Phone: 1-800-453-7461
Fax: 239-631-2259

NPRInc Blog
The Educator's Choice for Classroom and Professional Development Resources

Happy Halloween? Helping Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Prepare for the Holidays: Tips from a TV Family

jackolanternFor children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), occasions that are fun and stress-free for most kids can be overwhelming and upsetting. Halloween is one such occasion. It’s a favorite holiday of many children, but one that can be fraught with challenges for children on the autism spectrum– and their parents/caregivers. This wrenching scenario was depicted in a powerful and ultimately uplifting episode of the NBC television drama, Parenthood (Season 2, Episode 6, “Orange Alert”).

On the program, Adam and Kristina have a ten-year old son with Asperger syndrome (AS). Like many children with Asperger’s and other conditions on the autism spectrum, Max has difficulty with social interactions, is staunchly bound to routines and rules, is fixated on certain subject (pirates, insects), and has intense phobias, including a profound fear of fire/flame. In the powerful episode, Orange Alert, Max announces to his parents that he wants to go trick-or-treating, which he has never done before. While his father, Adam, is excited that his son is showing interest in participating in this “normal” kid activity, his mother Kristina’s first reaction is concern. After all, Max’s fear of fire has provoked meltdowns in the past when so much as candles were lit on a birthday cake. How would he react to encountering lit jack-o-lanterns on every doorstep? Would he be able to follow the unwritten Halloween “script,” which involves dialoguing with strangers at every house?

Uncertain whether trick-or-treating would be a positive experience for Max or a traumatic one, Adam and Kristina seek the expert opinion of their son’s therapist—an ASD/Asperger’s specialist.  The doctor validates Kristina’s concerns, acknowledging that special occasions like Halloween can be triggering for many children like Max with Asperger’s, however he determines that since Max has expressed a strong interest in participating, he should be allowed to do so. But first, he advises Max’s parents to thoroughly plan and prepare Max for the big event, something Adam and Kristina are all too used to doing. Since Max’s diagnosis, they have learned what parents of children with autism spectrum disorders know: Advance planning and preparation is one of the most effective strategies for helping children with Asperger’s/ASD successfully confront new and/or challenging situations.

Subsequently, Adam and Kristina dive into preparing Max and those around him for the big night. Parents of children with Asperger’s and ASD will surely be able to relate to the extensive planning Max’s parents undertake, and to the strong anxiety and trepidation they feel despite all of their best efforts to make the experience successful. The lengths to which they go so that their child will be able to simply take part in a fun, popular, and simple (for most kids) activity helps viewers appreciate all that goes into parenting a child on the autism spectrum.

 The steps that Max’s parents took to prepare for Halloween are ones that may be useful for parents of children with ASD to try as Halloween approaches. They included:

  • Visiting their neighbors before the big night and providing them with glow sticks to use in their jack-o-lanterns instead of actual candles so that Max isn’t triggered by the sight of fire;
  • Scoping out the houses to see which look too scary for Max to visit, and creating a map of the most manageable route for trick-or-treating;
  • Explicitly teaching their son the etiquette of trick-or-treating: ring the bell, say “trick or treat,” tell the person at the door what/who you are dressed as, take a single piece of candy and then say “thank you.” Although these “rules” do not make sense to Max (Why would I say trick-or-treat since I don’t want a trick? Why wouldn’t I just say “treat”?), he learns the script and reluctantly agrees to rehearse trick-or-treating (How come I have to practice when other kids don’t have to practice trick-or-treating?)
  • Letting the parents of Max’s trick-or-treating companions know about Max’s issues and asking them to use the prepared route map;
  • Allowing Max to dress up like a cockroach, unorthodox as that may be.
© 2010 NBC Universal, Inc.

© 2010 NBC Universal, Inc.

In spite of all this planning, Adam and Kristina are still quite anxious about Max trick-or-treating as the big night approaches—a fact that is not lost on Max. The try their best to remain calm to so as not to raise Max’s anxiety, but as parents of children with ASD know, perpetual worrying is difficult to overcome as there is so much to worry about when your child has Asperger’s/ASD.

In the end, trick-or-treating was a success for Max, and the entire family celebrated the great accomplishment. Of course, this is a fictional television show, but it is written with much authenticity and understanding of what goes into parenting a child with ASD. The episode is well worth watching (it available on iTunesNetflix). If you are a parent of a child with ASD/AS you will surely be able to relate, and, if Halloween is a difficult occasion for your child, you may find it helpful to use some of the strategies Max’s parents employed in planning for the big night. If you are not a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, the episode will give you a better understanding and appreciation of the challenges and hard work that go into parenting a child with special needs, as well as the rewards.

 

 

Tags: ,

« Using the IEP as a Bullying Prevention Tool Meet Maddox & Get to Know NPR, Inc. »