’Tis the season: our guide to surviving the holidays
While the holiday season is ripe with the joys of gift-giving, twinkling lights, and quality time with loved ones, it can also be overwhelming for kids with food sensitivities, sensory needs, and extra difficulties traveling — not to mention for parents trying to make sure all things holiday-related are accessible and sensory-friendly. ’Tis the season to be stressed out for parents everywhere, are we right? Throw in being surrounded by unfamiliar people, missing out on sleep, family members who don’t understand our kids, and having routines disrupted, and things can get tricky fast. All we want for the holidays is . . . help?!
Enter our holiday survival guide — made for families raising kids with disabilities!
Surviving the holidays also means taking care of ourselves. And while our guide might be about creating a safe and fun holiday season for our kids, that ultimately translates to a better time for parents as well.
- Anxiously preparing to travel away from home? → Undivided tip: make your own travel Social Story!
- The thought of boundaries stressing you out? → Undivided tip: limit what you say yes to. It’s okay to say no!
- Wondering how to safely include your child in the holiday fun? → Undivided tip: follow a strengths-based approach to planning activities!
- Worried about overstimulation? → Undivided tip: having an exit strategy is a gamechanger!
- Feeling exhausted? → Undivided tip: ask for childcare for your holiday gift!
For more tips like these, we spoke to two clinical psychologists, an autism nutrition specialist, and a BCBA-D to get their best advice for making sure the holidays are accessible, sensory-friendly, and more peaceful for the whole family. We also collected tried-and-true tips from parents on the Undivided team for helping prepare kids for travel and holiday celebrations. Read our Holiday Survival Guide.
It’s beginning to look a lot like . . . sensory overload? For kids with sensory processing issues or difficulty processing information from the senses, the holidays — visiting family, buying and un/wrapping gifts, food prep, lots of events, too little sleep — can create feelings of overwhelm, overstimulation, and confusion. For tips and resources on decoding sensory signs and symptoms, creating a sensory diet for home and school, and common interventions, read our article Sensory Processing Disorder and Sensory Diets.
Give yourself the gift of Undivided
The holiday season may be the most magical time of year, but it can also be the most stressful. For parents who are watching over the kids (and everyone else!), and feeling overwhelmed and alone, it’s time to give yourself a gift — the gift of Undivided. That’s where we come in, with the gift of a team who can help you take on your to-do list’s and ease your mind with one-on-one support, resources, tools, and community knowledge. Give yourself the gift of Undivided and start 2024 knowing you’ve got a plan.
One Undivided member shares with her Undivided Navigator, “[You did] in a few minutes what I have not been able to do in years… you are a true inspiration to me and I cannot be more grateful for your support.”
Office Hours: IHSS Career Pathways
On January 17, 2024, Public Benefits Specialist Lisa Concoff Kronbeck will be available for a special Office Hours all about the IHSS Career Pathways program, where parent providers can be paid for taking training classes.
Bi-weekly Office Hours are virtual Zoom sessions with experts that are open to Undivided members only, so if you’d like to attend, sign up here to begin your free Kickstart!
- Did you hear that Career Pathways deadlines for 2024 have been announced? Listen to the details from our public benefits specialist on Instagram→
- What are your top tips for making road trips easier on the kiddos? Join the discussion in our private Facebook group →
- Know a provider who could share our guide with all their families? Connect us on LinkedIn→
- Hear psychologist Dr. Lauren Stutman’s advice for preventing sensory overwhelm over the holidays. Watch on YouTube→…
This newsletter was originally sent to our subscribers on 12/15/23. Subscribe to our newsletter to get more resources like this in your inbox, and check out our full library of articles, templates, and videos at undivided.io/resources.
