Advice needed: Entertainment with autistic children

[BalloonTwister]

I am woefully ignorant and really need your advice. I am a part time childrens entertainer, a bit of clowning, bit of magic, face painting and balloon modelling.

A friend of mine has a son with Downs and Autism, no worries there, know him, and his likes and dislikes but it is his friends birthday in a couple of weeks and my friend has recommended me to entertain the children, the majority of whom have some form of special needs.

I hadn't even considered that this might require a change in my act, until another friend with an autistic ds mentioned her ds hates loud noises and balloons.

Any advice really gratefully received, and I'm sorry if my total lack of knowledge here is offensive to anyone.

A lot of children with autism dislike loud noises.

some don't like balloons because they might pop, but then equally some will love balloons.

You might find a lot of them don't like face paint either.

I'd try to avoid any sudden loud noises, if you have music maybe have it a bit quieter than usual, don't squirt water at anyone without knowing they'd be ok with it (don't know if you would or not, but thought it worth mentioning) and be prepared for children to not want balloons or face painting.

If you could talk to parents about the sort of things you do beforehand that might be handy...you'll probably not please every child, but it's nice that you're trying to :)

It's tricky, really, as just like with all children, you can't assume what one dislikes they will all dislike. DS2 has SNs, and he loves balloons, but hates loud noises. He has eczema and doesn't like strangers touching his face, so face painting would be a no-go. And he takes things very literally so does not understand even the simplest jokes and gets upset at magic "disappearing" kind of things. But that's just him.

Every child will most likely have different things that will bother them. I would think they will possibly have a carer or parent present that can navigate the entertainment to assist them in avoiding things they don't like. At least, that's what I would expect to do for DS2 at a party.

We hired a children's entertainer for out twin ds's (one has ASD) 4th birthday party. He dressed in a clown outfit, but didn't wear face paint though. So probably similar to yourself.

My ds doesn't like loud noises, but loves balloons. He doesn't get jokes and when people are laughing he believes they are laughing at him and can get cross. Luckily we were in a large hall with secure outside area, so when the other children were watching the magic show, he just wandered in and out.

He he had loads of fun at the party, as did the other couple of children who were ASD. Ironically I did have a couple of parents call me beforehand to say their NT children didn't like clowns, so needed reassurances from me that he wouldn't be in all the make up.

I'm sure any helpers/carers will be on the ball and be watching for triggers.

I'd have found it useful to get an email with as much detail as possible of what your approach and act usually involves, and would be reassured to know you'd be happy to tweak bits by prior request. On the other hand, if you're used to dealing with a wide range of children and you usually keep a weather eye open for early signs of trouble I bet you'll be fine.

Given the time and effort that goes into actively teaching appropriate behaviour to children with SN, it's highly likely you'll find the children are happier, better behaved and more fun than the average group of 4y olds

We had a magician for my dd's birthday party last year - she had seen him at a friend's house and asked if she could also have a magic party. She has cerebral palsy, and cannot speak, and is very limited physically, for example she cannot hold something and let go on cue, or pick a card, etc. However, the magician tweaked his act to include her as his special helper by getting her to "use her mind powers" - so just stare at the object, where he would normally have asked the birthday child to wave the magic wand and say the magic word. It was brilliant. When she had been the guest at the friend's party, he had also included her in the audience participation. All I had to do was to let him know how she signs yes and no, and he took care of the rest.

Thank you so much, this has been really helpful. I don't wear clown make up, just a flower or two painted on one cheek. Will avoid loud bangs etc. Love love love using mind power to assist. Genius!

Thanks again, feel much more confident now, and mariamariam, I think you are probably right!

ds has a phobia of clowns, so we have to avoid anything like this, even if face isn't painted as a clown.

He loves slapstick humour, cream pie in face etc, hates loud noises, loves balloons especially ballon models of swords.