Blog #150: How to Make New Year’s Eve Sensory Friendly?

It may seem hard to believe, but 2021 will come to an end after tonight. The year was a mixed bag for a lot of us considering that we are still in a pandemic, social division is growing and many of us are still trying to navigate a “new normal.”

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But for one night, we can all come together and celebrate the end of another difficult year. New Year’s Eve is sort of that rite of passage from one time period to another, the time to wipe the slate clean and start over again.

However, for neurodiverse individuals such as myself, New Year’s Eve can be very difficult to process and understand in general. For one thing, there is so much activity that goes around us that it can be too much to process.

To begin with, I was never really big into the New Year’s Eve festivities to begin with. To me, New Year’s Eve was just another night for me and I celebrated in my own private way and I’m pretty sure that it was the same for everyone else like myself who are neurodiverse.

For this blog, I will go over some tidbits of how to make the final day of the year easier for your neurodiverse loved ones or friends.

A. Your Neurodiverse Loved One or Child Does NOT Need to Stay Up Late

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Rocko from “Rocko’s Modern Life” demonstrates what happens when you force someone to stay up late on New Year’s Eve and they don’t want to.

If you are the parents or guardians of a neurodiverse child or adult, the first thing you need to understand is that, like all other holidays and events, you cannot force them to partake in any activity that they don’t want to be in. If your loved one doesn’t want to stay up till midnight, then you need to respect their wishes.

Take it from me, I am not a night owl of any sorts and the only time I stay up late is if I am flying back home from a trip. Sure, there are a few of us out there that love to stay up late at night and if you do, then that’s fine.

If your neurodiverse friend or loved one has a set time to go to bed, then they need to stick to that time…no exceptions! Remember, a good night’s sleep is extremely important to a person’s overall mental health.

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B. Party Atmosphere

Red Buttons, Shelley Winters and Jack Albertson celebrating New Year’s Eve in “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972).

The next thing I want to talk about is the party atmosphere that goes into a new year’s celebration. New Year’s Eve parties can range from small to overall bombastic. For neurodiverse individuals, nothing can set off sensory overloads more than an overbearing party. I get it, some people just can’t live without a New Year’s Eve party. The problem is that the parties we go to are loud and people can turn from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde courtesy of alcohol and will make complete fools of themselves.

If you are going to hold a New Year’s Eve party, I recommend you keep your party as small as possible. Maybe just invite a few close family or friends and not have the party go on until midnight. If people want to stay up until midnight, then that’s their choice. The important thing is to welcome the new year on our own levels and some of our levels are not the same as others.

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C. Social Stories About New Year’s Eve

Finally, there is no better way than to prepare your neurodiverse child or loved one for a New Year’s party than a good old fashioned social story.

There are plenty of children’s books out there that explain the meaning of New Year’s Eve and can give your neurodiverse child or loved one an understanding of what is to come.

In addition, there are also some New Year’s Eve themed media out there for your neurodiverse child or loved one to get a visual understanding of the holiday itself.

Perhaps the best one out there is “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year” (1976) produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and narrated by the legendary Red Skelton. The story is about Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on a mission to find Happy, the Baby New Year who ran away because of his large ears.

The special easily demonstrates why we celebrate New Year’s to begin with and also allows us to relieve past years via the islands that each year represents.

In addition to Red Skelton, the special’s cast also includes Morey Amsterdam (“The Dick Van Dyke Show”), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler from “Batman”) and Harold Peary as a whale named Big Ben with a large clock on his tail. So, in terms of casting, you won’t be disappointed in that regard.

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So, that’s going to do it for my blogs in 2021. 150 of them, if you can believe that!!

What do I have in store for “Going the Distance” in 2022?

Wait and see as “Going the Distance” enters its first full year in 2022!!

Come along for the ride!

“Rudolph’s Shiny New Year” (1976) Ending

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Catch you all later and Happy New Year!!

#Autism