The Christmas period, with lots of change, social interaction, expectations and demands to negotiate, can be a very exciting but often stressful time of the year for many autistic people. We have put together a brief list of useful resources that we hope may prove helpful in making this festive period as special and as stress free as possible for those you work with. 

N.B. Many of the below resources were written pre-covid 19, although many of the tips will still be relevant and apply, some may not. 

Below are a variety of resources that give guidance, advice and ideas for the festive season:

Preparing for Christmas - National Autistic Society

Our website features a range of advice on preparing for Christmas, including some real-life stories and tips from autistic people and their families.

Autism and Christmas – Teachers are you ready? - Lynn McCann

In this blog Lynn McCann offers some advice to teachers on how to support their autistic pupils in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

3 tips for an autism-friendly Christmas - Jamie Knight

Jamie, an autistic adult, explains how he prepares for Christmas, including the need for quiet spaces and sensory considerations.

An autistic person's experience of Christmas - The Guardian

Guardian blog by an autistic adult, describing the challenges of Christmas and how she copes with this time of year.

Christmas, a seasonal challenge - Gina Davies

In this blog, Gina discusses some of the difficulties autistic children and their parents may experience at Christmas, and offers some solutions to make the period less stressful.  

Coping with anxiety at Christmas - Emma Louise Bridge

In this blog, author Emma Louise Bridge, offers advice on how best to cope with anxiety at Christmas.

Supporting people over the holidays - National Autistic Society Scotland

Callum McCrosson has written some tips for supporting autistic people during the festive season.

4 Ways Christmas Affects Me and My Autism - Kit Dwyer

In this blog, Kit Dwyer, explains how the Christmas season affects her and how people can help.

What’s it like being autistic at Christmas – autism-friendly Christmas - IndieAndy

IndieAndy discusses some of the things he finds difficult during Christmas, and how he deals with some of the stresses it brings.