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Happy Holidays! (or not)

November 5th, 2009 Posted in Home Visiting Strategies

The holiday season is quickly approaching.  This usually means time with family, friends and social gatherings, shopping trips into the community and possibly, travel.  For most people, this flourish of activity is exciting and welcoming.  But, what does it mean for the children with special needs and their families that we work with?  Some children are resilient to new experiences and changes in routines while others fall apart.

As a home visitor, how have you assisted families with preparing their child with special needs for upcoming holidays? What have been the greatest challenges for families preparing a child with special needs for upcoming holidays?

-submitted by Karen Baas, Infant Development Association

  1. 3 Responses to “Happy Holidays! (or not)”

  2. By large file Sharing on Nov 10, 2009

    It is a nice post…kids need really special attention..thanks for such a nice post..

  3. By Angie Rivera on Nov 21, 2009

    I worked with a family, who never had toys out when I arrived. One day, we were playing with a ring stack that I had taken to the home. The child was catching on and we were laughing and having fun. The mother got up very quietly, opened a closet and on a very high shelf, there were many, many toys still in their original boxes. She pulled out a ring stack that had been given to him for Christmas and said, “I didn’t think he would ever play with it.” By the end of our hour, we had opened up most of the toys and had our own Christmas celebration!!
    From that day forward, at every home visit, she showed me how he could play with his new toys.
    What I learned from that experience was to always ask at my first visit after Christmas, what toys the child received and then play with them.
    Hiding toys in a closet is not a healthy outlet. But it was what this mom needed to do until she was able to take that step to open the door, reach up high and face her fears.

  4. By Karen Baas on Nov 23, 2009

    Thanks for sharing that story Angie. It sounds as if your role as a home visitor for this family provided them with hope and assisting them in seeing the potential that their child had.

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