After hearing what Heather had to say about traveling with her son, Peyton, who has autism, this got me interested to see what other families had to say about traveling with children who are on the spectrum. I decided to look on the website www.autismspeaks.org since they recently had a walk to raise money for research. I found a booklet that was also published on the website entitled: Ten Strategies for Traveling with a Child with Autism. The first tip was a generic tip that worked for anyone's vacation, preparation. In regards to traveling with a child with autism, the preparation can be a little different and more in-depth. The author of this booklet discussed how you need to take into consideration specifics of your child and what they can and cannot handle. For example, she talked about how her son has issues with noises so they packed ear plugs to carry around with him in case the noise level was out of his comfort zone. THe third strategy specifically discussed amusement parks, especially Walt Disney World. I discussed in my first blog about the wonderful accommodations that WDW has to offer. One of the features that this Mother really enjoyed was something I was even aware of. There is a feature on their website that allows you to watch a preview video of several rides. She said that this alleviated any fear that her son had about the trip. She goes on to discuss car travel, visiting big cities, air travel, and visiting family members. She had a lot of information to offer and I found it to be very helpful. Here is a direct link to her booklet:
http://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/documents/family-services/schlosser.pdf
Amanda I found the booklet on traveling with a child with Autism very interesting and helpful too. I like that it is from a mother's perspective who obviously has experinece with such matters. I agree with you that many of the tips could be used for all children with and without various disabilities. Preparing a child for a trip, not just by packing, but by exposing him to what he may see, hear, expect, etc. is very important. Structure and consistency is important for children and taking the time to use some of these tips and guidelines for traveling will most likely make the vacation more enjoyable for all involved.
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