For families with a child on the special needs, celebrating Thanksgiving may require some thoughtful preparation to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Here are some tips to help you prepare for a meaningful holiday celebration.
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Preparing for a new school year can be both exciting and overwhelming. With a bit of planning and some practical tips, we can make this transition smoother and more enjoyable for both you and your child.
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Tips to help children adjust to the time change.
Continue readingAnd all thru the place,
Anticipation was brewing
Behaviors a disgrace.
Let’s celebrate – oh Joy!
Use your expected social skills
For every girl and boy.
Don’t forget the magic word,
For friends and family,
“Thank you” must be heard.
For many is bliss,
Yet other lament
“I can do without this!”
Creating comfort abound,
Makes for a season
Of happiness all ‘round.
The message to you each,
Tidings of joy to everyone
Celebrating Thanksgiving with a child with Autism may require some preparations ahead of time and on the special day to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable experience.
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In a few days we will gather with family and friends to be thankful for all we have our lives. The days leading up to Thanksgiving (or any holiday) can be exciting, yet filled with anxiety, which could result in unexpected behaviors and reactions for some of our loved ones.
We talked about making changes in the actual celebration to better support your loved ones. We need to focus on preparing them for what they might experience – the different smells, sounds and expectations – during the Thanksgiving celebration.
Social Stories: These tools help by creating a simple straightforward explanation of what will happen during or leading up to an event, as well as behavior expectations. Ideally social stories should be reviewed multiple times prior to an event and directly before. Bring the social story to the event and reread it in a quiet place. This may help to decrease the stress and refocus behaviors. Please feel free to print and use these social stories or you may find some free by searching the web.
Visual Schedule: Enjoying a relaxed unscheduled day may sound perfect, however your loved one may need to ‘see’ his/her day to decrease anxiety and unexpected behaviors. A visual schedule may prove to be the needed tool. Visual schedules are helpful for all family members. You can use actual photos, simple stick-figure drawings or icons to depict your daily events. You may choose to split the day by listing the AM schedule first and then changing it to the PM schedule at a natural break. You may choose to list the entire day and have your loved one remove the icon/picture as each part of the day is completed. Please feel free to print and use these icons to create a visual schedule of your loved one’s day.
First-Then cards: First-Then cards may be a new tool in your toolbox. These cards use the same icons or pictures as a visual schedule, however are presented two at a time. This tools gives your loved one a focused message of the immediate expected event or behavior and what will directly follow. You may consider following a non-preferred activity with a ‘break’ or ‘leisure choice’ to increase his/her attention to the non-preferred activity. For example, First: eating dinner – Then: going outside to swing. Please feel free to print and used these materials to create a First-Then card for your loved one.
Remember to take a moment to step back and truly see all the beauty that surrounds you. Cherish your time with family and friends. We at Lakeshore Speech Therapy are thankful for our Lakeshore families. We wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving day filled with laughter and happiness.
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC
You used your parental superpowers to navigate the full moon last week, and you will use those powers again this week, especially on Wednesday, October 31st. Check your list: comfortable costume – done; communication method – done; prep for the big night – read on.
Halloween evening is filled with anticipated wonder. This anticipation can lead to anxiety which can cause unexpected behaviors. Preparing your loved one in advance may eliminate or diminish the anxiety. These proactive techniques are not difficulty, expensive or complex.
Communicating to your child about what they can expect on Halloween evening can make a significant difference. This communication can look like a bedtime story – “Once upon a time, a little girl/boy was excited for Halloween. Her/His name was (your child’s name). Child’s name was going to be dressed as a (your child’s costume). On Halloween day, she/he went to school and had a great day. When child’s name got home from school she/he made sure her/his homework was done. Child’s name and her/his family had dinner. After child’s name ate her/his dinner she/he changed into her/his costume. Etc…..”
This communication can look like a picture book. Draw basic stick figures to represent the expected activities o Halloween. Please feel free to utilize these sequence pictures as well. trickortreatsequence.png
This communication can look like a social story. We have provided a social story about Halloween for you. Social stories are more effective when read frequently. While this is coming to you a few days before Halloween, reading the story two to three times prior to the event can decrease anxiety as well as increase success. halloween-social-story
Remember to breathe and enjoy the moment…… these moments go by too quickly.
Yours in Speech,
Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC
