A few years ago, I took a Santa job at a retail store. Their purpose was to allow the families to spend time with Santa and get some great pictures. There were many memorable people and children that came through this venue. One family came in with a girl around age six and her little brother who was around three. The young little lady was so well spoken and all she really wanted was to keep her brother calm and have a good family picture with them both. The little brother was not having it; he was in full blown fit mode. He was screaming ,scratching, hissing, but the sister was so patient and kind and soft spoken.
The mother started apologized profusely and explained to me that the boy was autistic. Listening to the mother and understanding how most autistic people react to stimuli gave me an idea. I do a little magic show with lights in my fingered gloves. I also at that moment changed my behavior as Santa. Most autistic people need to make the decision on their own without external pressures. Also, too much stimulation causes some autistic people much stress. And the only way they can deal with that stress is to lash out. My whole demeanor changed, I became very calm very stoic, (no extremely jerky movements or facial expressions), and my voice became very soft.
I worked with the older sister first to show the younger brother that I was not a threat. I perform a little bit of magic with the little lights in the fingers of my gloves which got the boy's attention. In just a few minutes the little boy wanted to be with Santa. We took many pictures. After the session was over, the mother came to me with tears in her eyes saying that was the first time her son has ever been able to take a picture with Santa.
It’s very important to listen to what people have to say. If we listen and hear and then modify our behavior, we can get much more accomplished.
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