July Fourth Resources for Families Living with Autism
Thursday July 3, 2008
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If you're a family about to cope with July Fourth on the autism spectrum, you'll want to explore Terri Mauro's fabulous collection of resources, ranging from ideas for managing noise to recipes for gluten free cookies! In fact, if you're a parent raising a child with autism, you can't do better than to explore Terri's entire Special Needs Parenting site here at About.com.
By the way - our own "secret" to managing fireworks: buy a pair of the earphones used by jackhammer operators. They do a great job of muffling the sound, and they're terrific in the dentist's office too (the sound of the dentist's toothbrush can make my son nuts!).
Comments
This is the eBay UK shop for Peltor Kid who do great ear defenders for kids. According to the eBay shop they ship worldwide.
We have a pair, they’ve very, very good.
The ideas given are very basic and don’t address the main issue: People and the way they behave.
At parties, the biggest thing that prevents autistics from enjoying them is the behavior of people during these gatherings.
Things which may set off an autistic:
1) The illegality of grandpa tempting a five year old cousin with a sip of beer.
2) Unsupervised kids running around, knocking over things, breaking toys, and getting hurt.
3) Drunk people
4) People acting silly, foolish, without manners, and without decorum.
5) People not following the rules when they play games such as volleyball and lawn tennis.
6) People wasting and spilling food.
7) People drinking from other people’s glasses.
8) People not controlling their barking dogs or not caring when kids tease the animals - particularly the cats.
9) The unfairness of being limited to one piece of cake while some other mother doesn’t care if their kid eats five pieces.
10) The injustice of the first mother not correcting the second mother in the above scenario.
11) People turning up the volume of music louder the longer the party goes.
12) Parents yelling more at their kids the more dunk the parents get.
13) Parents and kids using illegal drugs with the full knowledge of party-goers yet no one doing anything about it.
14) Adults breaking and wrecking things but not telling the host that they have done so.
15) Adults and kids alike messing up the bathrooms and not cleaning up after themselves.
16) People setting off fire crackers in close proximity to children and dogs.
17) people thinking it’s funny to see children crying and dogs getting upset after fire crackers are set off.
18) People laughing hysterically if someone falls out of a tree or if a lawn dart misses hitting someone by inches.
19) Roving bands of uncontrolled kids with squirt guns.
20) Adults who confiscate the squirt guns who then start squirting kids, particularly ones that don’t want to participate in such foolishness.
Autistics can endure the food by not eating it, the noise by muffling their ears. But there is nothing they can do to get away from people - the single most frustrating and annoying element at parties.
Having driven home for an HOUR (about 3 miles) through all of what you’re describing, I can absolutely understand your point.
Overall, it seems that anything for which a person with autism CAN prepare is easier than anything for which he really CAN’T prepare. And there is simply no good way to prepare for human nuttiness. And on the Fourth, there’s no good way to escape from it.
Lisa (autism guide)
ok