I’ve been taking William to same hair salon for awhile now. Every visit is always filled with laughter and smiles from the hairdresser as well as William. So when it came time for Christmas gift-giving season, It would be a great opportunity to teach William on giving back.

William found some gnomes that were ornaments while we were out, and he held them high and said,”Ms. Kristie”. I was so surprised because he obviously was noticing her collection of gnomes in her store. I asked him if he wanted to give it to her as a gift. He got very excited aboout the idea. We took the gnomes home wrapped them and he worked hard on decorating a christmas card.

The moment we stepped into the salon, William proudly announced “I have a Christmas gift for you!.” His hairdresser was surprised and delighted with the gift, and thanked William for his thoughtfulness. This gesture showed that William was able to identify someone who had made him feel special, and wanted to reciprocate this feeling by giving something back.

This experience brings me back to an important point – teaching how to give, can be just as important as teaching them how to receive. Our children will want or need something, but it’s equally important that we remind them how much joy comes being generous and kind towards others. As parents of children on the spectrum, these are lessons that may take more effort than usual but can still be achieved in creative ways like this one! I realize that now watching my son happy with his achievement. All he could do was laugh the rest of the day.