Admittedly, this is a bit of a weird question. We are having a party tomorrow for Halloween and we invited everyone in my younger son's class (a grand total of 4 invitees). 3 of the kids are like my son, which is quite developmentally delayed. One of them, though his high functioning. I invited him as a polite measure, but was expecting him not to come because I thought he wouldn't want to due to the developmental gap (I don't know why he's in that class). For the record, it's not that I don't want him to come, but just that I assumed he wouldn't. But he is coming. So now I'm wondering if I need to do anything differently for him? Everything else I've got planned could be done by a 2 year old… I'm sure it will be very "babyish" for him. Maybe his mother isn't aware of who the other kids are?? I've never met her (but I volunteered in the class, so I know the kid). Anyway I'm a bit worried about how he will feel at the party. I don't want him to feel super bored or lonely.
For your info, it's going to mostly unstructured (i.e. kids wander around ignoring each other and stimming) and then we will play a few games, mood-permitting: hot potato, musical statues, duck duck goose, parachute games. And the kids will be able to decorate a cupcake. That's it. I have 2.5 hours scheduled, however all the other mothers are staying (except for this kid's :/ ) so it just depends on how things go.
So I am wondering, if your HFA 13 year old got invited to a party like this, do you think they would be happy there? What could the host do to improve the chances of their happiness? I know it depends on the kid, but maybe you can give me a general idea… I'm hoping you guys can help me feel less worried about this (which I am feeling especially because his mum isn't even going to be there!! ).
Thanks
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Mum to two awesome kids on the spectrum (16 and 13 years old).