Therapists tell you to have no expectations when you let your autistic child experience new things - like vacation. They don't tell you how hard it is to do that.
Day 1 Williamsburg means Busch Gardens, Dad is an amusement park junkie. In the pre-Gracistoric period of our family, he would be there from open to close if at all possible. Well
with an autistic 4 year old that is afraid of rides, that is impossible. But he tries.
It was 106 degrees with the heat index and we stayed from ten to two in the afternoon.
Then we came back,after going back to the hotel for pool and dinner, around 6pm. We stayed till 9 ish. It was much cooler in the evening.
For all that Gracie did well, She is afraid of rides. After prematurely putting her on a few at Disney and almost ruining the vacation, we had decided to just let her observe and let us know when she wanted to do something. As the day went on she stayed in her stroller, which is her safe zone. She seemed content and didn't complain much at all, considering how hot it was. Then we went back to the hotel to the pool to give Grace some happy time since she loves to swim. Then dad decided to go back to the park . By that time I was ready to be done but we braved the heat while dad and sister went on the rides,
Our speech therapist commended me on taking Grace on family vacations to new places. Her comment made me wonder; do families with autistic kids leave them home when they go on vacations or possibly stay home because the child might not be able to deal with the changes? One case is not fair to the child with the disability and the other to the children without. So what should a parent do?
Make preparations, plan for everything and just go, There are times that will be difficult but it will benefit the whole family in the end. Hopefully my preparations and experiences will help to make your experience a little easier,
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