Happy Thanksgiving!

On November 26, a five-year-old student at The Birchtree Center tasted turkey for the first time in his life. He dipped it in ketchup--one of his favorite foods. Other children sampled stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, and one student discovered that even tiramisu can be a tasty treat!

Eating novel foods with unusual textures is a real challenge for many children with autism. Many individuals with autism are extraordinarily sensitive to taste, smell, color, and texture, and they often have very restricted food preferences.


Every year, instructors at The Birchtree Center offer a practice Thanksgiving meal at our center in Portsmouth to help our students prepare to celebrate the holiday. We encourage students to sample some of the unusual foods of Thanksgiving, and we help children practice the dining behaviors appropriate for a big family meal.

This year, students also learned how to prepare side dishes for the feast. Making mashed potatoes in the classroom helps reinforce lessons in counting and measuring and helps students acquire the food preparation skills they will need for productive, independent lives.

Practice Thanksgiving Celebrations

Today, staff members at The Birchtree Center helped students eat a practice Thanksgiving meal in preparation for holiday celebrations at home.

The Thanksgiving holiday provides a challenge to many individuals with autism. The food is often unfamiliar, and a large social gathering with a lengthy meal can be overwhelming.

To help prepare students for the holiday, we gathered staff and students together for a delicious celebratory meal. Students sampled turkey, pumpkin pie, and other foods they might encounter during the holiday. Older students helped prepare for the feast by shopping for supplies, making mashed potatoes, and creating decorations.

A reporter and photographer from Foster's Daily Democrat attended the event; to see their coverage, click here.