In this holiday edition of "I Should Say That Out Loud," Donna Brendel shares insights on celebrating holidays as an autistic person and in an autistic family. She discusses the challenges of gift giving, the importance of creating inclusive family traditions, and the need to balance holiday activities with the sensory needs of autistic individuals. Donna emphasizes the value of patience, creativity, and self-care during the holiday season, encouraging families to enjoy each other's company and embrace new traditions. Attention is the key word. Pay attention to yourself, your kids, and all the non-verbal clues and cues your children give you and you give yourself. Don't even look for words. You can learn so much more by watching the non-verbals, because many of us autistic family folk do not yet know how to "say that out loud" yet! And even when we are verbal, we can have a one-track mind, but still be open to new ideas that we aren't even aware that we would enjoy yet, simply because we haven't experienced them yet. So spread your non-verbal detective eyes and ears wide to gather all the information you need to enjoy this holiday season and help yourself and the whole family enjoy all of the sensory aspects of the season, along with lots of time for rest and recovery from all of the sensory aspects of the season!!! 00:00 - Navigating Holiday Celebrations as an Autistic Person 06:11 - Creating Meaningful Holiday Traditions