Welcome to July

Hello July!

Oooooh ... and it's

a hot one today.

July 4 is just around the corner, and I know many of you are especially looking forward to this July 4 as it falls on a Saturday this year. As you are making your Independence Day celebration plans, take a look at these hints and tips that I have listed below. These are things that myself and others have found to be helpful when trying to make this special time meaningful for everyone in the family. Some of these tips are from a recent podcast on FAQautism.com.

Some of you may have children/family members who have certain sensory sensitivities, general anxiety, and/or may simply have a fear of fireworks (this doesn't just apply to children with specific disabilities/disorders, but can apply to typically developing children as well). Others of you may be sharing your July 4th celebrations with a child who may have these sensitivities.

TIPS:

1) Come up with a plan ahead of time that you think will work best for your child.

2) Prepare your child for the upcoming event if you feel this will help him/her. It may be fun to watch fireworks on a youtube video and/or listen to it within an applicable song (for example, John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" or other patriotic marches) ahead of time. If you are watching a video, you may want to initially watch it without sound, while commenting on the colors and shapes the fireworks make. You can then (without bringing it to attention) watch it with low sound. You may want to repeat this again later with the sound just up a little more each time. Again, don't make a point about turning up the volume - just gradually do this little by little.

3) If your child seems to show anxiety in anticipation of the fireworks, let him/her know that you will be watching the fireworks from faraway. You may find it gives him/her a little more feeling of control and safety if you allow him/her to accompany you in locating a specific spot.

4) Know ahead of time (plan ahead) where exactly you will be sitting when the fireworks begin. You may want to find a place a little ways away from where everyone else is as your "special spot". You may even want to take a blanket a couple days beforehand to your "special spot" and lay on it looking up at the sky. You and your child can practice making your own firework sounds while making your hands open in a bursting manner. This can serve as a sort of practice/dress rehearsal, and may help your child to establish positive associations with the fireworks.

5) If the above (#4) is not an option for you (i.e. - if you will be out of town for July 4 and aren't able to stake out a spot days ahead of time), you can still role play the situation with a blanket on your own lawn.

6) Some of you may find that it is most enjoyable/least stressful to simply sit in your car to watch the fireworks.

7) Another idea is to play an applicable song (such as John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever") close to your child while the fireworks burst in the background of the music. This may be especially helpful if you decide to implement #2.

8) Again, in order to establish positive associations, you may want to purchase and/or make things to have and use only during the fireworks. Your child may even begin to have a positive anticipation in association with the fireworks. Make sure these are things that your child has very high interest in (possibly involving a favorite toy, type of object, or maybe even have a very special food treat that you will get to eat during the fireworks). I would use this one (#8) along with one or more of the other ideas listed here (rather than simply using #8 independently).

9) VERY IMPORTANT: Be aware of your own anxiety level in anticipation of your child's possible reaction to the fireworks. Focus yourself ahead of time to be as calm as possible. As many of you have already found, our children can be very intuitive and can often times pick up on our own feelings of anxiety.

I hope you will find these helpful BUT, even more, I hope you will leave your own comments, ideas, and suggestions related to this! My Gestalt thinking has gotten my mind in a tither since I left off at #9... it just seems so wrong to not have a #10. Maybe someone else can come up with the #10 (???)

Jessica