Ditch the Expectations and Meet Your Needs
A Community Guide to a Happy Neurodivergent Christmas features contributions from people with a variety of different neurotypes.
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Image create by Jade Farrington
What is the Community Guide to a Happy Neurodivergent Christmas?
As written by Jade Farrington
If Christmas is a struggle, this brand new guide is here to help you ditch the expectations and meet your needs by doing things your way.
It includes a diverse range of ideas and experiences, meaning there’s hopefully something of relevance to almost everyone.
It starts with a general overview of some of the considerations you might like to make, and is then packed with real-life examples of how neurodivergent people tailor their Christmases to meet their needs.
“The free guide will hopefully give families the confidence to do what feels right for them, and to know that they’re definitely not alone.” Jade Farrington, Counsellor and Therapist
Who is this Guide For?
As written by Jade Farrington
Everyone!
What was initially envisioned as a brief self-written pdf with a few pointers has morphed into a community guide full of contributions from neurodivergent people of a variety of neurotypes. I’m very grateful to them all!
The subtitle is ‘ditch the expectations and meet your needs’, and that’s very much what this is all about. You are allowed to do Christmas your way, whatever that looks like. The guide is packed with information, ideas and experiences to help you do just that.
The guide is a collection of ideas and experiences, and is not at attempt to speak for everyone. It’s impossible to cover everything because we and our children are all unique, but if nothing else it will hopefully give you the confidence to do things differently and see that you’re definitely not alone.
If you’re neurotypical, the guide is for you too. You might have neurodivergent family, friends, students or colleagues. Or maybe you also quite fancy changing some of the expectations around Christmas!
Who Are Some of the Contributing Authors?
Laura Hellfeld Neurodivergent Nurse Consulting shares her knowledge of same foods for those who find traditional ideas around eating at Christmas to be tricky.
Image create by Jade Farrington
Jess Garner, founder of GROVE Neurodivergent Mentoring & Education. She talks about how she and her family make Christmas their own by dropping expectations and doing what works for them.
Jill Holly – NeuroDiversity University is a neurodivergent counsellor and psychotherapist. She’s contributed a great piece on how she meets her needs while catering to those around her.
Dr Joanne – Neurodivergent Educational Psychologist outlines her top three pieces of advice for the festive period to help families to regulate and enjoy themselves.
Jo Gaunt‘s contribution to A Community Guide to a Happy Neurodivergent Christmas is likely to appeal to anyone who finds step by step guidance helpful, without it being overly restrictive. Jo talks parents through things to consider when changing routines at Christmas time, using her Be Wise and Thrive approach, hopefully resulting in an experience where everyone feels safe and included.
Liz Evans – The Untypical OT – Occupational Therapist talks about how she and her son threw out the rulebook and made a new plan to cater for their needs at Christmas time.
Contributor Rowena Mahmud of Fledge Psychotherapy encourages everyone to dance to the beat of their own drum and recognise that there’s no ‘right’ way to do Christmas.
Viv Dawes Autistic Advocate draws on her own experience to suggest ways in which neurodivergent people can navigate this and hopefully still enjoy aspects of the festive season.
Gina Gush at Tribe around the table shares how she and her family adjust Christmas each year in their quest to make it happy for each of them.
Alice McSweeney at Neurodiverse Journeys uses her contribution to the guide to share what helps her family by spreading things out over the Christmas period instead of cramming it all into a day.
Tigger Pritchard: Neuroaffirming Advocate, Consultant and Trainer shares how he deals with Christmas time, and the fact that it still brings pressures and overwhelm despite him loving it!
Bex Milgate Psychotherapy And Psychoeducation looks at the idea of neuroqueering (explanation in the comments) and how this can be applied to Christmas to challenge and abandon neuronormative expectations where they aren’t helpful for your family.
Nicola Reekie of The PDA Space has contributed a great piece on challenging automatic thoughts around traditions so we can do what’s best for our family.
Flexibility is key, and Marion McLaughlin of Aurora Consulting uses her experience as a former primary school teacher to give examples of how schools can be flexible too, particularly around nativity plays.
Don’t forget to sign up for your free copy here
How to Transition Back to Life After the Festive Season
In addition to the resource above, did you know that there is a FREE resource by SENDwise Hub about readjusting after the holiday season?
Here is what Teo of SENDwise HUB has to say about their ebook
The transition into the festive season feels quite gradual, whereas it’s over in a flash and we’re all meant to go back to normal.
How do we manage this transition back to life as smoothly as possible? How do we work on preventing further overwhelm, resetting our nervous systems and honouring our needs?
This short guide on how to transition back to life after the festive season helps you do just that! 5 pages of practical suggestions that you can put into place!
Use this link to get your free copy
Thank you for your interest and happy holidays.
Laura Hellfeld
RN, MSN, PHN, CNL
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Last modified: 21 January 2025