By: Becki Lauzon, M.A., CRC
Transition Specialist and Consultant
The holidays tend to come with more time off for students and families wondering what they can do to keep up with skills and activities. On the plus side, the holidays also lend themselves to activities that typically don’t occur year-round. Below are some helpful suggestions for students and their families to fight boredom and work on building skills:
Learning about different cultures and traditions
- Over the years, I have found that many of the students I work with want to learn about other cultures and holiday traditions. This is a great opportunity to expose individuals to short videos online that explain different traditions, teach new vocabulary terms, allow for the exploration of foods and music of other cultures, etc.
- https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/free-winter-word-search-puzzles-1357172
- https://aroundthekampfire.com/2018/11/10-magical-ways-teach-holidays-around-world-unit-lesson-plans-activities.html
- https://kahoot.com/schools-u/ (play games virtually with family members across the country!)
Giving back to the community
- Building a sense of community has always been a big part of transition work with my students. Many communities offer opportunities to give back during the holiday season, such as giving gifts to those who are less fortunate, helping out at a food pantry, serving meals, etc. Using the internet to search for opportunities within your community can be very rewarding during this time of year.
Seasonal work
- Many places are hiring seasonal employees this time of year. For individuals who are unsure of making a long-term commitment to a job or want to sample something, this can be the perfect time of year for that!
Plan and prepare a meal
- This goes along with the different cultures and traditions, but also allows for the extra time at home to make breakfasts, lunches, snacks, etc.
- https://accessiblechef.com/#:~:text=Visual%20recipes%20make%20use%20of%20task%20analysis%2C%20which,in%20a%20specific%20order%20to%20learn%20new%20tasks.
- https://able2learn.com/categories/visual-recipes
Giving gifts
- If your child needs to purchase gifts for friends or family members, this can be a great opportunity to turn it into a learning opportunity. Start by having them identify the person they are buying for and a few things that the person likes. Next, give your child a budget for the gift and spend some time searching online to identify items they may want to purchase. By preparing in advance, it allows for an easier shopping experience in the store!
Holiday cards/thank you notes
- This can be a great time of year to work on addressing holiday cards, going to the post office, and sending emails…and writing formal thank you notes after gifts are received. There are many free resources available to assist with practicing these tasks.
- https://thejustread.com/how-to-write-a-thank-you-note/
- https://blog.tcea.org/writing-an-email-for-students/
About the Author
Becki Lauzon, M.A., CRC, works with teens, young adults and their families out of the Newton, MA and Plainville, MA offices. Lauzon has 
unparalleled experience as a Transition Specialist, Transition Consultant and Vocational Program Coordinator. Lauzon will be providing transition assessment (including testing, functional evaluations and observations) consultation, case management, training and professional development for schools; and transition planning, consultation and coaching for transition-aged students and their parents.
To schedule an appointment with one of NESCA’s expert transition specialists or neuropsychologists, please complete our online intake form.
Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton and Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.
