Tag Archives: traveling with autism

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

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On Black Friday, while millions were flocking to the malls and superstores for deals, my family relaxed at a beautiful Austin location–The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

famgarden_nowopenImage from Wildflower.org website

The new “Luci and Ian Family Garden” is just wonderful. In fact, my son says it’s like “A Village of Wonder!” He could have stayed for a few hours which is really saying a lot because we normally just spend around 30 minutes at most places due to the usual cuprits–crowds, noise, or boredom. While we were there, he was wandering around and exploring and really grooving on the beauty of this new addition to the Wildflower Center. It’s “autism friendly” because there is just so much space to roam and no prescribed way that visitors are expected to interact with the park. This kind of natural setting + open areas = our most successful outings.

Also, as a bonus for the entire family, the Lady Bird Center boasts a restaurant. It’s small and quiet (perfect for keeping sensory overload at bay) and has several gluten-free options. Nothing specifically gluten-free, but there are options, like baked potatoes, salads and chicken dishes. From this limited menu, we were able to cobble together a very healthy meal for our son who is on the gluten-free, dairy-free diet that many kids on the spectrum live on.

On the Autism Friendly scale: Our family gives this family field trip location a BIG thumbs up for beauty, calm, and best of all, wonder.

San Antonio Way

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As San Antonio is within an hour or so of our house, it is one of our favorite (and easiest) vacation destination. Each summer, if my son has “earned” it, through reaching his behavior goals (don’t tell him, but we arrange it to where he is always able to earn it!) we travel to a close-by hotel for a night away.

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La Cantera Resort, San Antonio, photo from Destinations Resorts

This summer, as with last summer, the travel fates smiled upon us and I was able to find a Groupon Coupon for a $149/night room mid-week at this gorgeous resort–La Cantera Resort, San Antonio. 

We swam, ate by the pool, took a beautiful nature hike on the hotel’s trails that wind around the golf course (NOTE: These trails are not ADA accessible.), and enjoyed a spa treatment. Yes, you read that correctly. My son requested a spa treatment “for a man” he said. So, we used the WoodHouse Day Spa services that are right on site. They were able to accommodate a child with special needs as long as I was present in the treatment room. My son chose a calming 30-minute hot oil scalp massage ($45). He was in heaven. It seems extravagant, but truly, it calmed him so much that it was worth it. Those of you with autistic kids know that calming their minds and bodies is a big part of the experience of parenting our special children.

We were able to secure a late check-out the next morning and then sadly said goodbye to our 24 hours of bliss at La Cantera. Hasta next summer La Cantera! 

Sleep Away Camp is a Dream Come True

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I never dreamed my son could manage sleep away camp. His autism used to impact him so severely that he wouldn’t leave our house for days at a time if there was cloud cover. He hated gray skies. And now, he was a part of a camp experience (as an inclusion camper with a 1:1 counselor) where every other week, they went out of town. And this camp was not special needs camp with specially trained counselors and an itinerary with sensitivity to autism. This was for typical children and wouldn’t have the kind of daily structure that his brain craves for a successful experience. But one day recently he said, “I want to go on the camp overnights.” Dumbstruck I asked, “How will you handle this?” And in a very nonchalant way he said, “I’ll be fine.”

I’ll Be Fine.

Oh my.

For years we’ve managed his every new experience, through writing social stories (copyright Linda Gray), prepping him, preparing his caregivers, having lots of options if Plan A doesn’t work out, you name it.

And now, in early teenage years, he’s telling us, he’s fine.

And he was. We held our breathe, packed him up and let him go. For days he had to wander around San Antonio doing what the group was doing, managing the sounds, the sites and the smells of a large group of middle school kids. None of whom had autism. My son was the camp’s first overnight camper with a disability. He is breaking barriers, and more importantly, changing hearts and minds about what people with autism are interested in doing. Autism for him means not talking to others much, but he likes to be with others. That’s his brand of friendship–presence.

The week wasn’t completely glitch-free. On the last night, the counselors, not trained in autism tantrums, accidentally made the group late for a concert that my son was excited to go to. When they were late, he threw a pretty big fit on the bus, but recovered once they arrived at the concert venue. I think the counselors learned, “don’t be late!” as a primary autism imperative when traveling.

When he triumphantly returned home, I asked, “How did you do that????!!!”

And he said, “I just stayed flexible and survived the heat.”

 

Ski trip teaches confidence and courage

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It’s been three years since I had the budget or the time to take my son snow skiing in Park City, Utah, at the National Ability Center. And it’s expensive to get there from Austin, so this is a pretty big chunk of change just to ski for four days. But, after it’s over, I cannot imagine not having this experience for him. He’s super excited to go and it’s one of the only things that makes him spontaneously talk to people at school.

He’s still enthusiastic when we get home and his teachers and therapists all report that he is more social before and after his ski trip because he has such great memories of the trip and is motivated to talk because of this experience. For someone with autism, it’s a pretty big deal to initiate conversation and this is one of the only topics that seems exciting enough for him to overcome his speech disorder and social anxiety and plunge into having a conversation. Thus, ski trips seem expensive and frivolous when there are therapy bills to pay, but for our family, it gives us a chance to let our son shine in a way that he rarely does–socially.

Each morning as we left our condo to “hit the slopes,” he would gear himself up by saying, “Now I will gather my courage.” So, even though it was scary to him to try skiing, he conquered those fears and followed directions well. Also, he just adores Park City, Utah. When asked how he liked his ski trip, he said, “It’s like we are in a living heaven.” So, I think it’s pretty worth it to him as well.

Trip Tip: If you do go to the National Ability Center, make sure to book your child’s lesson far in advance, as far as you can, because I booked three weeks out and was on the wait list until we got there and almost did not get a lesson. The Center teaches skiing and other winter sports to children and adults with physical and developmental differences. Lessons are very reasonably priced, but it’s just the cost of getting to an expensive resort that will set you back financially. If you live in Utah, lucky you! And a final note, if you think your child will have problems with focus while skiing (pretty dangerous to lose your focus if you’re on skis!), ask the instructor to use the tethers and safety harness. Not every instructor likes to do this because they want to teach independence, but I wanted my son to ski safely more than I wanted him to ski independently. I’ll post a video next post.

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“Traveling with Autism” article in the Austin American-Statesman

I wrote this article a few years ago about the challenges of air travel with my son who has autism. Those of you with kids on the spectrum know that routine is pretty important. Air travel offers very little guarantees on routine. So, with this in mind, I’m going to re-read my own article as I am heading out next week with just my son, leaving my husband and daughter at home. Hoping for travel mercies! And good snow. We’re going back to the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah. More to come next week.

National Ability Center

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We adore taking our son to the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah, for the week-long autism camp. They have a fantastic staff and programs. Plus, what’s not to love about Park City in the summer. When I told my son we were going this year, he said, “Oh, I’m a star at the NAC.” That’s why we go. There’s horseback riding, swimming, hiking and great opportunities to learn new skills. But, more importantly we make this trip for the feeling that he gets when we leave. As we were driving out of Park City last summer, a voice from the back seat marveled, “I cannot believe what a sports star I am.” My husband and I were overjoyed.

If you have a kid with autism and you can afford to get yourself to Park City, go. The camp is affordable, it’s the flight and hotel that costs you. If you are within driving distance, then you are, as my son would say, a “lucky dog.”