Archive for April, 2011

Birthdays can be a challenge for a child with autism. A birthday party is outside of their routine. There can be lots of extra stimulation. The excitement and enjoyment of the party can quickly escalate to a place where the child feels overwhelmed.  Fortunately, there are a few tried-and-true things you can do to prepare your child for their birthday party.

Work with the child to come up with a birthday party schedule. This schedule can be a series of pictures, or words that explains the order of events for the party. Post this in a centralized location so that the child can place a check next to each party activity or line through at the end of the activity. Knowing what will happen ahead of time will lessen anxiety and give the child a sense of control. It’s important to allow your child to participate in creating the schedule. By helping to create the schedule the child buys into the schedule.

Try to limit extra stimulation. Consider limiting the number of people you invite to the party. Think about decorations in this situation less may be more.  If a balloon pops will that hurt your child’s ears? If so don’t have balloons, or securely place them high enough so that nobody can touch them.  Think about sensory stimulation your child enjoys, will soft music playing in the background provide extra stimulation or would it be calming?

Prepare for a meltdown or overstimulation ahead of time.  Have a plan set up ahead of time so that your child can go to a quiet place if they feel overstimulated. Oftentimes a short 15 min. break can allow a child to regroup and rejoin a party. If your child needs a break, what can the rest of the guests do? Can they have a coloring contest that your child can judge when they are done with the break? Can they play an outside rowdy game that your child would not enjoy? Talk with your child about the plan so that they feel comfortable with the solution ahead of time.

Practice social skills ahead of time. Create simple social stories that will help your child prepare for situations they will face at the party. For example:

Receiving a Gift

Sometimes people give me a gift. When people give me a gift, I will try to say, “thank you.”

Saying “thank you” is polite.

People like to hear “thank you” after they give someone a gift.  (The New Social Story Book by Carol Gray)

All of us are smarter than one of us, if you have a great birthday party tip please share!

Grocery shopping with a child on the spectrum can be challenging. Some autistic children want to touch everything in sight. One mother shared that all her child wanted to do was touch the wrapped meats until he poked a hole through the plastic.  Then he picked the meats up and smelled them. Needless to say she hated going to the grocery store.

Here are a few tips to make grocery shopping easier:

1. Give your child a special toy or fidget to hold their attention while you are shopping. Some ideas include bubble wrap, a stress ball or bendy toy. Try to only give this toy to the child when you’re in the grocery store.

2. Another interesting idea is to cover part of the shopping cart with press and seal plastic wrap. Before going into the store cover a section of the cart and let your child poke holes in it.

3. Plan to go shopping at less busy times of the day. This will minimize distractions and allow you to get your shopping done faster.

4. Contact your grocery store ahead of time. Many stores will gather your groceries for you or get your basket started as a service for your business.

5. Set up a simple reward system. If you don’t know how to create a reward system talk to your child’s teacher or therapist. Behavioral therapists are especially trained to create these types of systems.

6. Ask a neighbor to check with you before they go to the grocery store. Often neighbors and friends want to help they just don’t know how. Keep some money on hand to pay them to pick up an item or two that you might need. This will save you a trip and give them an opportunity to be helpful.

If you have a tip please share!

On December 18, 2007, the United Nations declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD).  Autism is now affecting tens of millions of people all across the world. The United Nations created world autism awareness day to encourage early diagnosis and early intervention and to express their deep concern for the high rate of autism in children in all regions of the world.

 Please join us in our effort to inspire compassion and inclusion and hope for those with autism. Start a conversation today with somebody you come into contact with. This can be as simple as saying “happy world autism awareness day” to friends or coworkers that you come into contact with today.