The holiday season is so exciting with twinkling lights, delicious foods and joyful songs. For some children, this can be a lot of fun but for others, it may be a time of high stress as they have to attend parties, exchange gifts and participate in school concerts.
To ease the feelings of overwhelm, especially for neurodivergent children, it’s important to teach them how to manage themselves during these events. The best way to do this is to find a way that will engage them, such as through social storytelling.
Children pick up more information when they can visualize and emotionally connect to a situation before it happens. For this reason, storytelling about how to manage holiday events can be a great supportive tool for them.
For more examples and strategies, visit my Social Stories YouTube Playlist — it’s packed with tips to help your children know how to conduct themselves during various social events and what they can say when they attend them.
Additionally, for a list of specific topics to teach your children ahead of time so that they are well prepared, check out the following section.
Actionable Steps:
#1. Holiday Parties
You and your children may need to attend holiday parties at this time of the year. They’ll need to learn how to:
- Greet their friends.
- Choose an activity to join
- Say goodbye
- Take a break when they feel overstimulated.
#2. Gift Exchanges
When children exchange gifts with loved ones and friends, they will need to :
- Give their gift with a smile
- Show appreciation when they receive a gift, even if it’s not what they want
#3. School Concerts
Your children may attend or participate in school concerts. They will need to:
- Practice walking on stage with their peers
- Understand stage etiquette
- Know how to manage stage fright
- Learn how to exit from the stage
Recap:
Let’s recap really quickly. Today, we looked at the following:
- The reason it’s important to teach children how to manage themselves during various holiday events.
- The importance of social stories during the winter break to teach children about: holiday parties, gift exchanges, and school concerts.
Free Resources:
For a meaningful Christmas activity to do with your students or on your own, download your FREE COPY BY CLICKING HERE.
Next Steps:
If you found this video beneficial, would you do me a favor? Share this with your family, your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers or someone who you think could benefit from this. Thank you!
You’re welcome to join us inside ADHD and Autism Self Regulation by CLICKING HERE or on the fallowing image.
I’ll see you next Friday at 5:30pm PST.
Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.
Take care,
Charlotte
Disclaimer: I’m a teacher and a parent. I’m not a medical professional, so please don’t take this as medical advice. The advice that I provide in my videos and online are strategies that I have used in my own class or at home that have worked beautifully.
