Many of you will have followed my story and that of my family, particularly my son. Living with severe autism, among other conditions, a strict routine is vital for him.
That routine is not simply doing the same thing, but it also stretches to include, environmental decoration, layout and even seasonal changes.
Maybe once, we would have displayed our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, creating that magical change to our environment in readiness and welcome for the arrival of Santa through the night. But our son finds this sudden change so distressing. His mind cannot process something like that easily. We learned over the years that the reason our son was withdrawn and unhappy on Christmas day (and indeed other days of celebration) was due to his inability to accept changes and surprises.
We learned to introduce the changes gradually and subtly, explaining what we are doing all the time in order to help him, if not fully understand, but to accept the changes without his usual distress.
Christmas starts in September for us with the introduction of something new to add to our eclectic mix. This year, the longhorn on a gift carrying sleigh worked a treat.
Another opportunity to smile 🙂
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Cute – I don’t remember seeing this one in the past
This is a new addition, Nora. I was looking for a nutcracker, but this longhorn caught my eye and, well, I just could not walk past it. 🙂