Vancouver here we come!

Well, as you can tell dear reader, this blog is oft ignored by me. But that’s about to change! I started the blog, Travels with Autism when my son was in elementary school. He is now almost done with his senior year.

It would be impossible to summarize how much easier it is to travel with him now than it was when I started the blog. However, there will always be parts of his environment that I need to adapt for his neurology to stay calm. In travel, that can be hard to do. Thus, the need for the blog.

Into that, my son has picked what he would like for a graduation present and he has decided he would like to return to Vancouver! And Squamish, British Columbia!

So…comment with your favorite recommendations on where we should go in Vancouver for a person that loves the Olympics and loves all things Japanese.

He had the chance to go to Japan this summer with his teacher and a student group but was worried about the flight length. He said “that sounds too nervewracking,” when the length of the flight was described to him. And if there’s one true rule of travel, it’s know your limits and your interests and pursue the latter while adjusting or planning around the former.

So…Canada, here we come!

A trip not taken is sometimes the smartest travel plan

Sometimes the smartest travel plan is to choose NOT to travel. In parenting, and particularly with autism parenting, you have to decide that a trip will be too hard to accomplish at this time. It’s not that you’re giving up on the idea, it’s just that right now, not everyone in your family can travel a great distance.

I know my son has the ability to manage a 5 hour flight, but at this time, a 10 hour flight, no. As you may recall, we’ve traveled to one of our favorite therapist’s weddings in Canada two summer ago, and just that distance within North America was a very big challenge for us. When a close friend decided to get married in Cornwall, England, I had mixed emotions about how to accomplish this outing with children in tow.

National Trust seaside park, Cornwall. Celtic Sea in the distance.

Originally, I had planned to take my entire family and then discovered that expense prohibited that choice. Then, I thought I would just take my son who loves British history and then the length of the trip to London and then to Cornwall just seemed a flight too far. And then I thought I would just take my daughter, who I can more easily travel with, and then I thought…I’m in a wedding…I need to focus on the wedding.

So, you can see a great deal of thought goes into the decision of “who can come on a big trip?” It’s not a clear decision when a family member has autism. There are many additional thoughts that have to be accounted for–can I get the food we need for the special diet? How much of the setting can I control? How exhausting will the actual travel be? As I had not taken this trip before, I didn’t feel that I could anticipate enough in advance to make this a smooth experience for my son or even my younger daughter. In the end, I went alone to my friend’s wedding and our kids went with my husband to visit his family.

Morrab Gardens, Penzance

And let me tell you, it is a strange experience to travel alone for the first time in 18 years. And yet, by taking this time to decompress in nature, at a friend’s joyful event, I have more internal space to approach a new school year, an important milestone birthday for my son and the recent passing of my mom with greater clarity and calm.

So while I am determined to get my son with autism to Cornwall (and the rest of my family!), I felt the first trip was a good scouting opportunity for me. I was able to see what parts are going to annoy him (the overnight flight may need to be broken up into two legs), the long train ride (again, may need side trips along the way) and the lack of gluten-free options in Cornwall, England. I’m sure the dining options are there amidst all the fish and chips and pub food, it’s just that I’ll need to do a better job finding them before my next trip across the pond.

If you have visited Cornwall and have suggestions for me and my son, feel free to leave us a comment. Brilliant!

Staycations make holidays special

My son LOVES to “visit local hotels,” for vacations. Honestly, we do want to feel like we travel even though leaving our own city is really challenging. So we make the most of Austin. Over the holidays, we visited the Ikkikkan conference held at the Renaissance Hotel and it was like going to Las Vegas and having a costume party with hundreds of people. My son LOVED it. And because we stayed at the hotel, he could come and go as he pleased. He made a work of art to celebrate his fun.

“Ikkikkan” on Wood Panel, ©️Jackson’s EyeTV

One thing I wish I had done YEARS ago, when my son was first diagnosed and our expenses were sky high was to put all of the therapy bills on a hotel-chain credit card. We got one a few years ago and I have put every single medical expense on this card. If you have a special needs child, I don’t need to tell you how fast the bills add up. With what I spend on this hotel credit card each year, we earn enough points to stay at two nice hotels each year, we take a winter weekend and a summer weekend each year on the points we earn on the card from our medical bills.

While my husband reminds me that these are not “free” trips, I was going to spend the money on my son’s therapy regardless so we might as well have fun!

Gospel According to Autism

As my son has gotten older, and his many years of autism therapy have made it possible, we have started going to movies. Not just any movies for my son J. Oh, yes. He loves art documentaries and I’m lucky for that, because I love them too. Recently, a friend invited me to attend a documentary film festival (“Doc Days”) in Austin that he helped organize.

I took J and he LOVED it. We saw the Gospel According to Andre. He couldn’t contain himself. When I see him start rocking in his chair, and talking to himself, I know there’s a lot of creative soup about to bubble over! And then we have to leave for him to draw, and write, and imagine. Wouldn’t that be fun?

He had to leave in the middle of the movie because he said, “I am so inspired right now! I need to go home and draw.” So, we got up and left. HA!

The power of film is to inspire and connect. My son tells me he is inspired by his physical movements more than his words. There are many ways to be connected to art and it’s important that all of us accept the way people with autism express their happiness!

Link

Space Center Houston is now a certified autism center. Check out this article from the Austin American-Statesman to learn more.

Summer Vacation Plans

We are headed to a San Antonio waterpark to beat the heat for free! Well, nothing is free, but we book a hotel stay each summer using credit card points that I use to pay for all of my son’s autism therapies! I highly suggest paying as many of your autism therapies as you can on a points credit card. You’re going to buy the therapy anyway, you might as well earn some free hotel stays or airplane rides while you’re at it!

 

 

Go take a hike, really

My son who has autism adores hiking. He’s not particularly athletic in a traditional sense but he repeatedly has said, “Peace through Nature,” even going so far as to paint this motto in Latin on a piece of art he completed in art class at school. For that reason, we have gotten to know several hikes very well in the Austin area. Hiking the Bull Creek Greenbelt is a favorite for our whole family. However, our son was not able to stay safe on this trail until he was past the age of 10 because there are several cliffside drops. If you have a child with autism that does not understand safety rules yet or the stop command, then this hike is not advisable. For us, we are at a place where we can safely hike this. With this caveat, let’s begin.

 

 

Sycamore trees line Bull Creek and provide much needed shade from Texas heat.

Trailhead marker for the Inga Trail on the Bull Creek District Park.

Fast running streams run through the trail after a heavy rain.

Let’s head out…

Near the intersection of Spicewood Springs Road and Loop 360 in Northwest Austin is the trailhead to “Inga’s Trail” at the Inga VanNynatten Memorial Trail & Bull Creek District Park. After parking in the gravel lot across from the trailhead, carefully cross Lakewood Road on foot to begin the trail. There is a map at the trailhead with the “Inga’s Trail” path winding into the woods to its right.

Trailhead marker for the Inga Trail on the Bull Creek District Park.

Our family loves this trail because of its relatively flat terrain, the chance to see waterfalls and go swimming. However, I would not recommend this trail for anyone with children under 4, as we saw a family carrying their screaming toddler down the trail and they still had a ways to go before they were back to the calm of their car.

Come prepared…

The terrain is uneven and water shoes are recommended. I mean this is Nature, with a capital N so wear sunscreen, bug spray, and watch for poison ivy. We have hiked this particular trail in all seasons, but the very best of all is late Spring when the wildflowers are in full bloom and the water’s coldness is refreshing instead of chilling.

There is no water source on this primitive trail. We are in a city park, but there are no facilities along this trailhead. Make sure you pack water in. There are no bathrooms along the way.

Walking the trail…

Water swirling over Central Texas limestone rock.

This trail is perfect to hike two days after a heavy rain (the day after is a mudfest) because of the seasonal waterfalls that sprout up, particularly on an offshoot of the main trail as soon as you enter.

Follow the sounds of water, watching where you’re going, and you will see foaming water making that sound that calms even the most anxious of souls. I just love that sound. My son with autism particularly loves it. But, BE CAREFUL. Do not let children run ahead of you. There are no rails, no way to keep from slipping on algae and there are steep drops. I would gauge how safety conscious your child with autism is before taking on the waterfall offshoot trails of Bull Creek. For us, as a teenager, our son knows not to get too close. His fear index has finally started registering. When he was under 10 we could not manage this. We have a younger child that is neurotypical, and she understands our commands to be careful and to hold our hands. Every parent knows their child the best, use your best judgment.

After meandering down and over the first waterway (oh, that’s cold, says my daughter), you will begin hiking on a rocky incline that will lead you above the creek and offer a few views on your right (again, not getting too close to the edge for that perfect picture, lest you lose your footing on a rock 30 feet above the road), and a steep hill on your left (as my son said, “It’s like a whole new kind of gravity,” when he looked up at the sheer vertical climb to a summit above our heads.)

After about 15 minutes of climbing up the rocky path (there is the occasional bench for resting), you will pop out into a “precious in spring/brutal in summer “open field where the distant hills rise up to look slightly like you’re in a different setting. Hopefully, if you’re hiking this in summer, you’ve brought a hat. The sun is pretty fierce during this portion of the walk.

Wildflowers blanket the ground during late Spring in NW Austin’s Bull Creek Greenbelt.

Watch carefully, particularly in summer for poison ivy lunging at you from the wall of foliage you are hiking through at this point. Watch out for tree roots, and huge spider webs. It’s quite magical, but you know, watch where you’re going! One time I was hiking alone with my daughter and we came across the HUGEST spider web stretching ALL the way across the trail, with a huge spider sitting happily in the center, blocking the trail. There was no way under or over, so we had to detour off course, and walk through the creek itself in some fairly deep spots to join back up with the trailhead. I wasn’t about to disturb that spider.

At this point, you can hear the water roaring again, and the ground gets muddier as you are nearing the side trail off to the right, leading straight down to the water. You can see it as you walk. Or if it’s summer and overgrown, you can hear it. Follow the sound.

The Falls…

And after hiking for about 20-25 minutes or so, you’ve found the lower falls at Bull Creek Greenbelt. What’s great about this spot, is that you can swim, wade and play in this shallow rock ledge of a water expanse in almost every season. Deep winter, no. It’s much too cold. But, on warm winter days, we’ve hiked down here to see the change in grasses and trees during winter as well. In summer, we submerge fully in the water and walk back to the car wet. In springtime, it’s best for wading. Although falling in because of the slippery algae is a definite quick trip to splashtown. Hopefully you have a towel back in the car or one with you. Never a bad idea to carry a towel wherever you go (per Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.)

Now you’ve earned a rest…have a seat on the rock overhang, enjoy whatever food or small picnic you’ve packed in (and will pack out), lay on a towel, watch the dogs play. But, for sure watch your children! Again, you’re in nature, dude. There are snakes, etc. this is Texas. You will want to spend a bit of time here enjoying your hard-earned rest after your 20-plus minute hike, plus, something that’s always hard on my kids, you’ve got to hike back to the car if you’ve hiked in this far!

 

The Falls at Bull Creek. Your reward for hiking for 20 minutes on Inga’s Trail.

.

 

 

Summer is here and it’s time to explore

Summer is typically a time for vacations.

Although our budget this year doesn’t support outside of Texas travel, we are looking forward to taking long weekends to San Antonio, Galveston, and Dallas over this summer.

Nothing interesting enough for travel magazines, but a major victory for a child that was unable to leave our house just a decade ago. Our first trip ever was 10 years ago this summer so in my next blog I’m going to reflect on the changes and evolution of our son’s progress in that decade of taking trips, small and large.

 

 

New Nonprofit for Special Needs Travel

One of the special needs travel discoveries I made during 2017 was the existence of a travel company and nonprofit in Central Texas focused on serving families that care for a special needs child.

I learned about this incredible resource at an Autism Treatment Forum meeting where the group heard from speaker, Karen S. Duncan, MS, about her nonprofit organization, AWADAE (Adventures with Autism, Down Syndrome and Epilepsy). Ms. Duncan is a certified travel counselor who created AWADAE to help special needs families have the chance to travel together as a family. She arranges trips that pair therapists with families along with any other wraparound resources that a family might need to make their trips run smoothly. Currently, Ms. Duncan is focused on cruises and tours for these adventures.

Recently, I got a chance to sit down with Ms. Duncan for an interview, and I will be sharing more about this important nonprofit in future blogs.

 

TSA Cares program helps disabled travelers

Of the many horror stories that I see on social media about traveling with a disability, the ones that usually scare me the most relate to getting kicked off of an airplane or having a terrible time at security. So, to assist passengers with disabilities or special healthcare concerns, the TSA has created a program called TSA Cares that allows you to call in 48 hours prior to check-in and request assistance getting through security.

I called TSA Cares yesterday (1-855-787-2227) at their Kentucky-based offices and spoke with an incredibly helpful young man about how I could get through the TSA security lines with my son with the least amount of worry. He told me that at any time, you can request “going to the front of the line” with a person with a disability. Make this request to the TSA supervisor at the airport you are using. Ask if there is a Persons With Disability (PWD) line that you can utilize. At some airports, they will direct you to the TSA fast pass lane. TSA did not require this, but I also always travel with my son’s doctor’s diagnosis letter with me along with passports and IDs. Since autism is an invisible disability, I like to have all of my paperwork handy so that there is no confusion about the need for accommodations.

And if you are inclined to complain that people with autism should have to wait in line like everyone else, that’s like holding a grudge that those with physical disabilities get the best parking spaces. P–u–leez. Give me a break.

It’s really really hard to travel with autism and every effort should be made to be inclusive and helpful to those traveling with challenges. We all want to experience life, and travel is a part of life.

My next phone call is to the Vancouver Airport to see what kinds of accommodations are available for autism as we make our way for the first time through customs and immigration. Wish us luck.

And Travel Well.