The Holidays are an enchanted time filled with joy, dream, and many activates ready to cause fun. In contrast, special needs children on the autism spectrum with their special sensory needs, the regular festivity may sometimes be too much for them. At AutismCOE we are convinced that inclusive and useful activities, intentionally designed to satisfy the personal needs of these children, may help them to unleash their hidden abilities. In this article we will show you that ten activity ideas for Christmas holidays can sound to autistic children the best event of the whole year.
1. Sensory-Friendly Christmas Craft Activities
Crafts prove being a great tool for developing hand-made ability as well as children’s interest to work with their fine motor skills. For those on the spectrum, look towards craft activities that utilise different senses. Such as making bumpy ornaments of fray fabric, glitter or ribbons is another interesting way to provide sensory interaction. Similarly, scented crafts by using spices can be a great option to engage different senses. Probably, by the use of spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, you can stimulate this soothing effect.
2. Indoor Sensory Games for Christmas
Games can be also be moderated to have sensory-friendly features. Think about building a sensory bin with holiday goodies that include pine cones, ring jingle bells, or fake snow to make the baby joyful. Hide-and-seek games can be made more involving through addition of sensory hints, and tactile scavenger hunts help in just that by inviting children to explore different materials that are related to the season.
3. Christmas-Themed Sensory Play
Sensory play holds great significance for children especially because it aids them to know and be familiar with their environment in a safe and controlled manner. The founding of a decorative sensory pan, with stuff like tissue paper, cotton balls, and round ornaments can keep them busy for ages. Also in the same way several kinds of fragranced playdough and sensory bags that contain different materials can be joyful and therapeutic.
4. Sensory-Friendly Cooking and Baking
The sense of touch and smell are such a delightful way to get the kids involved in cooking and baking. The gingerbread house baking process is a multi-sensory pleasure reflected in the different textures, smells, and tastes. Analogously, the making of sensory-friendly cookies or the decorating of cupcakes with several textures can be calming and helpful in sensory development.
5. Calming Sensory Spaces for Christmas
The Holidays as seen from the children with autism may be too. It should be key to set a relaxing area where they can decompress best. As an option think of relaxation corners with bright lights, soft blankets and quiet zones where they can have a rest when the sensory environment becomes chaotic.
6. Sensory-Friendly Holiday Storytime
For sensory-friendly storytime while helping kids learn about the holiday season, consider non-text-centered books with textures and interactive elements. The placement of sensory storytelling with the use of props, visuals, and so on, can also help better engage the children with autism as well as provide them with more accessibility to the experience.
7. Sensory-Friendly Christmas Movie Time
Sight and hearing senses can be improved for Christmas movies by providing subtitles, lowering the volume to acceptable sound levels or including sensory-friendly seating options like bean bags or weighted blankets.
8. Sensory-Friendly Holiday Lights Exploration
The exploration of Christmas lights usually turns out to be an astonishing experience for the children who are diagnosed with the autism. Try gentle walks at moderate lighting areas in the neighborhood, or create relaxing visuals at home using twinkling light.
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Frequently Asked Questions & Answer
Which Activities are considered Sensory?
Sense-related activities might influence one or more of the five senses -touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound. Besides focus and postural muscles (visual system), it contains also gestures and body position (vestibular system) and inner body recognition (proprioception). These can vary and involve anything like messing around with sand or play dough, listening to music, gazing at visual games or puzzles, sampling new foods, smelling different scents, and jumping or swinging. These exercises aim at enabling the kids to discover and use their senses, and they may be of much help to children with sensory processing problems such as those who are autistic.
How can we Celebrate Christmas with a Child who has Autism?
It may require that some of the long-standing traditions are revised, however this makes space for creating all new ones. It is suggested you go on a Christmas light tour, bake an unconventional cake, or introduce a new game to better celebrate family bonding and Christmas spirit. For some families, Christmas celebrations are limited to 24 hours to make the most of their time.
What Blow-Based Activities are Beneficial for Children with Autism?
Sense of joint attention which is one of the difficulties for the children with autism can be developed through activities like blowing bubbles. With a scented bubble, the caregiver can now establish a solid eye contact with the kid, changing to the bubble, and then to the child again, enhancing communication.
How can we make the Christmas Season Less Stressful for Children with Autism?
For many children with ASD, keeping the regularity is so important because it gives them a safety figure and it helps with reducing the anxiousness. It is good to remind yourself to try and keep the child’s timetable as it is always regular and to introduce Santa Claus’s stuff with a while. Example: On one day, only decorate the tree while on the other day, simply light up the room.
Conclusion
The Christmas period can be everything from joy to an enriching experience for some children with autism and the only obstacle they are likely to face is to meet their unique sensory requirements. From craft activities or indoor games to sensory play, cooking, and story time, these are just a few ways you can alter the traditional Christmas activities to make them more inclusive and more fun for children at the center. At AutismCOE, we function to help these initiatives by offering services including ABA Therapy, Speech Therapy, and School Readiness programs to make sure that no child misses out on the fun of and general pleasure for the holiday season. Recall that the goal is to offer experiences that are not only enjoyable but also therapeutic; therefore, these kids can explore, learn, and develop in a safe and comfortable space.
Please Note: The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult a qualified healthcare professional for personalized guidance tailored to your specific situation.
Bhavika Bhasin (Author)
Bhavika Bhasin is the Research and Marketing officer at AutismCOE. She works with children and adults with ASD. Her clinical research includes evaluating various available autism screening and diagnosis methods and their efficacy. She is currently developing a novel screening exam that is indicated to be more accurate than the existing available exams. She is also writes articles papers for various publications.
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