Autism Reactions to Fireworks 

If I don't have enough or too much something will set off a meltdown. Music beforehand was worse than the fireworks for me

I hate the fire works. Because they are way to loud for me. So after dinner last night. I stayed in my room with my window closed

I’m a high functioning autistic person. As a child fireworks seemed too much for me. Now I’ve grown up, they seem a lot more predictable. This has resulted in me really liking fireworks. I can predict the sound, and the colours are pleasing.

I love the look of fireworks but hate the noise! We don't have fireworks until bonfire night in November so I don't have to worry about it for a while 😊

I do loves fireworks, it's one of the thing that makes me happy. Unfortunately not for my pets.

Glad you were all together and so glad you share this information regarding your wonderful family, 💗💗💗💗💗

i love fireworks. i used to shoot off fireworks when i was living out of the city limits. when my grandfather was alive, we were not allowed to shoot fireworks due to his ptsd and sadly passed onc

Oh my God the kids look so good I’m so happy that they got to enjoy the firework I was sick yesterday, so I didn’t get to enjoy them unfortunately 😢😢

I’m okay with sparklers, but I tend to stay away from fireworks. For instance, if I’m at Disneyland, I’ll be the only one not at the firework show(plus a family member). All my family really does is host a barbecue, but sometimes we’ll admire the sparklers from our neighbors. Hope you guys had a great 4th of July🇺🇸🎉

Yes Thomas has a hard time too much sensory overload , we watch it from a distance and he wears sunglasses. Thank you for sharing this festive day with us.

my children can handle fire works but some of them cannot i do have a child who i won''t mention their name but i she does not like anything loud so fireworks can be very stressful for her and she stims alot which i think that is what happened with alister maybe all the sensory input from that day leading on the day he had a meltdown i think all the sensory input and his day contributed i hope the meltdown was not bad and didn''t cause him too much issues , i,m glad he has recovered from the meltdown! happy late forth of July!

My kiddo doesn't like the fact that the fireworks are loud, he's sensitive to the loud noises, but he loves to watch them. Thankfully, our neighborhood was pretty mild this year. But we did what we do every year, camp out in the living room and fall asleep to Looney Tunes❤️

I like fireworks I joying watch them since I was a kid

I can’t handle the fireworks it’s to loud for me and I get overwhelmed a lot

I learned to fence and during sparring it was an incredibly intense sensory experience. I crave those feelings but it was part of a process for me that took years of exposure to be able to be in the huge space and to be having a play fight with people of all ages and experience. Im so proud of that time in my life.

I used to HATE fireworks and the usual other loud noises (especially fire alarms) but I’ve desensitized to them a lot

I love fireworks now too bad we don't get them on display here in the uk (where I am) I used to hate them when I was younger and I can only watch them with music or it will bombard me

Fireworks and firecrackers scare and annoy me intensely. I don't even know why it makes sense for people to use them. They are simply too flashy, too loud, too dangerous and too frightening. It is like an artificial war, and every sober person should keep away from wars. You don't want your area to be a war zone, do you? Then why do you like (large) explosions so much? Very confusing.

Hope you had a happy 4th. I'm sensitive to the sound of firework. I have to plug my ears.

I'm autistic and I'm surprised by myself alot of the time. I some times can't handle even just sparklers or the little pop things, but other times I sit without head phones and watch the giant fireworks my school hosts. sometimes you need the sensory import and sometimes its too much. I love watching your boys and seeing how you guys make the most of it instead of trying to hide it.

Hello. It’s me again I haven’t commented for a while as I have had a busy life. I hate fireworks it’s way to loud and I isolate myself when it happens while blasting music in my headphones. All people with autism are different and that’s okay.

I’m autistic and I still like consumer fireworks

When I was 7 or 8 We went to stone mountain. For a laser show fireworks went off and i screamed clawed at my aunts mother to try to get away and had to be held on to my aunt told me this story Didn't like fire works until I was 15 I do have autism

As an autistic man I enjoy fireworks. I can't handle the really louds ones but I love the rest

I can't stand loud fireworks and loud noises!!!!!!!!!!

I'm scared of sparklers and the fire works were too loud and my phone is turned all the way down

Why did the fireworks go on during the day when it’s bright fireworks are the best at night

I really have to thank you for telling your boys it's okay to stim and be yourself. I was taught that you have to make eye contact in order to look like you're listening to them, or else it's considered rude. I was also told to stop stimming when it comes to doing that at the dinner table, and asked why I make those noises or movements. It's a stressful thing to talk about when your problems are always being pushed aside.

Have you heard of the ZAZOO commercial little boy tantrum show this to your 3 sons

I love professionally handled fireworks. The ones you had so close to the kids freak me out (too many horror stories). But I love a fireworks show! As a 41 years old autistic woman, I was full of happy stimmy energy, flapping my hands and screaming while watching the fireworks show in my city. It’s all the best sensory input. With that said, I was drained afterwards 😅

I don't really like fireworks tbh, it's really loud and dangerous for me, but I'm glad that they love it Happy 4th of July(even though I'm not living in US)

Yeah.....couldn't handle the fireworks this year.....totally done by 10 and spent the rest of the night with my headphones on. Still low-key exhausted....but I saw some really pretty star shaped ones!

I have dedicated my professional career to working in the mental/behavioral health field and my early days were spend heavily servicing those with autism. In my graduate coursework I specialized in ASD. These days I am a trainer for a very large behavioral health company you've probably heard of. I train incoming therapists and consultants on a number of different topics, ASD best practices being one of them. During my trainings I show your videos to my students. Usually the video of Connor describing his "light" autism. Your boys, and all of those with ASD are my teachers. The real subject matter experts. I could listen to them describe their experiences with ASD endlessly. Id love to have a conversation with them. Your mission as a father to showcase all sides of ASD is so incredibly noble. I have found people don't understand ASD at all. Videos such as these are more valuable than any college course or training could ever be

Hi Autism Family. Happy 4th Of July. I hope yall had a blast and I probably know the kids probably got a little overstimulated by the fireworks. I seen the fireworks with my family at a beach near us and it was beautiful and relieving to watch since we haven't been to one since 2020

I get nervous around fireworks due to past experiences, but this year i had to work near them. Although I was slightly bothered by them, I got the job done by just focusing on the people i was supposed to watch (Security like job).

I now enjoy fireworks but only from inside the house watching them through the window. I remember the hand held ‘sparklers’ as a child and my mum encouraging me to write shapes in the air with them, but they terrified me, in the UK firework night is in winter (5th November) in the dark, so they are even more vivid and sound much more overwhelming because it’s dark. Lovely to see the boys enjoying them with all their senses. Sometimes I feel that when stimming I’m much more alive and interactive to the world around me.

Battle tanks are one type of firework which I remember lighting when I was growing up, and when I was growing up, me and my brothers would attach fireworks on battle tanks and light them, or place fireworks inside small cardboard boxes and light them, and we would even attach fire crackers or fireworks on little plastic army men and light them 🎉

I could not handle it this year I shot a few fireworks and then went inside after a few and hid out in my room especially since a firework went wrong and fell on the ground because it blew out the bottom and started shooting out different directions so I got scared and I was like I am done and then later during the night had a panic because of everything that happened with the firework and because the power was out because of storms so I was hitting myself in the panic I need to find something else besides hitting myself

on the tv/other screens it's ok. (i can determine how long and at what sound lvl) a fireworkshow is sometimes ok only from far away. (i know what the duration aproxxematlyis and also that is done safely by proffesionals) still not a fan off the noise tough so headphones / earplugs needed. regular people doing fireworks my worst nightmare... can't predict when the flashes and loud noises are, when, where, for how long, and when young teenagers most of the time not safely done. those times i stay at home and close the curtains do headphones on and be under a weighted blanket.

I don't mind the noise and colors but the fact that my idiot neighbors have the nerve to set off fireworks when it's not even july 4 at insane hours just iffs me which is why I put the fan on at full blast

My youngest is on the lower end of the spectrum, not a lot of speech development, mostly screaming as verbalization, and has limited motor control. That being said, he will be old enough for school next year and I was wondering if you had any tips on navigating through school enrolment procedures or if you recommend home schooling for a while longer than usual. He does see some therapists for help, but they are not ready to start talking about school as of now.

This is so interesting! Last year my daughter was running in circles even though she had headphones on, it was just too much for her. This year she was able to watch them and we just hugged her and truly for the first time watched them together.

Happy 4 day of July Ian,Connor,Allistar and mom dad

My daughter has autism and hates fireworks

I have a question why are people saying that stimming is a bad thing even though its not?

They did well managing all of that stimulation, Alister will get there. At a young age my mother figured that getting me to do the vacuuming kept me from running out of the house... and at 69 the wife gets me to still do it - I find that if I am in control of the "loud sound" I can manage accepting the noise. In Newfoundland and Labrador July 1st is our Memorial Day besides being Canada Day, this year US General Mark Milley was in St. John's to honour his great grandfather who was in the Newfoundland Regiment at Gallipoli during WWI. On July 1st at Beaumont Hamal, France 700 went over the top - 68 answered roll call the next day, the others died in the charge or were wounded, a big blow to the then country of Newfoundland in which the population has held steady at around 0.5 million.

How old is Ian Connor & Allistair

My daughter is autistic and is 8 years old. She absolutely loved the 4th of July fireworks! She didn't want to go home she was having so much fun. I'm so glad to hear the boys had a good time❤

I'm high functioning, I enjoy it.