Sensory Friendly Planning for Independence Day

​July 4th is one of the most exciting holiday weekends in the United States! It's summertime, there are tons of local carnivals, fireworks, and with all the celebration, comes a whole lot of stimuli. Navigating all of the events, people, lights, and noise can be a little trickier for kiddos with sensory issues. In light of this, our team has compiled some tips to help families during this celebratory, and sometimes overstimulating, time.
 
 Discuss What the Holiday is and Prepare for What Events Will Occur

• Talk with your child about what the 4th of July is and what kinds of things happen during this holiday. Just like we mentioned in our Preparing for Summer Break blog, creating a visual schedule can help with predictability and comfortability throughout the day. You can show them some videos of fireworks, describe the sounds, the people who will be there, and so on.  
• Make safety a priority when discussing and planning for the day. You can use visual cues to mark where the child is to no go past when fireworks are being lit and also a countdown to know when the fireworks will go off for noise preparation.

Headphones and Sunglasses

• For kiddos with sound sensitivity, headphones are a great way to help create a barrier between the loud sounds of the fireworks and crowds. If you have noise cancelling headphones, even better!
• Sunglasses are pretty much the same idea as headphones, but for kiddos who are sensitive to light. They can help ease the brightness of the fireworks on their eyes.
• For both headphones and sunglasses, prime and practice wearing them before the day of the event. This way, your child can get used to the feeling of wearing them and feel more comfortable putting them on when needed.

Listen to Your Child

• If you are out, and you notice the signs that your child is headed toward a behavior, be sure to intervene quickly and assess the situation from there. Discuss their needs and decide on a course of action, whether it be giving them one of their items to keep them calm or to retreat from the event all together.
• You know your child best, and if they are not ready for fireworks, don’t force them to go! There are plenty of other ways to celebrate. You can stream fireworks online, download apps that get the kids involved in their own fireworks, and so on.

Escape Plan

• If the celebration event is outside of the home, pack some items that help calm your child in events of overstimulation. For example, coloring books, music, bubbles, fidget toys and other things that your child prefers.
• If celebrating at home, prepare a comfort area or calm down corner full or pillows, blankets and other comfort items so that your child knows where to go when they feel overstimulated. This way, they’ll be able to be comfortable in their own home with familiar surroundings.
• Having your child’s favorite snacks and drinks on hand can be very helpful as well, bringing it back to familiarity and routine, thus creating a calm environment.

Do you have any other tips and tricks to share that have helped you and your family over the July 4th weekend? Be sure to let us know in the comments, or let us know on any of our social media pages @CentralCoastABA.


Below are the links to the articles referenced for this blog:
Sensory Overload and the 4th of July
Tips for a Sensory-Friendly July 4th
Strategies for the Sensory Sensitive Child on July 4th

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