In 2013, we were able to manage and enjoy the Austin Trail of Lights at Christmas time. It was a wonderful experience for us and really made our family feel like we had turned a corner in our son’s autism. It was something that for years he could not manage and then through buying a FastPass and paying extra to enter early, we were able to stroll through the lights and displays joyously as a family. For those of you who have autism, you know that getting to be out in public can be a challenge and this was a big event for our son. He loved it.

So, we eagerly bought our tickets to the 2014 trail event. However, our day that we chose, was cancelled and we were given the option of attending on the weekend to make up for it. And we just thought as a group, “no, that’s too crowded” to be fun. So, sometimes, you make the decision NOT to travel and that’s also a good part of the journey. Instead we watched a Christmas movie on TV at home and baked cookies and this activity still felt plenty festive.

We didn’t consider it a “failure” that we couldn’t attend, just a change in venue for our family party. Also, my son was very flexible, although disappointed that the evening we had tickets for was cancelled. So, that was another big step on our journey in autism–learning and accepting changes to our travel plans.

Have you had a time when NOT traveling was actually the best idea for your family? Leave us a comment and share your story.