No matter which holidays you celebrate, they can often be a nightmare for autistic individuals. The crowds, the social expectations, and the bombardment of your senses can quickly lead to overwhelm. There is another way to go through the holidays while autistic! You deserve to enjoy them too! I have five quick tips for you to reduce that overwhelm this holiday season:
Prioritize your needs- We often ignore our sensory and social needs because we don’t understand them or because of expectations put on us by society to act neurotypical. I give you permission to do whatever you need to do to meet those needs! This is especially important when we’re in stressful or overwhelming situations.
Take breaks- Whatever activity you’re doing, be sure to take regular breaks to decompress. If you’re not great at recognizing when you need a break, set up a timer or reminder in advance to bring your attention to taking breaks at least every hour (it could be as often as every 10 minutes if you need it). On your break you could take a walk, sit in a quiet room, listen to some music, or whatever fuels you.
Find a calming activity- For me, it’s knitting, but for you it might be playing with kids, DJing, washing dishes, or tidying the table. It can be something that gives you calm while in the action or gives you an excuse to bow out of the action for a while.
Protect your sensory system- Figure out what your sensory fuel and sensory triggers are in advance. Find ways to do more of what fuels your sensory system before, during, and after activities and less of what triggers it in any situation (AKA a sensory diet). Tools like fidgets and earplugs can come in handy here.
Advocate for your needs- Once you get a better handle on your social and sensory needs, it’s critical to communicate them to others when you are in situations where they can support you in meeting them. Some examples of self-advocacy asks are turning the music or TV volume down, moving your seat at the table, or showing you a good place to take breaks. Sometimes self-advocacy may even mean that you decline an invite, if that’s what you need.
I hope that these tips can help you find more groundedness and calm this holiday season and all year! Remember that you deserve to love the holidays as much as anyone does. This may require doing things differently than neurotypical folks do, but your goal is the same- to enjoy yourself. And you can not just survive the holidays while autistic, you can thrive in them once you get good at all of these techniques!
If you’re looking for more details on avoiding overwhelm, download my free guide, “Unlock Your Energy: 15 Proven Strategies to Ward Off Autistic Overwhelm.” And if you're traveling over the holidays, I wrote a blog post with travel tips too. If you want coaching support in understanding your sensory and social needs, schedule a free virtual consultation.
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