Birthday dinner

About this visual support

A party changes the rules of a meal without anyone saying so out loud. There are more people around the table than usual, the food is somebody else's favourite, and in the middle of it sit moments like singing, candles and presents that arrive at times nobody has announced. For a child who reads rooms and moods slowly, that is a lot to interpret while also eating.

With pictures the dinner becomes a sequence of parts rather than one long undefined event: sit down, eat, sing, cake, open presents. The child can see that the waiting has an end and that the cake really is coming. Go through the row of cards at the kitchen table the day before and point out where the child will sit and who will be next to them, so at least the seat is familiar when the door opens. Include a picture of one dish the child already likes, so there is something known on the plate.

If more parties are coming up, you can save the order as a routine in Routined and try it for fourteen days at no cost.