One of my brothers usually hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas. When my son was younger (age 2-7), he liked staying in my brother’s room to look at his DVD and Blu-ray collection, browsing and reading the titles and credits. I made sure someone was with him or checking up on him because the bedroom is near the front door. There were a couple of times he ran outside because the door was always left open. 😑😑😑 Another tip: we arrive early before it gets too crowded. Then leave if he felt too overwhelmed. We brought favorite foods and a backpack filled with sensory items, books, iPad, etc.

Happy Thanksgiving! Sending positive thoughts and prayers. ♥️

I understand how stressful these gatherings can get. A suggestion I can give is when you get to your location, try to find a “safe space” for her to where she can go there and disconnect for a few minutes to calm any anxiety of emotions she is feeling. It’s always important to make sure everyone there knows ahead of time to be patient with her if she seems distant until your daughter becomes more comfortable. And not to force her to participate if she isn’t ready. Honestly I’m always educating my mother as she doesn’t fully get it when my daughter is distant and stemming. If there is a cousin who would be good to pair her up with that might help as well. Bring toys that she finds comforting as well.
The good news is, you are close to home in case you need to leave for a bit.
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hi, sounds like you will have your hands full, in a great way! Not sure how your family is but good to give them a heads up about possible things that might occur and why they might happen. I don’t know how much they know about your daughter, so educate them, afterall they’re staying in your home.

For your daughter, you can prepare her by using social stories, subjects: large family gatherings, family staying in your home, changes to daily routine, and having pets around (what to expect). The site I used to use for my son was Sandbox Learning, but TeachersPayTeachers is great too. Just type in some of the ideas I wrote and there you go.

Another thing to do, go on YouTube and type in family gatherings, or family staying at your home. Let your daughter be aware of all the possibilities.

It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it. Good luck, let us know how everything works out.

How did Thanksgiving go?

It went okay. She really didn't like the dogs running around barking (even though their owners tried to keep them from getting too rowdy), but we told her she could ask for a break whenever she needed it. She asked several times to go to a back room to play quietly on a couch with her headphones and her Minnie doll. It helped, but she was pretty overstimulated by Friday night. I think next time we need to be okay with actually leaving for a couple hours if she gets to that point.