Christmas is time for being with family , laughter and love . It’s the excitement of the season . The being swept up in the magic of it all. We do this in so many ways without even realizing it . It can be difficult when you have a loved one with special needs . Alyssa does not really understand what Christmas is . She loves opening presents though ❤️.
With autism and specifically for her , she learns by constant repetition . The more she does something and is exposed to it the more likely she is to learn and to know what to expect . It is hard to gage what she understands and what she can grasp . Abstract things are really hard for her . She does get overwhelmed too .
This year with the prologue 2 go app we have been looking at images associated with Christmas . I have started a Christmas folder and adding stuff as we go . This is the first time ever that she has an idea of what’s coming regarding the holidays. To what extent I can’t be sure but we are just going to keep trying to help her make the connections . Tonight she suprised me yet again . My 2 year old niece was here and I decided to put on a Christmas movie . One of my goals with Alyssa is to watch a Christmas movie as a family . She doesn’t watch movies or tv shows she can’t really follow along so it doesn’t hold her attention . She will watch videos on utube but not a whole show .
Tonight she saw me open the movie and I showed her the picture and asked did she want to it with us . She nodded yes and Came in the living room and layed on the couch . She watched most of the movie !! I couldn’t believe it
. It was the year without a Santa Claus. You don’t know how special it is to be able to experience this unless you aren’t able to have this experience with your child . It’s taken 22 years but that’s Ok it made my heart so happy .
Autism adventures with Alyssa 