Special Needs Kids on New Years

Family Fun for Children with Disabilities

Dec 30, 2007 Lynn Moore

Create holiday memories by planning family outings that include the child with special needs.

Pick a Favorite Activity

Some families prefer to celebrate every special occasion together. Many cities offer a New Year’s Eve celebration with music, activities, rides, food, and fireworks. Other families choose to celebrate with extended family and friends or by seeing a movie and eating out. The idea in celebrating with a child with special needs is to choose an activity that will be enjoyed by all.

Define the Time

It is important to explain the time frame of the outing. This not only includes the day and time, but the length of time that will be spent. In other words, if your family chooses to go to a pizza and game establishment you will want to carefully explain how long (how many games/tokens) will be involved. Without this structure going in to the activity, there may be the impression that everything is up for discussion. The outing will be more pleasant if everyone knows ahead of time what to expect.

Talk about Who Will Go

Will friends be invited? Will the entire family go? In some regards there may be a campaign to be able to invite friends. In other situations, it may be stressful for the child to think of those outside the family going along. Obviously, this varies greatly from child to child. It does, however, relate closely to predictability. If a child knows what to expect, the experience will be more enjoyable as the child feels more secure in understanding the details of the outing.

Decide What You Will Do

Defining the details of the activity may be somewhat like defining the time. It is helpful, though, to plan the exact things that will be done on the outing. Will you eat out? Will you pack a lunch? If you are going to a children’s museum, for example, what things will you see? Will each person get to choose a favorite part to avoid the frustration of not being able to see everything?

Still having trouble thinking of places to go? Here are some tried and true ideas that may be a perfect fit for your child:

Go to the movies
Visit a children’s museum
Plan some time at a pizza and game place
Visit an aquarium
Go to a children’s gym
Take a train ride
Plan a family game night
Go bowling
Have a family skate night

The copyright of the article Special Needs Kids on New Years in Special Needs Parenting is owned by Lynn Moore. Permission to republish Special Needs Kids on New Years in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

New Year's for Special Kids