Christmas is tough...

I have read so many blogs about autism in the last few years. The general consensus is that for families with an individual with ASD..  Christmas is quite a difficult time. There are so many reasons why autism and Christmas are a complete disaster

1.       It is something that only happens once a year, its completely out of the regular routine of everyday life.

2.       It involves the concept of a spiritual story which a lot of people with ASD have a difficult time getting their head around

3.       The excitement which revolves Christmas from the shops, the rush of people, overcrowded areas and just giving and receiving presents can be completely overwhelming for an individual who just struggles to cope with an everyday situation without getting stressed out

4.       And number four Christmas is complete sensory overload, blasting music, crowded streets and flashing lights..In even find it overwhelming.

Every year me and my family greet Christmas with a sense of anticipation and a little bit of dread. We have been quite lucky the last two years and have had quite calm Christmas’s with my brother. But then we have thrown ourselves into making it as calm and routine as possible. We have schedules and rules and calendar events posted all over the kitchen. Every Christmas we follow the exact same routine from the time we get up to the time that we go to bed at night. We don’t put up many decorations – a tree and a crib is the extent of it and we just keep our fingers crossed.

I have been asked so many times to come to friends on xmas day and i think people really don’t get how important it is for me to be home with my family to help my parents. Especially since i am an only sibling my parents really need my support. This year was quite calm and i was even able to go to a Christmas party (although late that night when i was sure all was well) so hurrahJ

So my message to every family who reads this blog and has a family member with ASD , i hope you have a wonderful, calm, safe Christmas with few meltdowns and outbursts and I hope you have a peaceful new year!