5 ways to keep your autistic child calm on Christmas day

Let’s face it, Christmas Day is far from relaxing. Presents, people and food can make it very overwhelming for autistic children. Here are 5 ways to keep your autistic child calm on Christmas Day.

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1. Keep the build up calm

There is no doubt that Edward is already excited about Christmas. I feel that the commercial build up to Christmas can get a bit ridiculous. There are so many Christmas events on which are lovely but with an autistic child, it can become overwhelming. We usually do one Christmas event each year. Last year we went on the Polar Express which was amazing.

We try not to constantly talk about Christmas in front of Edward as this just raises his excitement levels.

2. Stay home

Christmas Day is far more manageable for an autistic child if they are in the familiar surroundings of their own home. This doesn’t mean you can’t see extended family, it just means that you maybe invite them over to you instead or arrange another day.

3. Let them eat what they want

As a child myself I could never eat my Christmas dinner on Christmas Day! I was always so excited about my presents that by lunchtime I was already overwhelmed and just couldn’t face a huge meal. It would just make me feel sick. Eventually this led me to dread the Christmas dinner (although now as an adult, this is my favourite part of the day!!)

With Edward’s restricted diet he is never going to even try a Christmas dinner. So we put no pressure on him whatsoever. He will no doubt have a bowl of porridge and probably won’t even join us at the table.

4. Watch out for signs of overwhelm

Christmas Day itself can be exhausting. Edward will wake up early (as usual) but he will be very excited. He loves opening his presents and has lots of fun. Edward’s stims are jumping and flapping which he does all the more when he is excited. So after a long morning of excitement, he will start to get tired. At this point when he walks around half moaning, half crying, I know that he’s had enough.

5. Take them away from the excitement

When you start to notice the warning signs, it’s a good idea to take them away from the excitement before it escalates into a full on meltdown.

In our case, we take Edward up to his bedroom with his weighted blanket, maybe put his lava lamp on and watch the Ooze Tube. When he is calm we then leave him and he may have a nap. Then when he is ready he will come back downstairs.

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So that’s our 5 ways to keep your autistic child calm on Christmas Day. These are just my suggestions that have worked for us. Let me know in the comments below any ideas that you have.

Have a wonderfully calm Christmas and thanks for following us!