In general, kids who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have difficulty with social concepts. Many kids with an ASD can be extremely logical in their thought processes. Together, this can make it hard for them to understand the connections between Santa, Christ, and the Christmas traditions that most families participate in.
Every year, there are a lot of little kids who are excited by the prospect of Santa coming to their house on Christmas Eve. Parents tell their children about Santa, and the youngest kids believe with all their hearts that Santa is real. When they get bigger, they can become upset to learn that Santa might not be exactly as they once believed him to be.
This is not usually the case with kids who have an autism spectrum disorder. Kids with Asperger’s syndrome, or “high-functioning” autism, rely on logic. They note the inconsistencies between the stories about Santa, and how that would work out in real world, logical, scientific, and natural terms.
If it doesn’t make sense for Santa to be able to fit down a chimney, then many kids with an ASD are simply going to discount that theory. They can explain to their parents why flying reindeer do not exist. The NORAD tracker that keeps news channels updated about Santa’s travels is not something that your child may automatically believe, (especially if his “focus” is space, or airplanes).
Kids with autism may not “get” the social aspects of gift giving. Social communication is something that tends to be difficult to interpret for kids and adults who have an ASD. Your child might not understand why people are giving gifts to each other this week. She might not connect those gifts to the concept of Santa Claus visiting their home.
Kids with autism may feel stress when asked to pick out a gift to give to another family member. All those small social nuances that indicate what type of gift a person would like to receive are not things that kids with an ASD can easily pick up on. Some younger kids might not understand why they need to wrap the gift, or that the contents of the wrapped package are supposed to be a secret until the gift is opened.
Some families will attend church every Sunday. Maybe your child goes with you. It is possible that he has memorized the order of the mass, and knows exactly what will happen next. She might be able to recite, word for word, the biblical stories about the birth of Jesus.
Your child’s knowledge about your family’s religious beliefs does not automatically mean that your child is able to connect those ideas to the decorated tree that is sitting in your living room. Parents could try to explain that the reason why you are celebrating Christmas is because of Jesus.
Parents could specifically point out that decorating a Christmas tree, and giving gifts, are the traditions that people do in order to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas. Your child might not “get” the connection between Christmas, Jesus, and Santa in the same way that his siblings are able to. Even so, it can be helpful to provide some concrete reasons for why people celebrate with certain Christmas traditions.
Image by Bill McChesney on Flickr