Between fireworks, noisy parades, and large crowds, the 4^th of July can be difficult to navigate for many autism families. 

Check out our eight tips to make celebrating the holiday fun for everyone.

1. Get your child ear protection and consider avoiding the fireworks. Loud fireworks are difficult for many kids on the spectrum because of sensory issues. Let them know that they can use ear protection and look away from the fireworks if they want. If ear protection is not enough to enable your child to handle it, then it might be a good idea to avoid fireworks shows and backyard pyrotechnics.
2. Make familiar foods for the picnic or cookout. Many autistic people struggle with unfamiliar foods. If your child doesn’t like the standard backyard BBQ or picnic foods, prepare them something that they do like to eat.
3. Reconsider going to the parade. Many autistic people struggle with large crowds and loud noises. For some, ear protectors might be enough to make the experience tolerable, but for many, the experience of being in a large crowd would still be very unpleasant. 
4. Use social stories to explain the holiday events to your child. Social stories use a combination of illustrations and simple explanations to explain events and actions to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 
5. Plan out the day in advance and stick to the plan after informing your child about it. Many autistic people strongly dislike change and unexpected surprises. Avoiding unexpected events can help to prevent a meltdown.
6. If you are traveling out of town for the holiday weekend, read through our list of tips on autism and travel.
7. Create your own autism friendly 4th of July show. Consider doing a backyard show with things like bubbles, Silly String, confetti, sensory toys, trampolines, and small inflatable pools.

Consider having different members of the family do different holiday activities. If your other children want to go to the parade and the fireworks show, and your autistic child cannot handle it, consider having a responsible adult babysit your child while the rest of the family enjoys those activities. While it is important to make your autistic child feel included, their neurotypical siblings should not have to feel like they aren’t able to have fun because of their sibling. You can always participate in family activities with all your children at another time.