Advice and help for autistic children and their families to cope with Christmas

 
Dealing with excited children during the festive period is a real struggle, but the families of children with autism face additional challenges.

For autistic children, the changes to a routine, bright lights and other festive fare can be really traumatic.

Busy shops and family visits can increased anxiety and cause extra social pressures.

This year, the National Autistic Society (NAS) have produced a film featuring real families and young people in Bristol affected by autism, offering advice on how to cope over Christmas.

Mother of a fifteen-year-old boy with autism, Jane Smith explains on the film: “Decorations can be upsetting for my son. We cannot have much decoration and the tree has to be set out a certain way. He does not like balloons because he knows they pop and he cannot handle the noise. It can be upsetting for other members of the family who would like more decorations but we cannot risk it for the anxiety it might cause.”

The film can be seen on the NAS website at: http://www.autism.org.uk/christmastalk

NAS is also inviting people to leave their own comments by filling in a form online or logging onto Facebook and leaving comments on the NAS page.