Navigating Large Events with your Autistic Child

This week Alison is joined by Huma and Moira to talk about navigating big events with autistic children.

Topics 00:00 - This Life, the chronicles of Autism moms podcast, series 2 episode 3 – Navigating Big Events  01:00 – With the World Cup almost upon us the excitement is mounting here in Doha so we thought it would be a good idea to discuss the challenges that we face taking our children to large events. 02:00 – Most accessible World Cup ever, sensory rooms available in stadiums and in the fan zones.  03:40 – So do you choose to go to big events or do you avoid them? 04:00 – Moira – We have always gone to things that we want to. Always take into consideration how long the event is and whether we could leave before the end and play it by ear. 08:00 – Alison – Going to the theatre, I’m conscious of other people being affected by sons exuberant singing and clapping, but shouldn’t be! 10:30 – Huma – What’s your biggest fear about choosing to go to something? If its open air event I’m less stressed, my child actually enjoys loud noise. 16:00 – Usually with a big even there’s a lot of waiting before the event begins with queuing to get in, queuing to get a snack etc Utilise any card you may have that would allow you to fast track a queue. More and more large events are becoming more accessible to all disabilities. 18:00 – We need to remember our kids are now teens and tweens so our stories will be very different to those with younger kids but also stands as a reminder that things change and do get better. Situations you wouldn’t have been able to navigate before are now achievable. 18:30 – Moira what did you avoid when Callum was younger? I don’t think we deliberately didn’t go to a show, I would always make sure we had seats at the end of a row for easy access and exit. Would always have his noise cancelling headphones in my bag. We, regretfully, would more often turn down invitations to events with friends rather than events with strangers we’d never see again! 21:00 – Huma what would you avoid when Haider was younger? Well we haven’t had many stadium experiences but they are still open so manageable. Our issues would be going to someone’s house instead, Haider was completely overwhelmed being around unfamiliar people that he was expected to interact with.  23:00 – Do you think the exposure when he was younger has helped? Absolutely, he is far more able to deal with these situations now. Regular exposure is the key to being able to manage uncomfortable situations.

Top Tips -Accept all invitations to go to an event.

-Don’t regret not having the experience.

-Anticipation of what might happen is always worse than the reality, and even if it does go pear shaped.  C’est la vie! Try again next time.

 

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As the leading digital Autism resource led by Dr. Stephen Shore, author of Autism for Dummies, who himself is on the Autism spectrum, and our team of OT's (occupational therapists), SLP's (speech language pathologists), behavioral therapists, play therapists, sensory experts, educators, Autism parents and advocates, we are committed to providing diverse p