‘God with us’ in a family with additional needs

In my early adult, pre children life, one of my favourite times of year was the bit between Christmas and New Year. There was no work, Christmas excitement had been and gone and there were days with no agenda other than things we’d put in.

That meant time with people we loved, making plans up as we went along, eating cake for breakfast and cereal for tea if we wanted and so many lie ins - a totally different experience to the rest of life and all the more glorious for it. For me it meant the chance to read lots, sit and be comfy and occasionally pop out or mooch. Bliss

As the parent of children with additional needs, in a household that celebrates its neurodiversity, what I have just described are the very things that would prove most difficult for them were we to try and incorporate them into our Christmas plans. Days with no plan or schedule or changes to mealtimes, days that feel nothing like the ‘ordinary’ of life are now great stressors for some of our children because the rhythm and routine is something that gives safety and structure.