Much of what makes Christmas an exciting time of year is its sensory appeal – brightly-coloured wrapping paper, twinkling lights and scented candles, special food and drink, silly costumes, carols sung full-blast and visitors talking loudly and laughing. Even families who prefer to celebrate in a low-key way at home will probably be exposed to these festive factors in shops, at school or in friends’ houses.
But for some children with SEN, this Yuletide stimulation can be completely disorientating. Add it to the change in routine over the Christmas holidays and the surprise element of opening presents and meeting relatives you don’t see for the rest of the year, and you’ve got a recipe for meltdowns and parents with their nerves in tatters.
Everyone Has Sensory Needs
This overwhelm is rooted in the way people process information about the world around them. Although we all experience life through our senses – sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell, as well as proprioception (knowing where our body sits in space), interoception (what we are thinking and feeling inside our body) and our vestibular sense (balance) – people with special needs such as autism, dyspraxia, learning disabilities or ADHD frequently have idiosyncrasies in the way their brains react to this.
They may be under or over-sensitive to certain kinds of sensory input, for example, or their nervous system may have trouble taking in lots of sensory information at once. In the Festive Season, this might mean that something as harmless as Christmas pudding may be too strongly-flavoured for some kids while others might be repulsed by the texture. Other children might find fairy lights calming but the elf costume they need to wear for school play is unbearably scratchy.
Enough is Enough
Lelanie Brewer is an occupational therapist and university lecturer with more than twenty years of experience helping people with sensory difficulties. She is also one of the directors of Sensory Integration Education, a non-profit-making organisation that provides training and guidance for families and professionals.
She points out that although every child with SEN will have their own profile of strengths and difficulties on the sensory front, how they react will probably vary according to their stress levels and what else is happening at that moment.
“Overload can build up gradually,” she explains. “For example, a child might be watching a Christmas performance at school and enjoying it but suddenly, it’s too much and they become agitated. Someone described it as being like an Amazon delivery truck bringing parcels. More and more arrive and they pile up until there are too many and they all tumble down.”
Plan in Advance
Because Christmas can be an exciting but exhausting time – for all children, not just those with special needs – Lelanie recommends parents prepare for any overwhelm by having things like ear defenders or a fidget toy on hand to help the youngster to destress. Although many venues now offer disability-friendly performances, if you’re attending a regular show, she suggests booking aisle seats to allow a quick exit.
“Food is a big part of Christmas,” she continues. “If you’ve been invited to someone’s house and they’ve put in a lot of effort and love to produce a meal, it can feel rejecting if a child doesn’t want to eat any of it. It’s a good idea to explain this to friends and relatives in advance and take along your own lunchbox – crunchy, chewy foods can also be calming.
“Crafts are also a major part of Christmas. Teachers can prepare for children not liking the feel of some items by having alternatives on hand – if they don’t like sticky glue, for example, maybe they could use peel-off stickers instead.”
How to Hug
Although a recent research project at Stanford University in the USA suggests that social skills can be improved in children with ASD via oxytocin, a hormone that is boosted by cuddling, Lelanie advises caution if you’re planning to throw your arms around a child with special needs on Christmas morning.
“Again, you can prepare friends and family in advance and warn them that the child might not want this,” she recommends. “Perhaps the young person could have a signal – a thumbs-up, for example – to tell people whether it’s OK to go ahead. It’s also worth remembering that for some people with sensory issues, a light touch can be more uncomfortable than a firm hug.”
Sensory Integration Education has produced a free fact-sheet offering practical strategies for handling the Christmas period – https://sinetwork.co/SensorySurvivalKit
