PARENTING NEURODIVERGENCE AWARENESS: HOW TO HOST PARTIES THAT ALL CHILDREN CAN ENJOY

GEMS school helps us learn about how parents can be aware of neurodivergence when holding a social event or party for kids. Let's take a look.

Our lives are punctuated throughout the year by many happy occasions where we look forward to celebrating with others. These events can be wonderful opportunities to strengthen existing relationships, forge new friendships and express shared joy, especially for kids. However, the needs of all guests should be taken into consideration by parents when hosting a celebration.

SOCIALISING IS GOOD FOR CHILDREN

As many parents come to realise, our children often have a more active social life than we adults do! The steady stream of invitations to birthday parties, class parties and playdates that appear make for an exciting and action-packed schedule for our little ones. While those sweet invitations to an event or party are always a joy for any child to receive, for the families of a neurodivergent child, they can also elicit feelings of anxiety and trepidation. Similarly, when it is time to celebrate their own child's birthday, they are faced with the dilemma of how to create a party experience that their child will truly enjoy while still conforming to the expected norms of the social ritual; the candles, the cake, the music, the games and the mayhem! Before exploring how we can reduce and hopefully avoid stressful experiences for these families, we must first consider just what exactly is meant by neurodiversity and how it can inform how we approach something as simple as a child's birthday party.

WHAT IS NEURODIVERSITY?