The holidays present a real challenge to management and patience when one or more of your kids has learning disabilities. I have seen this over the years at home and in the homes of my friends. Here is a particular case and the solutions they found to deal with the household changes holidays bring.

Days at their house are usually hectic, anyway, but holidays can be doubly so. You see, my close friend has a 10 year old daughter, Janie, with learning disabilities: dysgraphia, ADHD and Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (Irlen's Syndrome), and she thrives better on a regular schedule.

She does best with getting up and going to bed at the same time, and all phases and events of her day in their same order, day after day.

So when a holiday rolls around, her parents talk about it in advance, so there is no big surprise when the day dawns and everything is topsy turvy. Just think about how many kids react on Halloween and Christmas!

Talking about the upcoming holiday gives plenty of time for questions and answers about what will be different that day, which could be food, costumes or clothing, visiting relatives, or more. They point out it will be more like a weekend day than a school day.

I've even spent time, as an older friend, talking to Janie about how I felt about the holiday at her age. We both like those times of exchanges of questions and thoughts. And this past year we've done some holiday preparations together, like baking and decorating cookies.

When Janie was younger it was harder for her to accept changes to her regular schedule, but now, at 10, she is doing better about going with the flow on holidays!

Daily Schedules
Weekend Schedules
Family Travel by Car Schedules

Editor's note: At her parents' request, child's name changed to protect her privacy.

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