Making the Holiday special for my autistic son

[maddezmom]

Hi all, hope it's okay I'm posting here.

Just finished up the wrapping and realized how much of Christmas is for my daughter and not my son. Not just the presents, but that he doesn't understand the concept. :(

Anyone have any good ideas for things I can do to make the season better for him?

I'm at a loss.

[yankhadenuf]

1. How old is he?

:party:

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1065&a=8460

[maddezmom]

2. Tommy is 5 and is very social in his own way

loves music and floating around during festivities. Thanks for the link off to read it now. :hug:

[Stargazer09]

5. Thanks for the link!

I wish I had seen it two days ago. Poor Matthew was completely overwhelmed during the present-opening Christmas morning. Once the chaos died down, he enjoyed his gifts, but only when just about everyone else moved into another room. He needed some space.

He received his own Buzz Lightyear doll this year, so he's been running through the house trying to say, "To Infinity and Beyond!" over and over. It's cute. :)

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. My son is about to turn 8

Until he was 6 or so, he was totally oblivious to holiday preparations. You could literally take him while shopping for his own gifts.

This year he's excited about Christmas. For us, it got better, but I realized that he wasn't disappointed about the holidays, the disappointment was mostly on our part - we were disappointed that he didn't reciprocate some of that gift-recieving thrill that is the payoff for parents who buy stuff for their kids.

Once I realized that, it helped to lighten up.

Now he's a normal kid who wants "a gameboy advance for me, a new hammer for dad, and a beautiful shirt for mom." :)

[KamaAina]

4. Doesn't understand the concept?

Just because he isn't communicating it to you doesn't mean he doesn't understand the concept.

I, for one, understood the concept quite well. I once had famously gullible Mom convinced that the Twelve Days of Christmas started on Dec. 13, so she'd have to get me little gifts for nearly two weeks before the big day!

[Deja Q]

6. I wish I could fully recall my past as a reference point...

But he might understand the concept but may not be in tune with things the way neurotypical children would.