How To Help Your Child Navigate Christmas With A Disability

The Christmas period is supposed to be when you spend quality time with your family and friends. It’s synonymous with fun and cheer but, for children with a disability, it can be stressful and difficult. Dealing with crowds of people, noise and all the other complications that come with celebrating Christmas can make your child anxious and uncomfortable and turn what should be a time of celebration into a nightmare. 

With a little bit of forward planning, though, you can ensure that this period remains a positive experience for everyone. Here are some things to keep in mind when preparing for the festive season. 

Understand how your child’s disability limits them

There are a wealth of activities to get involved in during the festive season both in and out of the house, and it’s great to be able to experience them. But when doing so, it’s important to always be aware of what your child’s limits are. A certain amount of excitement and participation in the public sphere can be genuinely wonderful. However, this can quickly become a high pressure environment that is difficult to cope with. If it becomes apparent that they are struggling, it is useful to think ahead and have a way to easily remove them from the situation.  

At Community Access Care, we understand the importance of staying connected to the community if you are living with a disability. Our experienced team is fully dedicated to enabling our clients to engage with the community in a safe and fulfilling way. 

To ensure the experience is fun for everyone, make a point of communicating with anyone involved in the occasion what your child needs to feel safe and comfortable. How much interaction are they okay with? What are the signs that they need space? If everyone is on the same page, it will be easier to make sure that your child’s requirements are respected. 

Ways to celebrate Christmas for children with a disability

It may be necessary to keep your celebrations with family and friends small. Crowds of people in a small space can be overwhelming and hard to handle for a child with a disability and lead to complications. 

Try organising activities around helping them to be involved. They could be responsible for dispensing Christmas gifts or helping to serve food to guests. Christmas games are a fun way to celebrate with family and friends and keeping them appropriate to your child so they can participate is a good way to help them remain involved in the festivities. 

But, as always, give them the ability to take a break if everything becomes a little too much to handle. 

Finally, don’t feel like they need to do anything they don’t feel up to doing. Ultimately, your child doesn’t owe anyone and if they would prefer to sit out the celebrations then that is their prerogative. 

Get in touch with our friendly team, and we will assist you as soon as we can:
Phone: 1300 522 104
Email: [email protected]