Ask the Expert - Leisure Planning for Holiday Downtime

Posted on 11/29/17 in School by Milestones

If your family is anything like ours, the holidays can be a stressful time of year.  After the novelty of winter break wears off, my boys quickly become bored and irritable. Unfortunately, this happy time of year can be stressful for many children and adults diagnosed with autism. Whether it is caused by a change in routine or deficits in leisure skills, extended breaks from school can be anything but joyful.

Last year, our family decided to break the cycle of the winter break blues. I had a simple plan in mind: we do just ONE family activity per day. I picked a variety of fun things to do and created a picture checklist to guide each activity. Using this method, our son participated in so many activities that he would have previously tried to escape. What really blew me away was after painting a picture (an activity that typically evoked his most cunning escape tactics), he smiled and said “painting.” Then an hour later, he looked at the picture and said, “paint a picture.” He was so proud of his work! I then realized that this was a strategy we needed to use as often as possible.

For other parents who are looking for new tools to assist them this holiday season, I highly recommend activity schedules. Activity schedules are sets of pictures that show each of the steps needed to complete a task. They help ease the stress that novel activities sometime bring by showing a concrete beginning and end for each task. They are a great way to promote independence while also decreasing the stress parents can feel during family activities. Click here to see an example of a simple activity schedule for a fun, snowman craft.

While there is a plethora of pre-made activity schedules online, I found that looking for what I needed simply took too much time. If there is one thing that most parents of children with autism share, it is limited free time. Since there are many low-cost apps available in the iTunes store, I found that the cost was well worth the time saved. Some activity schedule applications even include daily, weekly, or monthly
visual schedule options.

My favorite apps for making activity schedules include: First Then Visual Schedule HD, Choiceworks, and iPrompts. Visual Schedule is another app that I cannot live without. It allows the user to place either pictures or short video clips right in the activity schedule, which makes it a fantastic option for visual learners. For non-tablet users, Boardmaker Online is a fantastic option. Users can use picture symbols or online photos to create schedules. Users may also obtain a free trial for 30 days without any strings attached, great for a family trying to navigate the holidays on a budget.

Using simple tools and a little prep work can help you navigate the holiday season with a little less stress.  The time spent planning upfront will allow you and your loved one with autism to experience the joy and love that truly represents the holiday season.  You may just have a little fun along the way too!

Sarah Glass, BA, BCaBA, is the owner and operator of Oh, Hi Social Skills and Innovative Behavioral Consulting.  She returned to college and became a behavior analyst after her oldest son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three and a half. She is a mentor and Skill Corps Leader for the Global Autism Project.