests and have a very merry happy flappy Christmas x in fact it's his favourite time of the year now we don't try to force him to do all the expected traditional stuff x
He's been singing jingle bells since November and I don't expect him to stop until mid March 🤣😂🤣

😊

Dd has coped well up to today when she had a massive meltdown. We've been out of routine and I’m not feeling well so have struggled. She’s been flapping more than usual, I think it’s sensory overload