Our Sensory Family Resources: Socialising and Sensory Differences
This month we're focusing on Socialising and Sensory Differences to remind us of the challenges individuals with sensory sensitivities may face - particularly at this time of year. We've included lots of useful information, articles and resources to help raise our awareness and understanding of sensory differences.
How families cope with sensory overload at Christmas – with bright lights, crowds, unfamiliar noises, routine changes, and over-excited family members, Christmas can be an overwhelming experience for children and adults with sensory differences. This article from Tiny Happy People offers some useful tips on how to manage the overload and keep the Christmas magic alive.
Autism and Christmas: things that can overwhelm your child – this useful article from Autism Parenting Magazine looks at things that can overwhelm an autistic child at this time of year and sets out some suggestions on how to make Christmas celebrations inclusive for everyone.
Five multisensory activities you can do with your child at home - Using multiple senses stimulates numerous areas in the brain, making new connections, which helps with learning and creating stronger memories. Whilst a child is learning in a relaxed way, stress is reduced and their brain develops new multisensory associations. This article by Dr Susie Nyman, Curriculum Manager for Health and Social Care, highlights her top five fun multi-sensory techniques to try with children at home.
Creating inclusive holiday magic - a guide to hosting a neuro-inclusive festive party – Christmas and the festive period are an opportunity to get together with employees and colleagues to celebrate the successes and hard work of the past 12 months. Making events neuro-inclusive will help to ensure that everyone can celebrate in a way that best suits them. This guide from Lexxic Ltd looks at a number of top tips to help you plan a fun and festive party where everyone can be considered and feel included.
Breaking holiday traditions: what I’m doing differently with my neurodivergent child - this blog and podcast are worth a read or listen if you have a neurodivergent child who tends to get overstimulated, overwhelmed and dysregulated around present-giving time during the Christmas holidays. Over the years, the OT Butterfly has found ways to manage dysregulation around gifts and the meltdowns that can happen and has put all this together in this blog and podcast.
Helping your autistic child at Christmas - with 3 autistic children and being autistic herself, Christine McGuinness is usually more anxious around this time of year as her children struggle with the sudden changes to their environment and daily routines. In this article Christine describes some of the challenges she's faced over the years, how she's overcome them and how she plans to spend Christmas with her family this year.
4 tips on how to celebrate a sensory-friendly New Year’s Eve - New Year's Eve feels like it should be the ultimate celebration of the year, but not everyone finds it easy to enjoy the traditional festivities. Children with sensory differences may need to celebrate the New Year in their own unique way. This blog from Sensory Scout discusses ways parents can help their children enjoy the occasion with activities and adjustments that suit their needs.
NB: Sensory Help Now is not responsible for the content on external websites. Sharing a resource does not imply endorsement by Sensory Help Now.