photos of children and adults

Tip of the Week for December 24th, 2012

How to Survive the Holidays  

 

 What to do when school is out...


For children with autism, the routine of school can be comforting and familiar.  While many children wait in anticipation for school to be on break, many kids with autism spend the break waiting for school to start again. There are ways to make a holiday break fun for your child with autism, and therefor, more fun for your family:

  • Ask staff at your child's school to start preparing them for the school break in advance.  They can talk about it during calendar time or have a social story available for your child.
  • Plan something for each day of the break.  It doesn't need to be anything big, just something that you can put on the calendar for your child to look forward to.  Examples might be seeing a favorite movie, visiting with a preferred relative or baking with mom.
  • Keep as much of your child's routine the same as you can.  If your child is used to waking up at 7, continue this over break.  Mealtimes and bedtime can also be kept the same.
  • Limit the amount of t.v. watching and encourage physical activity each day. Physical activity is a good coping skill for reducing stress.

 

Book of the Week:
Tasks Galore: Making Groups Meaningful/ Laurie Eckenrode, Pat Fennell, and Kathy Hearsey. Tasks Galore, 2005. This book has photographs of set-up activities for groups. There is a section on doing home parties, which may be helpful during the holidays.

This book is in the SESA Library. You may search the library catalog via the SESA website, or contact Anne directly by email at [email protected] or by phone at 907-334-1301. 

 

 

 

Join Our Mailing List

To join either the occasional Consider This: Autism Events for Alaskans Here and Outside email list or the weekly Tip of the Week email list, enter your email address below. If you are already signed up for one of the lists, you will be sent an email asking you to update your profile, which will allow you to add yourself to the other list.
Email:
For Email Marketing you can trust
Supported by:

TipLogos

Produced by the Special Education Service Agency

http://www.sesa.org

Find us on Facebook