How to Plan an Autism-Friendly Thanksgiving

While any Thanksgiving celebration requires careful planning and attention to detail, this is particularly crucial when children with Autism and Related Disorders may be in attendance.

After all, while they may love spending more time with their family, holiday parties can be incredibly overstimulating environments, full of loud noises and music. In addition to this, they may feel overwhelmed due to seeing new food on their plates, or the fact that their normal routine has been interrupted.

With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to plan an autism-friendly Thanksgiving.

Lay out a clear plan. Children with autism and related disorders often like to plan ahead. This is because they can then prepare themselves for any changes to their routine or schedule. One way in which you can achieve this goal is by discussing your plans for Thanksgiving ahead of time, whether you’re visiting family or inviting others into your home. You should let them know:

• Who is arriving (and at what time)
• Any activities you’ll be participating in
• What you’re eating/drinking

You may find that writing this down or creating a visual schedule for them can be useful. This is due to the fact that it can help them to better process the information you are sharing.

Consider preparing ‘safe foods’ as opposed to a traditional Thanksgiving meal. While many people will argue that the food is the best part of Thanksgiving, the same may not be the case for children with autism and related disorders.

This is because they often stick to specific ‘safe foods’ instead of following a varied diet. In fact, a recent study found that “72% of autistic young people only ate a narrow range of foods.” While there are plenty of steps that you can take to encourage your child to improve their diet, you should not try to force them to eat something they aren’t comfortable with, especially in an environment that they may already feel uncomfortable in.

Today also read about Outpatient Speech Therapy Rhode Island.

As such, you may benefit from preparing your child’s food separately or bringing food along with you if you attend a family gathering. This way, they can enjoy the dinner party environment without feeling overwhelmed.

Bring comfort tools and accessories with you. There are many steps that you can take to make your child feel as comfortable as possible at a Thanksgiving party. For example, as 50–70% of people with autism are hypersensitive to everyday sounds, bringing along a pair of noise-cancelling headphones is always a good idea. Alternatively, you may wish to bring along fidget toys, which have been proven to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.

Work with a therapist. Working with your child’s therapist can also come in handy when preparing for a family party or event. This is because they’ll help your child focus on developing specific skills or coping mechanisms that will help them thrive in this kind of environment. Not only will this make the holiday season much more fun for your child, but it will also give you greater peace of mind moving forward.

If you’d like to find out more about therapeutic services and the way in which your child may benefit from them, please do not hesitate to get in touch today.