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21 Last-Minute Gift Ideas For Autistic People
Something for everyone’s budget that all autistic people will appreciate this Christmas!
It’s that time of year again when many people may start to panic, especially when thinking about what to buy their autistic/neurodivergent loved ones. As an autistic woman, I know just how particular neurodivergent people can be when it comes to gifts, and it can be hard to know what to get us, especially when we struggle to express our desires. Often, many children and autistic adults are unable to tell us what they want for Christmas or other occasions.
Since childhood, I’ve struggled to tell someone what I want as a gift. Many times, I don’t know how to put into words what I wish for; other times, feelings of awkwardness overcome me, and I would rather say, ‘I don’t know or ‘I don’t want anything this year’. Even if I want someone to get me a gift, whenever someone asks me, my mind tends to go blank, and I can feel overwhelmed quickly. My family complain that they don’t know how to buy gifts for me, and there have been many times when my loved ones have completely missed the mark!
It is a difficult challenge to buy gifts that genuinely spark joy in autistic people, as many of us are not interested in the same items as our peers, and we may have sensory needs to…