Use these ideas for any holiday!

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Hodgdon wrote: From: "

Hodgdon "

To: " Amy Burris "

Subject: [Another View] Plan Ahead to Create Happy Holidays

Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 00:16:34 -0400

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Effective Solutions for Autism, Asperger's Syndrome and More. . . October

2005

Volume I, Issue 10

Welcome. . .

I love being a grandma. Babies give lots of excuses to shop. I wander through

the toy stores and children’s departments with increased enthusiasm as each

grandbaby arrives. Isabella, will be born in a few weeks. Hurray! Another

excuse!

It has become amusing to go to stores in the fall. They seem continually

challenged to decorate for holidays earlier and earlier.

One department store near me has had their Christmas decorations up for several

weeks and Christmas is months away!

What does that do to our children? This early marketing is just one of the

reasons our kids can have problems.

We want the holidays to be fun. Yet I hear parents tell stories about how their

children become too excited or over stimulated by all the preparation.

What can we do to keep the fun from turning into frustration? Here are few ideas

to help make the holidays happy.

Read on. . . .

With warm regards,

in this issue

Plan Ahead to Create Happy Holidays

Mr. Squiggly is Back

About

Did You Know. . .

Plan Ahead to Create Happy Holidays Fall is full of lots of

holidays and special events. . .exciting ones. The environment is full of

decorations and music and lots of thrilling opportunities.

Our children can easily get caught up in that excitement. Some will become so

exuberant that they can hardly sit on a chair. Others may be so over-stimulated

that they try to hide from the world.

Think of all those activities that occur in preparation, during and after ANY

holiday. Here are some examples:

Clean the house

Get special decorations out

Shop for new clothes or a costume

Take photos

Make special gifts

Shop for gifts for people

Buy a Christmas tree

Bring the tree into the house

Decorate a Christmas tree

Buy or make holiday cards

Exchange gifts with different people

School vacation starts

Go to a party

Go to church

Go to a play or program

Plan a holiday dinner

Shop for food

Cook a special meal

People come to visit

Go to visit other people

A special TV show

Special activities to celebrate the holiday

Take the decorations DOWN

Store the decorations for next year

Write thank you notes

Return to school

This is a short list. There are really more activities that occur as a part of

celebrating any holiday. Remember how confusing all this can be from the child’s

point of view.

Giving students lots of information can help. Try these:

Mark special days on a calendar.

Some of the greatest confusions for students are the schedule changes that occur

with holidays.

Those who thrive on established routines will find them changed. Not just on the

specific day of the holiday, but in the days and weeks surrounding the special

day.

Lots of people think of marking the holiday on the calendar. That is good. But

that is not enough. Use that calendar to give students lots more information.

Mark which days they will be going to the store or the post office. Tell them

when they will be doing one of those special activities to prepare for or clean

up from the special celebration.

Put those most notable events on the calendar. Telling a student which day the

Christmas tree will come down may be one of the most significant pieces of

information you can share.

Use checklists

I love checklists. They help me organize my own life. Kids love them too. It

gives them more information. Checking things off makes everyone feel good.

Major events can be listed on the calendar. Put the details on a checklist. Make

lists for everything the child will have interest in:

Who you will buy presents for

Shopping lists for groceries or gifts

Which stores you go to on a specific shopping day

Who is coming to dinner or the party

The menu for lunch or dinner

The snacks during the football game

Shopping lists for groceries or gifts

Who we will mail cards to

There are endless opportunities to write checklists.

Write little conversation stories

One common complaint about special days is that students who speak perseverate

and talk about the holiday by saying the same thing over and over.

It seems the student may really be trying to have a conversation about the

topic. The problem is, he doesn’t know more things to say. Writing little

stories can help.

When a student gets “stuck” on a topic, write a little story. It doesn’t have to

be long. In fact, short may be better.

But write the things the student would say if he had better conversation skills.

Try to expand what he is saying and give more information.

For example: If the student is perseverating by saying Grandma and Grampa are

coming, write a little story.

Grandma and Grandpa are coming on Tuesday.

They will bring a suitcase.

They will sleep at our house.

They will eat turkey dinner with us.

They will go home on Saturday.

Make sure to write your stories at a language level that matches the student.

Use some pictures or photos to illustrate.

The most important part is to save this little story. Putting it in a 3-ring

binder is great. Write more little stories when topics arise or when your child

needs some information.

Go back to re-read these stories over and over during that holiday preparation.

They will generate lots of conversation.

Just a few more tips

The important part about using these calendars, checklists, and stories, is

having the student participate. The way they participate needs to match their

skill level. Here are three more considerations:

Use what the student understands

Create these tools with a combination of photos, pictures and simple written

language. Avoid the temptation to make things too advanced or too complicated.

These tools should be quick and easy and simple to understand.

Have students help create the tools

Students with reading and writing skills may help you create these tools by

writing or typing the information. Even students who cannot read can benefit.

Have them help put an item on a calendar or point to a photo that gives

information.

Review Review Review

Creating these tools is not enough. It is important to use them regularly to

talk about what is happening.

Look together at the tools you have made. Look at them over and over. Some

students need to look every day. Others may need to review multiple times during

a day. Just remember that the process of rehearsing the information will help

students understand.

And be sure to keep these tools after the holiday. They are useful to help

remember what happened when the holiday is over.

Create Happy Holidays

Use the holiday season to teach time concepts and communication skills. This can

help families avoid some of those frustrations that occur so easily during times

of celebration. A few visual tools will help turn those celebrations into HAPPY

holidays.

Mr. Squiggly is Back

Have you met Mr. Squiggly?

He is a darling digital timer. So cute. . . The kids love him.

The reason Mr. Squiggly is so popular is that he is a little person. You can

tell students:

“Mr. Squiggly will tell you when it is time for ________.”

“Mr. Squiggly says it is time to stop.”

But our supplier discontinued him. So we couldn’t get any more. People cried

when they discovered Mr. Squiggly was gone.

But good news! When moving things in the warehouse, guess what we found? Mr.

Squiggly! A few boxes were stuck way back in the corner.

So here is the deal. We are posting them on the web site again. But we wanted

our newsletter subscribers to know first.

Order soon. We only have about 300 left. And when they are gone, they’re gone

for good.

More information ...

About Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP is a Speech-

Language Pathologist and a Consultant for Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is the

author of the bestseller, Visual Strategies for Improving Communication, one of

the most recommended books in the field of autism.

Internationally recognized as a powerful and informative speaker and consultant,

has presented her insightful and dynamic workshops to audiences of

educators and parents worldwide.

Click here for information about 's programs ...

Did You Know. . . This E-newsletter is sent to people in more

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The Visual Strategies Workshop - Video Program is an excellent tool for

educators and parents to learn more about using visual strategies to improve

communication. The Autism Society of America has chosen The Visual Strategies

Workshop for its 2004 Excellence in Media Video Award. This program was created

for you from information presented in the Visual Strategies Workshops.

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ISSN 1554-3021

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" Everyone is a visionary if you scratch him (her) deep enough, but the Celt is

a visionary without scratching. " - Yeats