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"I've always loved Christmas lights and last year I got to help switch on the Christmas tree lights in my local area."

Samuel Maybury
- on the joy of Christmas lights

Christmas stories: Samuel and Nicola Maybury yellow star icon

In this Stories from the Spectrum interview, we spoke to Samuel and Nicola Maybury.


Christmas can be a wonderful time for many people. ‘Tis the season for gift-giving, celebration and festive cheer. But for many autistic people and their families, the bright lights, busy gatherings, and changes in routine can be very stressful.

We know this year will be very different, due to the impact of coronavirus. As a charity, we want you to know that you are not alone. Visit our coronavirus pages for tips, advice, and support.

To begin our Christmas stories, we caught up with Samuel and Nicola Maybury. Samuel is a young autistic man, currently in his final year at secondary school. In recent years, Samuel’s been getting crafty and creating his own Christmas lights, which you can admire below. His mother, Nicola, is an artist, who also sells handmade gifts, and a Christian colouring book.

We chatted to Samuel and Nicola about autism, how they’ll be celebrating Christmas this year, and the bright ideas behind Samuel’s Christmas lights.

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When were you diagnosed as autistic and what was the diagnosis process like?

Samuel: I was diagnosed in 2007, at the age of three. I don't remember much about it but do remember going to another nursery and certain things about it, such as the play equipment.

Nicola: We noticed Samuel’s behaviour was different from some of his peers from a very early age. Among other things, he was very obsessive, got incredibly stressed out by changes in routine, was freaked out by very random things and hated anything being out of place. His pre-school nursery also noticed that he preferred to play alone and that he wouldn't move on to other activities, but instead chose to play with one thing continually.

We spoke to our GP about our concerns, and she referred us to a paediatrician, who we managed to see amazingly quickly, thanks to a cancellation. It was suggested that Samuel attend a specialist nursery at our local hospital for half a term, so that different specialists could observe him playing.

Samuel attended this 'new nursery' (as he called it) three mornings a week and his regular pre-school the other two mornings. At the end of the half-term, we had a meeting with all the specialists who had observed Samuel. Their findings were that he was on the autism spectrum. Everything happened really quickly and everyone was so helpful. From only first mentioning our concerns to the GP in January 2007, by May we had a diagnosis and by September, Samuel had a Statement of SEN and a TA (teaching assistant) in place ready for him starting our local infants’ school! For us it was a really helpful, positive experience, but I know this is far from everyone's experience.


Samuel, what is being autistic like for you?

Tricky at times. Sometimes I feel like the odd one out. But I am glad that I was able to have reasonable adjustments - such as a TA at school who can help, and getting a bursary for my studies. I feel anxious a lot of the time and get easily confused which frustrates me, especially if I feel like it annoys other people.


Your Christmas light designs are amazing! What made you decide to create them? Can you talk us through the process?

I've always loved Christmas lights and last year I got to help switch on the Christmas tree lights in my local area, which was really exciting.

For years I've made a version of Christmas lights, by drawing motifs on paper, and sticking them up around the house. Last year, I realised that you can make almost anything using a 3D pen and as Christmas decorations are something that I've made and put up around the house lots before, I thought decorations would look even better made using a 3D pen. The idea of wrapping LEDs around them came afterwards.

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Samuel's Christmas lights

Scroll along to turn the lights on

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Samuel's Christmas lights

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Samuel's Christmas lights

Scroll along to turn the lights on

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Samuel's Christmas lights

"I've always loved Christmas lights and last year I got to help switch on the Christmas tree lights in my local area, which was really exciting."
Samuel Maybury

Christmas trees, lights, and stocking icon


Are you working on any other arts and crafts projects at the moment?

I'm not working on anything in particular at the moment. There are projects at school but they're slightly different to crafts done at home. However, I do enjoy writing stories in my spare time and taking photos, which I post on my Instagram account: @samofthesouthwest2


How do you both feel about Christmas in general?

Samuel: As a family, we celebrate Christmas fairly traditionally. We listen to music and watch films and put up other decorations. We all enjoy it. I do like Christmas, it's one of my favourite times of the year. I sometimes find it stressful when others have their Christmas things up and we're still waiting for the 'right time'. I sometimes get stressed out when I'm trying to get decorations up in time (I also try to calm myself down at these moments).

Nicola: We love Christmas. As a Christian family we always celebrate, often with lots of church events such as carol concerts etc in the run up to Christmas, although this year will be very different. Samuel has a younger brother and sister, and we all get on well as a family. We enjoy spending time together, and Christmas is a great time to do that, while enjoying being cosy and surrounded by Christmas decorations.

We often watch lots of Christmas films, go on Christmas light hunts in the local area, play family games together and enjoy yummy seasonal food while listening to lots of Christmas music! We find that being away from home for Christmas can be more stressful for Samuel as we are less able to control what happens, so being at home, with just the five of us (plus our dog, tortoise and hamster!) is most relaxing.


We know that this year's celebrations will be very different, due to coronavirus restrictions. How will you be celebrating this year?

Samuel: We will be celebrating very similarly to previous years because we don't tend to go out to parties much during the Christmas season. Most of the time we stay home, apart from going to Christmas linked church events.

Nicola: For us, Christmas won't be vastly different to normal as we don't live very close to extended family anyway. We often make a trip to Essex or the North East to visit grandparents for a few days around the Christmas period. This year we won't be able to do that, but actual Christmas will be the same as normal for us. We're looking forward to having a cosy Christmas together.


Do you have any Christmas tips for autistic people who may find the recent changes difficult?

Samuel: I would say that despite the restrictions, autistic people can still relax by listening to music and watching films. They can still feel festive, without needing to do too much.

Nicola: Try to relax and enjoy what's going on but don't feel pressured to do anything that would make you uncomfortable. Just because other people might be doing something Christmassy that they enjoy, doesn't mean you need to enjoy that thing too. You might enjoy something completely different, and that's fine.

"Despite the restrictions, autistic people can still relax by listening to music and watching films. They can still feel festive, without needing to do too much."
Samuel Maybury
Stories from the Spectrum

Is there anything you both think the public could do help support autistic people during these uncertain times?

Samuel: I have very sensitive hearing, so when I'm out I struggle with noises like fast cars and motorbikes, sirens and when buses make the loud changing gear 'fizz' noise. I also often feel like people are looking at me a lot and I struggle with crowded pavements.

It would be really helpful if the public would be calmer and more understanding of people who may need more space and a quieter environment - by driving more carefully and allowing space when out and about.

Coronavirus has helped with this, because of people having to socially distance, but there are places, such as bus stops where you sometimes get quite a crowd.

Another thing the public could do is be more understanding of the rules to do with who needs to wear a facemask. I sometimes like wearing a mask but at other times, I'd like to not wear it, which I'm allowed to do because I'm autistic, but I feel like the public would assume I should be wearing a mask. I would like people to understand the rules better.

Nicola: I would love it if the public would slow down to make things easier for autistic people. So often everyone is rushing about, but autistic people can't always think or react quickly because they need time to process information or what's going on around them. I would love people to just take time and be more patient.

"I would love it if the public would slow down to make things easier for autistic people."
Nicola Maybury


Explore our Christmas Grotto yellow star iconblue star icon

Visit the virtual Christmas Grotto - our festive web page, packed with autistic Christmas stories, cards and stocking filler ideas, and tips for navigating the holiday season. You can unwrap them all here.

Enter the Grotto

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