Summer vacation is something many families look forward to. School is over, and that gives families the freedom they need to do some vacation activities together. This lack of predictable structure can be overwhelming for children who have autism. Here are some tips to make summer vacations a little less stressful for kids who have an autism spectrum disorder.
Children who have autism tend to need a set, predictable, plan for their day. When they are in school, they know that they can count on things happening in a certain order. There is comfort in knowing what will happen next, how long each event will last, and when to start preparing themselves to change over to something new. This allows the child to cope with all the things that happen in a given school day.
Once Summer vacation starts, this routine is lost. This happens at the same time that a lot of families are looking forward to exploring places and things that are entirely new experiences for them.
It is easy to see how this could cause a child who has autism to either withdraw from the situation, or to have a loud, public, “meltdown”. A valuable tool that they use to cope with life has been removed, and a lot of brand new, and unpredictable, events have been thrown at them.
To make life easier, try some of these Summer vacation tips:
Make visits to new places short. Don’t assume your child can handle the sensory overload of a brand new experience for more than an hour or two. You will have more success this way.
Give your child an escape route. Make it clear that you will be willing to leave the park, pool, or museum when your child really needs to get out of there. If you make that promise, be prepared to follow through with it.
For longer vacations, schedule in plenty of “down time”. You child may need several visits to someplace quiet, and away from crowds, as the day goes on. In some cases, this could mean going back to the van to watch a few minutes of a favorite cartoon on the DVD player. It might mean many return trips to your hotel room each day.
Don’t take “meltdowns” personally. You probably picked out this particular destination because you believed your child would really enjoy it. A “meltdown” doesn’t mean that your child didn’t get some enjoyment out of at least part of the experience. It also doesn’t mean you have failed as a parent. It simply means that your child became overwhelmed for a while.
Image by Andréia Bohner on Flickr