Autistic Preschool Christmas Program. What could go wrong?

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[@teresanew9247]

I live in England UK and my grandson aged 5 is non verbal autistic. He had a small part in his special needs school nativity play yesterday with his parents watching. He was riding a donkey( teacher crawling) through the aisle between the audience. His 5 seconds of fame, but it was nice that all of the children took part in some way. It's nice to see Simon continuing to blossom. Have a great Christmas.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️❤️❤️ You too!

[@user-bt1qu6pg3n]

You all are such a beautiful family I just see ALL of your children growing up into beautiful adults who will be a great asset to our world so thank you and you all have a very blessed and wonderful Christmas

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for sharing. ❤️

[@emilygenerallee9071]

Simon's speech is improving lots! 🤩🗣️

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes! He is doing so well. ❤️

[@user-zj6yh7oc2p]

I follow every video of yours and I can see how far Simon has come. He is doing amazingly well. I am impressed how calmly he enjoyed the whole performance and sat quietly with Santa. Simon and my daughter (29months old) have the same diagnosis and it gives me an idea where my daughter will be when she will reach Simon's age. I know no two kids are same who are on spectrum but still it feels good to see their progress. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️ Merry Christmas.

[@user-bt1qu6pg3n]

I’m in Australia and we celebrate Christmas productions at school with a nativity play

[@7Aheadfamily]

Cool! Thank you so much for sharing. 😊

[@Socreative9]

Good job Simon 👍 you did awesome!

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes he did! ❤️

[@Socreative9]

@@7Aheadfamily ❤️❤️❤️

[@7Aheadfamily]

💜💜💜

[@carolinedaisy5593]

Marie is such a great sister! I’m always amazed at how well she helps out with the boys!

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes she is! ❤️❤️

[@higherground337]

Simon's happy stims are so cute. 🥰 Wow, he's gotten so tall lately! Watch out mama, he's leaving toddlerhood behind. He'll be in elementary school before you know it. Merry Christmas to the 7-ahead family!

[@7Aheadfamily]

I know!! He is growing up and doing a bunch of things by himself now.

[@tamaraanderson7260]

I loved Simon’s program! He is so cute! What a great Christmas tradition!

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes it was! Thank you!

[@BeadedByMoonbracelets]

As I'm an autistic teenager in choir we have a winter choir concert

[@7Aheadfamily]

That’s really cool! Thank you so much for sharing. 😊

[@BeadedByMoonbracelets]

:)

[@7Aheadfamily]

❤️

[@littlejonathorn6860]

Love this!!!! Happy Holidays 7Ahead Family. Hope its a fun 🤩 holiday season.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you! And same to you🎄❤️🎄❤️

[@Christian_Martinez_yt]

Christmas is the best time of the year

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah!!

[@thomasschoeck9080]

It’s good to see Simon using some sentences now.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes it is.

[@darkchipz3016]

Simon is doing pretty well, I love Christmas too!

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️❤️❤️

[@ralph4720]

Merry Christmas 🎅 hope you guys have a great one 🎄

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah. Your too. ❤️❤️

[@thomasschoeck9080]

1. Regarding the subject of Santa Claus: It is good to see that Simon does not seem to be afraid of Santa the way that some kids his age (or even slightly older) are. That could change, though, as his social skills and his sense of danger improve over time. For this year, though, there was no crying or anything else awkward that occurred in connection with Santa. 2. On the subject of belief in Santa: I think it would be pretty normal for someone Simon’s age to believe in Santa whether level one (like he is) or neurotypical. I think you have the right idea (in general) with telling your kids around age seven if they haven’t figured it out yet. My sister is level one like Simon (with the difference that due to her hyperlexia she started reading (at least phonetically) when she was a couple of years younger than Simon). Her reading comprehension began no earlier than grade school so her early reading likely made little to no practical difference in the long run. In any case, my sister knew the truth about Santa when she was no older than eight years old (or perhaps even as young as seven). She apparently figured out the truth about Santa on her own because she said as much and she never told anyone in the family (including me) at the time (or even years later) that anyone teased her about still believing in Santa. She told me years later about some things kids teased her about in school but even being level one she wasn’t able to tell anyone if she was being teased or bullied unless someone specifically saw her crying or noticed something else obvious and asked her what happened. Being level two when I was younger I still wasn’t able to tell people if I was being teased or bullied even in eight grade (age fourteen). I was able to finally do this unprompted by about sophomore year in high school just two years later. My sister was able to tell people that she was being bullied or teased without any prompting (some of the time at least) by the time she was in sixth or seventh grade (two to three years younger than I was when I could do this). 3. Regarding my belief in Santa when I was younger: I believed in Santa until I was about twelve-and-a-half years old. I only found out the truth (about Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc.) because my special education teacher told me and I came home upset that my parents lied to me about this. At this point I still believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Rudolph, and even Frosty the Snowman. I started to understand the concept of lying around age seven (I think about seven and-a-half) when my sister broke the cuckoo clock in the front hallway in my parents house and lied about me doing it. When my father asked me if I was lying when I denied it and it became obvious (after several repetitions of this) that I didn’t understand the question he needed to explain the whole concept of lying to me. From what I remember it would be another two to three years before I would tell my first lie and even then it wouldn’t be anything all that complicated or convincing. I think my understanding of lying was as late as it was because I was level two when I was younger. By eighth grade (age fourteen) I began to be able to distinguish fact from opinion (and fact from fiction) because the teacher in my reading class covered this fairly extensively. 4. Regarding the complexity of when to tell the truth about Santa (and related subjects): I would say that with someone neurotypical or with someone like Simon who is level one that seven would be a good age for this. I would say that if a child has a basic understanding of lying (like I did at age seven-and-a-half after it was explained to me) that around age eight when something like CCD or Sunday School classes start would be a good age for this. Had my parents done this I would have learned the truth (about Santa, etc) at least four years earlier than I did. In Ezra’s case (being level three) it’s pretty likely that he doesn’t yet understand the concept of pretending (let alone more complicated concepts like being able to tell lies (whether using an iPad, nodding the head instead of shaking the head (or vice versa), intentionally giving a sign for yes instead of no (or vice versa) or by some other method). Therefore it would be much too early to tell Ezra the truth about Santa (since he wouldn’t understand what you are telling him yet). Eventually, though, when Ezra comes along both cognitively and socially far enough to understand the concept of pretending (and perhaps lying more generally) you will eventually need to tell him the truth about Santa (and any related subjects). This pretty much covers my observations and recollections on this subject for the time being.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for sharing. 😊

[@galileasalamanca3129]

Simón eres una eminencia en la actuación 🎭 , deceo de todo corazón que esta Navidad 🎄 este llena de paz y amor para su familia❤❤❤ Felíz Navidad

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️❤️❤️ Merry Christmas to you.

[@nathanfortier7478]

Simon might be closing his eyes from light sensitivity. Like, I'm hyper sensitive to lights so, I feel more comfortable if I wear sunglasses even when it's not sunny outside. I sometimes also need a break from my eyes if I spend to long outside of my appartment (I dim the lights in my appartment to a level that is more comfortable for me) such as going to school all day

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you for sharing. ❤️❤️❤️

[@thomasschoeck9080]

Simon probably closes his eyes during the performance due to visual overstimulation.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️

[@user-eg8ht4im6x]

Wonderful

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you.

[@Aileen53]

His performance is so cute!❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you! I love how he gets into it and does all the actions so well.

[@Aileen53]

I love when he fakes sleeps ❤it’s so cute 4:04 4:05

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah. ❤️❤️❤️

[@maasdiner]

Awww Simon did so good!!😊 He looked like he really enjoyed it❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for sharing. 😊

[@user-ej9nb9qz3u]

i love santa 🎅 🎅

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you for sharing. ❤️

[@mackenziehacker7787]

I love how Simon sing the songs!

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah! ❤️

[@silpasandeep9589]

Lovely Simon❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you ❤️

[@silpasandeep9589]

@@7Aheadfamily We are from India.I am a regular viewer of your videos. I have a 3 year old boy.He has speech delay,but not autistic. Your videos are very informative.Thank you.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you for introducing yourself and your family! I have always wanted to visit India. Thank you for your support with the channel. I'm so happy you find it helpful. -Holly

[@lil_crash_out]

Good job Simon ❤❤❤❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks.

[@Beckyoooo24]

I live in Belfast and go to a place called orchardville and we do a Christmas show. It was on Thursday there and it was mamma Mia. I had my own solo 😊

[@7Aheadfamily]

Wow. That’s so cool. Thanks for sharing. ❤️❤️❤️

[@Beckyoooo24]

@@7Aheadfamily thanks it was great 😊 no problem ❤️

[@7Aheadfamily]

You’re welcome

[@user-ej9nb9qz3u]

I did a Christmas program at church

[@7Aheadfamily]

That’s awesome! We had a church program to and Marie and Mark played the piano. 😊

[@thomasschoeck9080]

Based on the title I was expecting something to go wrong. Everything seemed to go smoothly. I seem to remember that I was in second (or even third) grade before I was able to perform as well as Simon does here.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️

[@Java-D]

Awww Simon did so good!!!

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for sharing. 😊

[@Healthy-sy3ty]

Simon did amazing. He seemed to really enjoy it. Where we live we celebrate every christen holiday(Easter, Christmas etc) at school and for children off every faith. We also have Sinterklaas that’s a Dutch Santa, but the 5th off december with presents and sitting on his lap and such. Because of Sinterklaas and Santa look very much alike to my son because they both are dressed in red and white he call Santa Sinterklaas 😂. I was curious about if in America children believe Santa is real until a certain age? If so how do you do this with your autistic sons. Because my son it’s fully verbal he can’t express if he believes in Sinterklaas or not. If he asks about it I will tell him it’s real.

[@7Aheadfamily]

I am sure every family is different in their decision whether they tell their kids about Santa. We have usually felt that including them in on the secret by 7 years old was the right timing. But my kids always seem to figure it out before on their own, so, I don’t know really know when I would break the news. Thank you for sharing your traditions!

[@Sonicfan-cc1te]

There was an autism Christmas party that my mom took my brother and I almost every year when we were younger, the last time we went was 2018

[@7Aheadfamily]

That’s awesome! Christmas traditions are so fun. ❤️ 🌲

[@user-ej9nb9qz3u]

i had a Christmas party at church

[@7Aheadfamily]

Cool. What was it like? ❤️❤️❤️

[@hnalesliequintana5225]

Dios los bendiga ❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you. God bless you and your family. ❤️❤️❤️

[@lexi_2021]

Simon has wonderful name response. He also has langauge. Is he undergoing any program? Which therapies are the most beneficial?

[@7Aheadfamily]

With Simon, speech therapy has helped him a lot. He has been doing speech therapy for over a year now and he has improved quite a bit because of that. When he was diagnosed with autism, he was diagnosed level one without intellectual delay.

[@thomasschoeck9080]

I think I had a toy that was similar to the one the Ezra has on the tray of his high chair when I was younger. Later on (by about age five, I think) I had a toy that looked like a steering wheel (and some other toy versions of controls like a driver would use while driving) that I could play with in the car during longer more boring car rides when I was sitting in my car seat. Even though I didn’t understand the concept of lying yet I was able to close my eyes and pretend to be driving by age five (or at least five-and-a-half) when I was playing with that toy. I wonder if Simon would enjoy playing with (or perhaps even benefit from) a toy like that (given that he likes cars) or whether he might already be too grown up for this (with his toddler years drawing to a close). If such a toy is developmentally appropriate for Simon you could maybe get him one for Christmas if he doesn’t already have something like this. The only downside I can think of about playing with such a toy (aside from any noises it makes) is that Simon might get too involved in playing with it on long car rides and forget to tell you if he needs to “go”. This may result (depending on how intense his ability to focus is) in some wetting accidents (or perhaps even the other kind of accident) in his car seat especially on longer road trips (e.g. to visit relatives). Therefore when playing with a toy like this it would be a good idea to have some changes of clothes available just in case. With Simon being only level one, though, any potential toileting mishaps/regressions like this should be fairly short-lived lasting perhaps two to three days or maybe a week at the most. The duration of any such regressions can be reduced by avoiding (or at least minimizing) any non-essential daytime diapering when any such regressions occur. This pretty much sums up my observations and recollections about toys for kids around Simon’s age at least for now.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for sharing. ❤️

[@StijnHommes]

Simon did a wonderful job with that performance. I hope he really gets a hippopotamus for Christmas, because he definitely deserves it ;p

[@7Aheadfamily]

Agreed 😊. Thank you ❤️

[@thomasschoeck9080]

Not a real one, obviously (they have been known to sink boats, for example) but maybe a stuffed animal that looks like a hippopotamus.

[@StijnHommes]

​@@thomasschoeck9080Hippos only really sink ships in their territory if they feel threatened. Think of all the benefits. A hippo could help teach Simon swimming and help protect him. That said, a hippo is probably bad for your grocery budget...

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yup. It probably is. 😆❤️

[@thomasschoeck9080]

My sister also really likes the song “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️

[@user-ej9nb9qz3u]

i love it to@@7Aheadfamily

[@7Aheadfamily]

Cool! ❤️❤️❤️

[@roqayyahkhursheed6479]

Wow cute little champ Simon. My son also closes his eyes occasionally may be due to overstimulation . So nice to see simon progressing. How old is Simon and why is he not going to the mainstream pre-school?

[@7Aheadfamily]

He is 3 and he isn’t going mainstream preschool because he learns a lot better at his preschool for autistic children. Thanks For sharing. ❤️❤️❤️

[@roqayyahkhursheed6479]

@@7Aheadfamily Simon has progressed really well he almost seems neurotypical child .Lots of best wishes 😍

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah. Thank you so much. ❤️❤️❤️

[@thomasschoeck9080]

Maybe you can have Ezra’s therapist show him how to eat cereal with a spoon. I think he probably has the necessary muscle tone and coordination already. If he doesn’t then some physical therapy might help with this. At this point it’s probably just a matter of someone showing him how to do it and getting in the necessary practice. He will almost certainly drop the spoon or spill some milk and cereal initially but I think in time he can get there. In addition maybe Simon can show Ezra how this is done from time to time. Don’t overdo it (you don’t want Simon or Ezra to get too tired or too stressed out but I think Simon might still be able to help with this to some degree from time to time).

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️

[@AnnGoslinn]

Great video. Do you know what is the name of those plastic instruments they are using? I would like to buy them but cannot find them online.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Let me check

[@7Aheadfamily]

This is as close as I can find… amzn.to/48bbyHu

[@AnnGoslinn]

@@7Aheadfamily Noone is selling those plastic ones. And these are out of stock. Hopefully, something will appear.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah, I wasn’t finding a lot of options.

[@nathanjw940]

Simon looked overwhelmed but enjoyed it in the end he's doing so well.

[@7Aheadfamily]

yes. It was an overwhelming experience for him, but he did well.

[@thomasschoeck9080]

I am reminded of the computer programming joke about the computer programmer who always gets Halloween and Christmas mixed up. This happens because Oct 31=Dec 25 (31 octal=25 decimal). In the octal (base 8) number system you have a ones place,an 8s place, a 64s place, etc. instead of the ones, tens, and hundreds place that most people are used to in the decimal (base ten) number system that we started learning in the earliest years of school.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️

[@Alan23552]

Simon is as cute as ever. What I wonder about is who is cleaning the house with 5 kids. Do you know some spell for it?

[@7Aheadfamily]

Ha! Each of the kids have their chores everyday, including Simon. They switch off who cleans the bathroom, who does the dishes, who sweeps the floor every night… Stuff like that. The three older kids unload the dishwasher every morning before school. And they clean up the front room and the living room for before bed. What usually doesn’t get clean is the downstairs bathroom that only the kids use. Sometimes I walk in there and I have to remind them that they have to keep it clean. It’s not perfect. But usually we can keep most of the house clean.

[@Alan23552]

@@7Aheadfamily That sounds amazing. Could I borrow them? Maybe each one for 6 month at a time? You know it's a bit far for them to walk. 👻

[@7Aheadfamily]

😂

[@alexisfuhr1846]

@9:01 Hi , from ohio , hey Hey , from ohio , hi

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️❤️❤️

[@BigDan08]

when will ezra be in a normal chair

[@7Aheadfamily]

When he can sit in one without running away. ❤️

[@BigDan08]

how long will it be

[@7Aheadfamily]

That’s a good question, sometimes he sits in a normal chair 🪑 now. Kinda depends on the day.