30th March 2022 • My Family Our Needs

With Easter just around the corner, we wanted to share some ideas for you and the young people you support to get involved in over the Easter holidays. From Easter egg hunts at home to sensory egg making, we have a variety of exciting accessible activities and resources to share with you.  

Easter Egg Hunts 

There’s nothing more exciting than searching for brightly coloured eggs around the garden and making it inclusive is key for young people with SEND. Everyone should have the opportunity to collect eggs and join in the fun. But how do we do that? 

For some young autistic people, an Easter egg hunt can be an overwhelming experience but, with a little insight and adjustment, you can achieve a successful autism-friendly Easter egg hunt. 

Cory Morrison of ASA Today says that parents/carers should expect that motor planning is difficult: ‘Many people on the spectrum have gross motor skill problems. If a child doesn’t run particularly fast, they may not get as many Easter eggs as other children. If the person has a clumsy gait, moving quickly from one room to the next could be stressful. Also, picture this: say that the autistic child and their sibling are right next to an egg. The person’s neurotypical sibling may grab the egg quicker because their hand grasp may be faster and not awkward. These issues might make the child feel uneasy.’ Cory urges parents/carers to remind their child that it’s not a race and it’s just for fun, and to consider noise levels if attending a hunt. 

Where else can you look? The Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center of Learning outlines so much information to help – the organisation puts particular focus on preparations before the hunt even begins and explains the importance of making sure your child knows what to expect from a hunt. Research shows that this helps to reduce ‘transition time and melt downs’. Allow children to mark when an activity is finished by crossing it off or checking a box. Include details to help them prepare, such as whether the activity will be indoors or outdoors, who will be there and any other sensory sensitivities unique to your child.  

Ella Stumbo, who is the founder of Disability Matters, has outlined a variety of ways for parents to adapt Easter egg hunts for children with disabilities on the Mighty blog. Ella recalls how having colour-coded eggs for different children proved a success. This helps to ensure that the sibling with SEND will have the opportunity to find all their eggs. For young people in a wheelchair, tying a balloon onto an egg is a creative way to enable a young person to be independent and enjoy the overall experience. There are so many ways to get creative: using eggs that ‘chirp’ for visually impaired young people; attaching egg-collecting baskets on the side of a walker; or creating sensory-friendly egg hunts by creating a quiet environment. Your hunt could involve picture matches instead of written clues and some parents write the young person’s name on the egg, so other children know to leave the egg alone and everyone collects an equal amount. 

If you are looking to venture out and about, here is our pick of UK-based egg hunts. We have tried to find accessible hunts where possible, but please do contact the event organiser for specific questions. 

What’s on? Activities and events.

The Great Chesil Easter Hunt 

An egg hunt with a twist! Find out what a mermaid keeps in her purse! Help search for empty shark and ray eggcases washed up on Chesil Beach and win a chocolate reward. 

Price: £4.50 per child  

Good point: Accessible toilet, open space, beach, chocolate reward, wildlife to spot! Ideal if you’re planning a longer weekend away this Easter. 

Web: www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/events/2022-04-18-great-chesil-easter-eggcase-hunt  

The National Trust Nature Walks, National  

Easter adventures in nature trails at many of the places the National Trust cares for across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There’ll be lots of fun for you and your family on your trail as you do your nature-inspired activities. Complete the trail and collect your Rainforest Alliance chocolate egg. The eggs are made here in the UK using cocoa that’s responsibly sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. 

Price: Varies depending on location (check location area) 

Good point: The National Trust has also put together an Easter Adventures in Nature activity pack, so lots of creative artistic ideas to try. Find your local NT and you won’t need to travel far. 

Web: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/join-the-easter-egg-hunts  

Battersea Power Station, London 

The newly opened six-acre park in front of the Grade II* listed Power Station will be home to a Petting Zoo with rabbits, chickens, Pygmy goats, lambs and sheep, expertly cared for by The Mini Farm, and guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s face this Easter. Follow the clues, spot the eggs and bunny rabbits hidden around Circus West Village, and be in with a chance of winning some great prizes. 

Good point: Get out of central London and into the newly generated Battersea Power Station area, come and go as you please, and find a quiet spot if needed away from the crowds whilst enjoying all that London has to offer.  

Web: https://london-post.co.uk/an-egg-citing-easter-awaits-at-battersea-power-station/  

Easter Adventure Quests 

The English Heritage Easter egg hunts promise to be an ‘eggs-hilarating’ hunt through the grounds, find the clues and undertake challenges to claim your chocolate prize.  

Good point: English Heritage has a variety of Easter activities and activity guides.  

Web:  https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/easter  

Visual and sensory Easter activities 

If you’re looking for some hands-on Easter sensory ideas for young autistic people, head over to Koriathome who shares some really creative ideas, from slime recipes to Easter egg sensory play activity. Kori says that for really hands-on input, it’s hard to beat a sensory bin. Melissa, who runs Autism Adventures, shares five Easter egg fun sensory activities, from an Easter egg play doh tray, to dying Easter eggs in rice, to sensory rice Easter eggs. Melissa also shares some videos, so you can really capture the creativity and what’s involved.  

BAPS 2021 finalist Jade, who runs the autismpage.com, has lots of fantastic Easter picture book suggestions and shares insight into the Picture Exchange Communication system (PECS) to communicate. Jade points out how this time of year offers a great opportunity to use PECS to talk about what animals and wildlife you can see or have seen.  

We really liked the look of Jade’s Autism Attention Bucket and how Jade has created an Easter-themed bucket. If Jade is having a big family gathering, she always shows pictures of everyone coming beforehand so her son has time to process the information. Jade has suggested that you could create a social story to explain what will happen at Easter in your household.  

We would love to know what you’re up to this Easter. Get in touch with us and send us your pictures to share on our social media channels! ?