As we approach Easter and families adjust to the holidays and activities ahead, Giselle Caligari,  Senior Speech & Language Therapist shares the following tips which are gentle suggestion to help support your child’s needs and make the period more comfortable and enjoyable

1. Prepare in advance

• Mark the Easter school holidays on your child’s calendar or visual schedule
• Add any holidays or trips to the calendar, so your child knows what to expect. If you have multiple trips planned, it can be helpful to allow downtime and return to the normal routine between trips, so your child has time to recharge and feel comfortable with changes
• Highlight Easter Day on the calendar if the routine will be different (for example, an egg hunt or extended family meal). Create a simple visual plan for the day and review it with your child a few days in advance so they can familiarise themselves with what will happen on the day. Some children prefer not to disrupt their usual morning routine, so for these children, it might be better to do the egg hunt later in the morning. For example: Breakfast → Easter egg hunt → Visit grandparents → Lunch at Gran’s house → Home → Snack → Bath → Bedtime.
• Introduce and explain the tradition of the Easter Bunny, explaining that many families pretend a friendly bunny hides chocolate eggs at night for children to find in the morning. If the idea of a ‘mysterious bunny’ might feel confusing or unsettling, you can agree with your child that you will hide the eggs instead—or hide them together as a fun game.
• Prepare for family gatherings or large meals by talking in advance about who will be there and what will happen. Reassure your child that their preferred foods will be available and that they can take a break or have quiet time if needed.
• If decorating your home for Easter, try to keep decorations low-key and leave some areas decoration-free. Allow your child to help decide where decorations go if they want to.

2. Plan the Easter Egg hunt:

• Decide whether a public egg hunt or an egg hunt at home would be more suitable for your child, based on their comfort level with crowds, noise, and sensory input.
• If your child finds waiting difficult, consider spreading the hunt over a few days, for example, finding one or two eggs each day leading up to Easter.
• Clearly indicate how many eggs are hidden so your child knows the goal. You could use a picture or number chart to match each egg they find and see when the hunt is complete.
• Think about where eggs are hidden. Avoid non-preferred textures or hard-to-reach places. If your child likes to keep their toys organised or grouped, avoid hiding eggs in those areas (for example, placing an egg in a box of toy cars), as this may cause upset.
• Give each child their own eggs to find. For example, use colour-coded eggs so each child knows which ones belong to them. This makes the hunt non-competitive and allows each child to go at their own pace without feeling rushed
• Choose eggs or treats that your child already enjoys to avoid disappointment. If they are not particularly interested in chocolate, consider small toys, stickers, or other preferred items instead.
• If you have a large family meal planned on Easter Day, consider doing the egg hunt on a different day (e.g., the day before) to reduce sensory overwhelm and allow your child to enjoy both activities.

3. Use Communication Supports

• Easter and the egg hunt can be a wonderful opportunity to model language in a natural, meaningful way. Using spoken words, signs and/or AAC, use phrases such as “Let’s look for more”, “We found it!”, “We have them all”, “So many eggs!” and “They taste yummy”, to model language for a variety of communicative purposes, helping to support your child’s natural language development.

About the author

Giselle Caligari is a CORU-registered Senior Speech and Language Therapist with over twenty years of experience supporting children with a wide range of speech, language and communication needs. At Constellation Healthcare she carries out comprehensive assessments and works with families to develop practical, meaningful strategies that support children in developing effective and functional communication. Giselle has particular experience supporting children with autism and developmental delays

About Constellation Healthcare
Constellation Healthcare is a leading provider of neurodevelopmental assessments and supports in Ireland, specialising in autism assessments, autism diagnosis, and multidisciplinary care for children and families. We proudly offer private autism assessments (ASD assessments) for children in our dedicated Dublin clinic, providing timely, reliable and compassionate pathways to understanding your child’s needs.

Our assessments are carried out by highly experienced Clinical, Educational and Counselling Psychologists, as well as CORU registered Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Physiotherapists. Every assessment uses HSE recognised, evidence based tools to ensure accuracy, clarity and trust at every stage.

At the heart of our services is a deep commitment to child centred, personalised care. We believe every child is unique—and we celebrate that. From initial contact through to post assessment supports, our team works closely with families to provide clear guidance, expert clinical insight and reassurance throughout the autism assessment or autism diagnosis process.

If your family is seeking an autism assessment in Ireland, our multidisciplinary team is here to help. We understand that accessing support for neurodivergence can feel overwhelming, so we make the process as simple, straightforward and timely as possible. Our experienced team is on hand to support your family before, during and after an autism diagnosis, ensuring you feel informed, supported and understood every step of the way.