Help your child with Autism have a happy 4th of July

The 4th of July does offer lots of sensory input. Some of the sensory input may be too intense for your child so taking certain steps to reduce their stress in advance is important.

Safety is of course the most important factor. Please be sure that your child is wearing a medic alert bracelet or tags and that your contact info is also written inside their clothes (in case they lose the alert). If you need a back pack leash or wrist strap to keep your child safe, then do it. Please also be sure that there will be an adult who will NOT be drinking to be responsible for helping out with your child- a child with Autism requires a much higher level of competence and attentiveness, especially at an event like this!



The most obvious sensory offense:
Fireworks: These can be terrifying even for neurotypical children. When you really think about it, no matter how beautiful they are they are unnatural, loud , smell, and using them does contradict survival instincts. Add to that, Sensory Integration Dysfunction and Fireworks are just a recipe for a bad night if you are unprepared.

Kids with extreme olfactory sensitivities may be deeply upset by the gunpowder smell. This can be address by putting a dab of vicks vapor rub just below the child's nose but be warned, that may be more upsetting to them- especially if they try to eat anything during the night. A simple mask with aroma therapy oils dotted around inside may help, just be careful not to overdo it as you do not want to cause asphyxiation.

Auditory sensitivities can be easily handled with ear protection- I prefer Winchester head phones to plugs as the plugs often cause additional sensory challenges and the headphones can block out just as much sound.

Some kids who are easily overwhelmed by visual stimuli may find one or two fireworks to be quite pleasing, but then begin to experience problems if multiple fireworks are going off simultaneously or even in too rapid a sequence. The visual appearance of the fireworks is symmetrical at first glance but a child who is obsessed with symmetry may require extra time to process what they have seen and my be extremely bothered by the visual chaos.

What can you do to help convert the triggers into beneficial stimuli?



Before the event, try looking at some images and doing a few social stories- when the child has a better idea of what to expect and what will be expected of them they are better able to focus on working through their sensory struggles. If you can not find a social story, try creating something yourself by searching images of things that your child needs to prepare for!

Bring tools like ear protection, chewy tubes etc for your child to help them work through the problems. Before you go, practice with the ear protection and visual cues- they must still be able to understand you during the show!

Try to draw your child's attention to the vibrations that occur- teach them that those vibrations are good- this type of stimulation is very beneficial, but only when the child is not afraid of it!

Make sure that no matter what, you smile through the fireworks and comment cheerfully about how beautiful they are. Your child will likely associate any negativity to the fireworks themselves.

BBQ offers its own sensory challenges.


Aside from concerns about children running around or playing where there is a BBQ, there are a few sensory concerns that accompany it. Kids with severe olfactory aversions may be thrown off for the entire day when the smell (that most people love) fills the air. To a child with olfactory hypersensitivities, the smell of a BBQ may smell as is someone were burning old tires and diapers together.

The feel of the smoke- some kids are so sensitive to tactile stimulation that even being far away from the BBQ where no one else seems to notice, they may feel the smoke in their lungs and be very bothered by it.

The texture and flavors of the food may really bother a child with oral aversions or OCD like traits. A child with oral aversion will not likely enjoy the textures offered by BBQs and any charring will be problematic.

If your child has severe oral aversions, please be sure to bring something for them or even stop at Mc Donalds and bring it for them- if they can associate any fond memories of the evening with having food in their mouth then a therapist may be able to use that to help them with their oral aversion!

Applying condiments may bother a child with tactile issues if they get any ketchup or mustard on their fingers, eating the food will likely contribute to the messy fingers issues and a common trigger for kids with tactile sensitivities is having their faces wiped after eating.

The Fun and Games

Most Independence Day celebrations have some type of activities such as frisbee, football, tag, jungle gyms, sprinklers and hoses, water balloons etc. See if you can find out what activities will be at the celebration so that you can help your child prepare! If your child has never played football, practice throwing and catching a football and see if you can help them understand some of the rules. Be sure to bring an extra ball for your child as the other kids may not all want to include them in a real game if they are inexperienced- if you bring a spare ball, then your child can "host" the game for all of the kids who are not experienced and help every one have a great time!

If you have lots of experience with providing sensory friendly activities for your child to target particular senses such as proprioception, you should be able to find some of these activities for your child with no problem! If you are new to this... See Little Sensory Tips II for a basic idea on how to turn activities like playing in a sprinkler into therapeutic sensory activities!

If there will be board games, bring one that your child likes- if your child does not like any of the "sitting down, moving pieces" kinds of board games, consider something like Twister!

Some parents of children with autism opt to skip social events such as BBQs and firework shows because they are concerned about how other guests are going to react to their child's behavior. If you choose not to go, I really hope that is not the reason. I know how hard it is to just say "who cares what they think", but believe me, the moment you truly stop caring about the opinions of strangers, you will experience a feeling of freedom and peace that fills and empowers you.

I address this issue in many of my articles as I have found that no matter how many parents seem to have reached a point at which the family can function normally, private conversations often result in teary mothers expressing concerns about what people will say and think, comments, dirty looks and some even fear losing their children.

It is important to note that fewer people are staring at you than you think, of those who are looking, some may have experience with autism and may just be watching to see if you need assistance- I for example will look at the parent's facial expressions for a few seconds, if a mother is holding back tears I often introduce myself and offer assistance, if my husband is around he usually just makes everyone crack up as he is great at breaking tension. If the parent seems to have the situation under control I will glance quickly to see if there are any of the gawkers who may be getting ready to comment on "parenting techniques" if I spot any, I start asking them if they know where I can find xyz or some other pointless conversation to occupy them.

Usually the people who make a comment about a child's behavior in this setting truly are trying to help. There is always one though, if you are not sure if you have the energy, self control, patience or tact to explain autism to the "one", you may want to consider Autism Information cards. They are available for purchase at a number of online sources, but as they are gaining popularity more free printables are becoming available!

I have been working on designing some nice new free printable cards- no special business cards or paper necessary for these. So, please check back regularly at my free printable site


Autism Awareness Cards by Sidther
Make full color business cards on zazzle.com