• It is easy to forget. For starters, it is easy to miss Daylight Saving Time entirely. This is true for anyone, but especially someone who might have difficulty with executive function, like an Autistic person. Thankfully, if you forget to set back your clock when everyone else does, you are not likely to miss your appointments. But being an hour early is no fun either.

• It disrupts routines. Having the clocks set back an hour can wreak havoc on an Autistic person’s dependable routine. It may be especially irritating to find it is suddenly dark outside when one is used to it being light while doing outdoor activities.

• Sleeping in the mornings could get harder. When we set back the clocks, not only does the sun set earlier, but it rises earlier too. This can mess with our circadian rhythms, and might make it harder to sleep in the mornings.

• Lost sleep could make it harder to slog through school or work. Additionally, just trying to power through each day with extra fatigue can lead to further routine disruptions.

• Daylight Saving Time can be infuriating. As we talked about in our earlier post this year on adjusting to Daylight Saving Time, Autistic people who feel Daylight Saving Time is illogical may find its whole existence upsetting. Even going back to Standard Time can act as an unwelcome reminder.

• Explain what Daylight Saving Time is and why it exists if the concept confuses or annoys your Autistic child. Explain its history if they are not familiar with it. Tell them it is perfectly okay to find it illogical, but explain that they have to keep up with the time changes so they do not disrupt school and appointments.

• Mark it on the calendar. Missing the time change or only realizing it is happening the day of can be destabilizing, and even lead to a meltdown. Prevent this problem by clearly marking the time change on the calendar and setting automatic reminders.

• Consider making a gradual adjustment. For some Autistic persons, making the leap to standard time is easiest if it happens all at once, like ripping off a Band-Aid. But for others, the opposite is true. For those children and adults, it might be easier to start going to bed a little bit later each night for a week or so before the change. Keep in mind, however, that one will still have to wake up at the same time on those days, so, make sure this gradual adjustment does not cause too much missed sleep.

• Block out morning sun. If the sun rising an hour earlier in the day is causing you or your Autistic loved one to miss out on crucial sleep in the mornings, try using blackout curtains.

• Make the most of the extra hour. The plus side of switching back to Standard Time is that we all get an extra hour of time! Encourage your Autistic child to use this hour however they like. They can either get an extra hour of awake time to get more done (maybe spend some extra time on a special interest) or asleep time to catch up on some much-needed rest.