Tips for helping children with ASD enjoy the happy holidays

Every year, Dr. Russ Lang says he is asked questions about helping children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the holidays.

The professor of Special Education and executive director of the Texas State University's Clinic for Autism Research Evaluation and Support (CARES) said the No. 1 thing that parents can do is plan ahead.

“Be prepared. We should not assume everybody is happy at Christmas,” Lang said. “Many people feel stress or anxiety at Christmas, and it helps to have a good plan.” He said it is most important to “consider the unique characteristics of the individual child you are trying to support during the holidays. What is it that they are likely to enjoy and what might they find unpleasant?”

And while there is not one specific aspect of a plan that would be universally true for every child with ASD, Lang said parents know their child pretty well.

One way that parents can prepare is to practice. “If you are going to a holiday party try role-playing,” he suggested. If there are going to be games, explain the rules so that they are understood. Discuss key social responses, for example, practice saying Merry Christmas or Happy Hannukah. “Knowing what you are going to say can reduce the anxiety or difficulty with some social interactions.”

Lang agrees that parents can find helpful tips online. He cited websites from Autism Speaks or the Autism Society.

“I don’t think there is anything unusual for preparing for the holidays, compared to preparing for the first day of school, or a big family wedding.” He suggested that parents turn to their child’s service providers – behavior analysts, teachers, special ed providers, or speech-language pathologists, when they had questions.

At CARES, the faculty and staff provide services on campus and in the community. “We teach academics, we reduce challenging or problematic behavior, we teach play skills and language, daily living – which used to be called life skills. We approach it from an educational point of view – as opposed to a biomedical or physiological point of view. We attempt to teach new skills that empower a better quality of life,” said Lang, who joined Texas State in 2009.

The age range for clients is between 2 and 50, though Lang said the average age is between 8 and 12 years old.

Established in 2008 by the College of Education, CARES provides multiple services for individuals with autism and their families, while training school and agency personnel to apply research-based practices. Services include diagnostic assessment and evaluation, clinic and home-based educational programs founded in applied behavior analysis (ABA), social skills groups, job-coaching, functional behavior assessments, behavior intervention planning, consultations, and leisure skills training through the summer camp.

Psychology faculty and students conduct the diagnostics; Special Education faculty and students provide the educational services; Exercise Sports Science faculty with psychology and other students supervise activity in the summer camp.

The clinic, on the ground floor of the College of Education Building, is open daily Monday through Friday. “Graduate students and board-certified behavior analysts provide services, collect data and meet with parents on a regular basis to review progress,” Lang said. While there is a fee for services, the clinic gets some university support and state grants. He said the teaching clinic with graduate students under supervision has excellent outcomes.

“We are really proud of the quality of services we provide. We are focused on evidence-based practice, which is to say what we do is derived directly from peer-reviewed scientific research,” Lang said.

For information about donating to CARES, contact Lang at russlang@txstate.edu; or visit https://cares.education.txstate.edu/support.html