Seasonal Support: Maintaining Regulation Over The Holiday
The festive period can be somewhat overwhelming for our children and young people with Special Educational Needs. This article, written by our Occupational Therapy Team, is designed to support and empower your child to have the best possible holiday break.
1. Visual calendar
Changes to daily and weekly routines can be dysregulating, so be mindful to maintain routines where possible, such as wake up time, bedtime and mealtimes. Using a visual countdown until the holidays commence allows for processing time and a smooth transition. Try introducing visual prompts such as a calendar to show events and changes in routines.
2. Keeping a routine
Sticking to valuable routines can help your child’s body and mind to manage their stress and anxieties. Visual timetables can help if plans change at a short notice to keep them in the loop with what’s going on. Introduce a special “Christmas day schedule” and give it to your child within plenty of time before the big day.
3. Schedule activities that will replenish your energy
Social activities can be tiring, not only for our children, but for parents too. Make a list of replenishing and joyful activities, things as simple as watching TV, spending time with pets, gardening, sleeping, cleaning the house and cooking. Know your child’s socialising capacity, consider how many people will be at an event, who those people are, and how long you plan on being there for.
4. Consider Christmas sensory sensitivities
Sensory stimulation can be particularly overwhelming over Christmas. It is the time of year where we’re surrounded by bright flashing lights, extra noise, additional new scents and busier shops and restaurants. Christmas decorations can make a room look very different, for some children this can be very stressful. To manage this, stagger when you put decorations up and only put them up in one or two rooms. For example, the tree one day, decorations another, lights the following day. Involve everyone in putting the decorations up, see what everyone likes and dislikes.
5. Create a sensory toolbox
A sensory toolbox is a great emergency kit for helping your child manage when they are dysregulated. Include things such as fidgets, essential oils (to mask unliked/overwhelming smells), ear defenders and ear plugs, sunglasses for bright flashing lights, damp cloth for overheating to cool down, peppermints to crunch (a distraction and a contrasting sensory input)
6. Preparing for Christmas dinner
Place your table so that your child knows who they are sitting next to and so that they’re sitting close to an exit. This is to ensure that your child can take a break when needed. Create a ‘Christmas dinner schedule’ using a visual timetable to help your child understand what is happening and when.