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.

Preparing Students to Celebrate Halloween

The Birchtree Center offered a variety of activities at its center in Portsmouth this October to help prepare students for the Halloween holiday.

The week before Halloween, instructors began pre-teaching the holiday. On October 29, students learned a Halloween song and visited a pumpkin patch. The following day, six generous volunteers from the local chapter of Altrusa International hosted students for a practice "Trick or Treat" session at the center. On October 31, students carved pumpkins, participated in a costume parade, and had a dance party.

Foster's Daily Democrat published a feature article about our Halloween activities; to read the story, click here.

For tips from The Birchtree Center's staff on how to prepare a child with autism to celebrate Halloween, click here.