This was not just about seeing Santa.

This was not about having my kids sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted.

This was so much more than that.

This was a room full of families looking for an atmosphere where their child could just “be.”  With no one staring, no judgement, no whispering.

This was a room filled with special needs children.  There was hand-flapping.  There was crying.  There were kids (mine) walking around a table over and over and over.  There were kids on iPads. There was a train set.  There were autism-friendly toys.  There was Polar Express playing on a big TV.  There was a play-doh table.  There was a woman blowing bubbles (Easton’s favorite).  There were no lines of people.  There was a mom, crying, talking to a woman from the Autism Society of Nebraska, who helped organize it, saying “thank you so much, this was wonderful.”

This was a room full of acceptance and patience.  It was an opportunity for families to have a stress-free environment for their kids who get stressed easily.  It was a community coming together.

I found out about this Sensory-Friendly Santa photo shoot from Easton’s OT, who called me several weeks ago to tell me she got an e-mail from the Autism Society about it and specifically thought of Easton.  I wasn’t even planning on doing the whole “Mall Santa” thing this year.  It’s just not worth the stress.  But I signed up for this event, thinking it might be worth a try.

Easton walked right over to Santa when it was our turn, mainly because there was an elf blowing bubbles.  I said, “Say hi to Santa!”  He started singing “MUST BE SANTA!  MUST BE SANTA!” without even looking at the big man in the white beard.  In fact, he never actually looked at him.  But…he let this stranger get in his space. …continue reading