This story is not specifically about autism, but it could be. It's about 15 young children and a fire station. And it has significant implications about our students with ASD.

Alex had a birthday
Through some unique circumstances, Alex got to host his 5th birthday party at the local fire station. I'm sure you can imagine . . . this was the party beyond all parties. Fifteen kids was the magic number. Excitement was in the air.



It was a two hour party
I had to pick up Alex's sister from school. When we arrived at the fire station 15 minutes after the party started, the rest of the children had finished their pizza dinner and were starting on their tour. This should have been my first clue.

Excitement was in the air
Fifteen children exploring the station. Climbing in and out of the police car. Investigating the ambulance. Sitting in the "cell for bad people." And the icing on the cake was riding in the fire truck with siren going. These children were wound. Do you see where I am going with this story???

The children were running
By the time we reached the cake and presents part of the party there were a lot of children running around in circles. And touching things. And there were some neat things to touch . . . like a big fat rubber hose-like thing dangling from the ceiling.

I looked to the fireman for encouragement
He assured me the high energy behavior we were watching was common at these parties.

They sat for cake
Cake and presents took about as much time as the pizza dinner did. The noise level and the running around level seemed to be increasing . . . lots . . . Was it just my imagination?

The teacher in me started to try to problem solve
By now the planned activities were completed. But there was still time left before the two hours were up. What to do? I started to go through a list of possibilities. Maybe we could sit down and sing songs. Ha Ha. We had a little craft project for them to do. I quickly decided that would be a disaster. What could we do to calm things down for the time that was left?

Son-in-law to the rescue
Luckily, most of the parents had stayed to help supervise the
party. So my son-in-law said with a huge smile on his face, "Our feelings wouldn't be hurt if anyone decided to leave a little early." Everyone understood. And laughed. And left. With memories of a wonderful party.

And here's a lesson
Sometimes the best plan is a changed one. An arbitrary time frame does not account for real life circumstances. Changing a prearranged schedule can make the difference between a rousing success and a huge disaster.

And lesson #2
We talk about a concept called "self-regulation." That refers to a student's ability to modulate or regulate their behavior so they can participate appropriately. Well, sometimes an activity or a location makes that extremely difficult for all children. That's important
to remember.

Some kids have a harder time than others
It is not unusual for our students with ASD to have difficulty regulating their behavior. And when they get "wound" it can be more difficult for them to calm down. There was a child at this party with some special needs, and I am sure Mom was watching carefully.

So lesson #3
Have a game plan. Know what is right for an individual child. That might mean selecting or rejecting activities. Or it could mean altering the schedule a bit. It may also include planning what to do before to prepare or after to "decompress."

Special events like birthdays and holidays are exciting times for young children and adults and everyone in between. Approaching these events with some wise planning can help them become wonderful memories.

© 2008 Linda Hodgdon

Here is a great opportunity to attend one of my programs. I will be speaking as a part of the Heartspring Conference Series.
The date is April 3, 2009.

If you are in or near Wichita, Kansas you can arrange to attend
this program live. If you can't travel to Kansas, you have another
great opportunity.

This program will be webcast. That means you can watch the live program from home. Institutions can arrange to host the webcast in your own location for a group.

Contact Heartspring directly to register for this opportunity,

P.S. They have a special registration rate for parents & caregivers.

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Gold Winner, 2006 & 2007 MarCom Creative Award
Gold Winner, 2007 & 2008 NAPPA Parenting Resources Award

Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist and a Consultant for Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is the author of the bestseller, Visual Strategies for Improving Communication, one of the most recommended books in the field of autism.

Internationally recognized as a powerful and informative speaker and consultant, Linda has presented her insightful and dynamic workshops to audiences of educators and parents worldwide.

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