Does Santa have autism?

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

This week I’d like to take a lighthearted look on whether or not our favourite bearded man may in fact by autistic- yep, I’m talking about Santa Claus!🎅

I know it seems crazy but hear me out, as many people have observed Santa’s autistic traits:

• Restrictive diet– Santa’s diet is known for being very fatty and restrictive, mainly consisting of milk, cookies and other holiday treats like mince pies. Many autists can relate to this tendency towards beige foods
• Christmas is his specialist interest– For us mere mortals Christmas comes but once a year. Santa’s entire life however, revolves around this single calendar day and his efforts to make it the best day possible for children all over the world
• Tendency towards sameness and routine– Santa wears the same clothes day in day out which are loose fitting and comfy (which could be indicative of sensory issues). Moreover, his choice of red clothing is interesting as red is a colour often dismissed by autists, meaning he could have diminished sensitivity to the colour red making it an ideal colour choice for someone with colour sensitivity. Santa also works on the 25th of December every year without fail, completing the same working routine in children’s homes across the world

• Black and white thinking/rule orientated– Naughty and nice list, need I say more?
• Repetitive behaviours– Lining up and naming out his reindeer over and over, repeatedly saying Ho Ho Ho, and checking the list twice are all classic repetitive behaviours
• Avoids social interactions/unaware of social rules– He slips into our homes in the dead of the night, but never engages with us, just get’s the job done and moves on to the next house. Similarly, he is completely oblivious to how casually breaking into someone’s home to deliver presents in the middle of the night isn’t exactly a socially acceptable behaviour 😂
• Santa is an introvert– Santa prefers to live in his own space in the North Pole far away from the prying eyes of the world with only Mrs Claus and the elves for company
• Creative thinker- When the whole world bullied Rudolph for his nose, Santa found a way for him to be useful, highlighting neurodivergent creative thinking at it’s finest

So there you have it Earthlings- do you agree that Santa might be one of the most famous autists in the world? 🤔

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas and every blessing for 2025!

Aoife