Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner; which means now is the time for friends and family to visit your home. It’s the time of year when families cook special meals like that on Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas. It’s that time of year when holiday foods like kale, tamales, empanadas, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and potato latkes are brought to the table.
But for kids with autism spectrum disorder, the next few weeks could be pretty daunting. They will experience new tastes, new smells, and new sounds and sights almost everywhere. Routines are changed. Special religious symbols and trees suddenly appear in the house. The usual foods disappear from the dining table. And that often presents a challenge for the family of the autistic child.
Special needs teachers know that these are difficult times for autistic children. They experience so many new things. Setting up the classroom to reflect the holidays can ease the transition both at school and at home. Autistic children can enjoy the fun seasonal activities of wrapping Christmas treats and giving them to other children. A talking crow and curved pumpkins would transform into colorful arrangements of leaves and turkeys. A Christmas tree and some Christmas music, along with a Santa Claus, are placed in front of the classrooms in early November. More Christmas symbols and activities are gradually being added to help autistic children adjust to the season.
In many special needs schools, new foods are introduced. This helps them prepare for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Your Thanksgiving platter can include traditional items like turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, and pumpkin pies.
Elsewhere, the holidays are a great time to introduce Santa to autistic children. Also, it is a great time to experience a large gathering of family, friends, and strangers. The “What’s the Expression” and “Make Sentences” apps, developed to impart communication skills to children with autism spectrum disorder, are very useful in these times. These two apps help autistic children express themselves even to complete strangers.
With all the decorations around, the look on the children’s faces is priceless when grandparents, parents and siblings walk into the classroom. An annual event like this is a wonderful opportunity to see firsthand how the “What’s the Expression” and “Make Sentences” apps have helped children with autism learn key communication skills. And for children, waiting for Santa to speak to them is the most anticipated moment.
