Guess who’s coming to town……the Holidays! As adults, Holidays seem to always be around the corner and life always seems to be hectic around the Holidays with people coming and going, decorations going up and coming down, presents being bought and exchanged and so much more.

Now try to think of Holidays through your child’s eyes. Some holidays may be exciting and some may be a little scary. With each holiday brings a great opportunity as parents and teachers, to not only teach our children about each specific holidays but also the social implications of each holiday. Within our past Holiday Blogs we have focused on:

“Counting Down Till Turkey Day!” http://www.autismspot.com/blog/Counting-Down-Till-Turkey-Day

“It’s Turkey Time!” http://www.autismspot.com/blog/Its-Turkey-Time

“Preparing for Halloween Week 1 – 4” http://www.autismspot.com/blogs/kidspeak

We have focused on how to help your child understand different parts of the holiday from certain vocabulary words (like pumpkins, turkeys, witches and more) to big social concepts (like understanding others thoughts and feelings, relating to others, building and sustaining relationships, and more). So whatever Holiday/Tradition you celebrate this Season go back and read these blogs and try to relate them to your Celebration this Season.

Within this blog we would like to take this opportunity to answer 3 major questions that we been asked all week:

1) What do I tell other family members if they have questions about my child? This is a great question that we get often during the Holiday Season. With this question we ask our families to concentrate on 2 things:

a. Things that family members may see that might look different/weird. Here are a few examples:

1. When you first enter the room, he will most likely run away and hide in a different room. But give him a few minutes to himself and he will join the group.

2. She gets excited when the room is full with people and wants to interact with everyone so badly but doesn’t know how to appropriately. So right now she will go up to each person and hug them over and over again.

3. When he gets mad, he will scream and fall to the floor. Please don’t be alarmed. Just say “mad” and come and get me.

**By letting your family members a few things that they may see, this will help them understand your child more and help begin to build a meaningful relationship between them and your child. **

b. Things that family members can do/say to interact with your child. Think of toys that your child likes or “trick" when talking/playing with your child such as:

1. He loves cars. So if you sit on the floor with him and play with your own car beside him then after a few minutes he will most likely begin to imitate your play.

2. She loves to play chase. If you are outside with her you can say “I’m gonna get you” and she will laugh and run away from you. Once you “get her” you can say “I’m gonna….” And she will fill in “get you” and begin to chase you.

3. He is doing great with taking turns within play. If you sit and play with him you can say “Aunt Manda’s turn” and place your hand out and he will let you take a turn with his toy.

**By focusing on all the things that your child enjoys and can do then you are setting them and your other family members up to have fun that day as well as beginning to build a great family bond!**

2) My child does great at Christmas. He understands the concept of Santa and gifts and does great with all the family around. Is there anything else I could/should be doing? First pat yourself on the back for all the hard work that you have already done with your child! Here are two fun things that you can work on:

a. Buying presents for other people. A lot of time children can pick out what they want to buy someone else but the gift often revolves around something that they would like rather than something the person receiving the gift would like. Pick out a few people that your child would like to give a present to….like Grandma, Sister, Dad, Best Friend, etc. Then BRAINSTORM things about that person: What do they like to do?, What are their favorites (colors, animals, etc)? and more. Then from the BRAINSTORM list have you child decide what they want to give that person. And remember things don’t have to be “store bought” they can make them a gift too!

b. Learning about others Traditions. Learning about other families’ traditions is a great way to work on Theory of Mind. Pick out a few different Traditions that others celebrate…..this could be Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanza , and more! Then spend a day learning about it…..make it fun! You could go to the library and find books. You could research on the internet. And much more. You can then have your child put something together for each different Traditions …..here get creative! Your child could make a picture collage, write a story, write a narrative, draw a picture and much more!

3) My daughter has made so much progress over the last semester. She is now finally TALKING! But we have 2 weeks off from school what can I do with my child during this time?Please know that BREAKS are your friend. Just like you need a break from work every now and then, your child needs a break from therapy and school too. However, taking a break does not mean that you watch TV all day or you all your child to play all day with any toy they want. During Break Times it is important that you continue working on the skills that they are focusing on in therapy or at school but in a “FUN WAY”. Here are a few ideas:

a. Books: Think about the books that your child has read over the semester. If you have a preschooler then you could spend time revisiting these books and themes. If your child is older they could make a picture book about all the books they read. Instead of writing out a book report for book…..have them draw a picture about their favorite part in the book.

b. Play Games: Has your child played any games over the last few months in therapy or at school? If so try to have at least one “Game Time” a day focusing on the skills that they are working on: turn taking, commenting, sharing, explaining how to play the game, etc.

c. Cooking: Almost everyone works on sequencing! Cooking is a great way to work on sequencing as well as turn taking, requesting, commenting, and so much more. A few fun ideas is that you and your child could draw out the recipe together (making pictures of eggs, flour, the mixer, etc), gather the ingredients together and then take turns making the food. If your child is working on writing then you could have them write it out. If they are working on brainstorming you could brainstorm what they think you need and then look up the recipe. There are so much more!

There is so much that you can work on during the break that is easy and fun! If you don’t know where to start or what to do…..then look at your child’s past newsletters from school or homework assignments….that will give you a good idea. And remember to make it fun!

We hope that everyone has a Very Happy Holiday!!

~Amanda & Laura
KidSpeak, LLC
www.kidspeakdallas.com