Welcome back to our Seasonal Life Skills Series, where we are exploring the big topic of life skills through a more specific seasonal lens and the way that certain times of years can both require unique new skills and flexibility from existing skills. 

In Part 1, we broke down some of the ways the life skills we practice day to day can be impacted by the season, either for broad reasons that impact most people or specific reasons that primarily impact us. In Part 2, we are honing in on the fall and the way the time of year can impact the specific skills we employ and the way we practice them.

While the fall might not represent the most significant change to life skills for everyone reading this post, those who are either students or teaching students know that it can be among the most impactful times of year. The fall also represents a significant change in weather patterns for many geographical areas, from the temperature to the propensity for certain types of intense weather events. 

The Fall also includes the start of the big holiday season to end the year, with Halloween and Thanksgiving having an impact on our day-to-day lives, whether we are enthusiastic participants or not. So let’s take a closer look at some life skills that might be especially worthy of our attention in the fall!

For many people reading this post, the fall is one of the most significant times of year when it comes to impact on how we live our day-to-day lives. 

Fall is when we transition from summer vacation to the start of the school year for the vast majority of students, and with that change comes a fundamental shift in where students spend most of their time, what is expected of them, and how much they are able to accomplish on their own time. Non-students may not experience the same dramatic shift that students and teachers do in the fall, but the start of the school year can nonetheless still have an impact on our schedules. 

The start of the school year might entail an earlier start to our morning routine, a change in how we dress, the sensory tools we use, or how we eat throughout the day. It might entail a major test of our executive functioning skills, as the relatively relaxed expectations of summer give way to a larger workload for the remainder of the year. 

If you are just starting the school year as a teacher or a student, consider taking an inventory of all the things that change about your day-to-day life when the school year starts, and what life skills might be best for helping you navigate those new needs!

The shift from summer to fall also represents a major change in the weather that impacts both our day-to-day lives and what skills we might need to know to be prepared for potential weather events where we live. 

Some classic examples of major weather events in the fall include tornadoes and hurricanes, which might require either making sure a shelter is adequately prepared or knowing what to do in the event of an anticipated emergency. In cold enough climates, some people may need to start worrying about snow. 

Major weather events aside, everyday living in cooler, more temperate weather might entail buying and preparing different types of foods, dressing more warmly, and making sure to have items like warm jackets and umbrellas ready to go when the forecast calls for it. 

Beyond major weather changes, the fall also represents a change to the types of allergens that are most prevalent in the air. So when considering the fall’s impact on life skills, consider the ways we might want to adjust for the weather!

Halloween and Thanksgiving may not have quite the same force of gravity as the collection of holidays around the end of the year, but they are still of such major cultural significance that most individuals will find themselves impacted by them, whether they are excited to participate or not. 

Unique holidays bring with them unique life skills that might overlap with skills we use every day, but take on a whole new meaning in a holiday context. A classic example for many Autistic people during Halloween is finding a costume that meets their sensory needs. Not only is it important to find the right fabric, it is also important to dress for the anticipated weather and what you plan on doing, except instead of a regular outfit, you might be working with a complicated costume or a specific idea you feel very strongly about! 

Halloween participants might also find themselves navigating unfamiliar neighborhoods on foot or wanting to make sure they are saying the “right” thing when ringing the doorbell and asking for candy.

Thanksgiving entails the most commonly associated task of going to great lengths to prepare an elaborate meal with dishes that are rarely prepared at other times of the year. Some people might find themselves enlisted to help with cooking for this time of year and this time of year only! Thanksgiving can also come with its own special dress code that varies from family to family. 

Autistic people may also find themselves needing to step up their self-advocacy when their personal needs clash with a particular tradition and they need to ask to sit something out or if there is an available alternative. 

Thanksgiving also has a significant impact on the school schedule and can be one of the first major disruptions to the standard school schedule during the school year. So when fall comes up, it can be worth brainstorming as a team, the way that the fall holidays tend to test our life skills, and how we might want to prepare to meet our needs and goals.

With that, we are wrapping up for the week, but we would love to hear about the ways you adjust during the fall, whether you are adjusting to an entirely different school schedule or just managing the extra traffic time that comes when everyone is commuting to school in the morning, too. 

If you’d like to share your experience with us, just drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com, and we will be back next week to talk about life skills in the winter season in Part 3.