Reposting a hugely popular post from last year. ️  Most children are fortunate enough to receive far more Christmas gifts than they need. For many children an enormous mountain of Christmas presents that they can rip open is the most exciting thing possible. For many autistic children it is terrifying. As we mentioned in an earlier post give them GIFT TIME SPACE, but it can also be helpful to space out gifts over the day or even days and weeks.  This is a fantastic strategy for a number of...

Advent calendars are a much bigger phenomenon than they used to be. They can be a fantastic tool to help your child count down to Christmas - it is probably one of the only occasions when parents of autistic children can purchase a standard product as a visual cue! That said, they can still be a trigger for overwhelm. At 19, my son still gets as excited by the prospect of an advent calendar as he does by a Christmas present. Whilst it can be tempting to get an exciting advent calendar with a...

According to the song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” but for me, Christmas has always been a mix of excitement and challenge. From October onwards, I love preparing for the season—choosing and making meaningful gifts, poring over festive recipes, and planning a show-stopping dessert for the big day. But when it comes to the actual days of Christmas, I’ve always found them difficult.  For me, Christmas feels unpredictable, overwhelming, and full of "enforced fun." While this...