I met Glenda at BlogWorld last year and found her life story to be an inspiration. Glenda Watson Hyatt avidly writes about disability-related issues. In her autobiography I’ll Do It Myself , she intimately shares her life living with cerebral palsy to show others that cerebral palsy is not a death sentence, but rather a life sentence. She blogs at Do It Myself Blog  and Disaboom. She does all this by typing with only left thumb. In this post, she writes about traveling with an autistic child and how it can be a balancing act. How do you balance the desire and need for a family vacation with introducing your child to new experiences while not overwhelming him or disturbing others? This is the first in a two part series.

Peter Bell, the executive vice president at the advocacy organization Autism Speaks and the parent of an autistic teen, says, “some families don’t go anywhere, not even out to dinner, for fear of a situation like what happened to the [deplaned passengers] Farrells — while others, my own family included, opt not to let autism rule our lives.” The Bell family of five has successfully navigated national parks, cross-country car trips, theme parks, ski resorts (where many offer terrific adaptive programs) and Hawaii.  Bell encourages parents to try, even though it may not be relaxing and takes extra time and practice, and he urges fellow travelers to be more empathetic.

More and more holiday destinations are accommodating children with autism and other disabilities. Walt Disney World provides front-of-the-line passes for autistic children who find it very difficult to wait in line ups. Other theme parks, such as SeaWorld  and Busch Gardens  have similar programs. Cruise lines and resorts also attempt to be more inclusive in their organized activities. The Adaptive Sports Center  and similar sport centers offer camps and programming that children and parents can try together as a family.

Planning, preparation and practice are key when traveling with a child with autism. In the end, knowing and understanding your child’s specific needs is critical. For some children, traveling by unfamiliar means to unfamiliar lands may be too overwhelming and upsetting. Start small by exploring your neighborhood and local familiar areas. Allow your child’s reactions to guide you how far you travel comfortably.
Tips to consider:

–Research your holiday options and select an environment your child can handle.
–When traveling by air, inform the airline of your child’s special needs so that staff can assist in making the experience as comfortable and stress-free as possible. (Delta Airlines, in conjunction with Atlanta’s Marcus Institute for Development and Learning, is currently preparing recommendations for families traveling with someone with developmental disabilities. The guidelines will soon be available on Delta’s website (www.delta.com). Perhaps other airlines will then follow Delta’s lead.)
–Also inform the hotel, resort or cruise line of your child’s specific needs and ask what special accommodations are available. Request a fridge or kitchenette if eating some meals in the room may provide a calming break. Take your child’s own sheets if that may make him more comfortable.
–Traveling during low seasons on a cruise or at a resort like Club Med means fewer guests and staff will be more available to assist you.
–Travel by car if you think flying will be too difficult.
–Be forthright explaining the situation to those you meet. (The Autism Society of America has wallet-sized cards explaining autism that can be handed to people, including airport security and airline staff.)
–Prepare your child by developing stories complete with pictures that explain exactly what you will be doing and where you are going.
–Pack puzzle books, hand-held electronic toys and audio books plus a supply of familiar juice boxes and snacks in a knapsack for your child.

Whatever happens, stay calm.
Have a happy and well-deserved vacation!

Additional Resources:

• What is Autism?
• Autism Society of America
• This is Autism. In Case of Emergency, Your Seat Cushion… (a must read for the fellow traveler before your next trip!)
• US Department of Transportation: Air Accessibility 
• Autism & Airport Travel Safety Tips
• Air Travel with an Autistic Child (a mother shares how she prepared her son for air flights) -
• How To Plan a Vacation with Your Autistic Loved One
• How to Take an Autistic Child to Disneyland

With the holidays approaching, our family has several long car trips ahead of us. Having made these trips before throughout my children’s childhood, I offer these suggestions to help manage car trips this holiday season.

When calculating the time it will take to get there, factor in an additional 25%. For example, from Palo Alto to Santa Barbara, according to Google Maps, is supposed to take about 5 hours – when we travel with our kids, it always takes 6.5 hours. Our trip to San Diego is supposed to take 7.5 hours, I am planning on 10. Why the extra time? Kids, especially toddlers who cannot self-entertain, will need to stop fairly often to run around. And even those who can read or do crafts by themselves, still need to get out of car seats and have a stretch.

Entertainment is probably where I spend the majority of my trip planning. Fortunately, my son is quite happy doing game books, and my daughter is good with projects. However, there was a time when both were too small to participate in either. During that time, we would often try to structure our trips around their nap schedules. For example, on a trip to Santa Barbara, we would leave at 9am, drive for 3 hours and stop in Paso Robles for lunch. There is a great park there, and after our picnic lunch, we would let the kids play on the playground for 30 minutes or so. By then, it was close to nap time, and if we were lucky, they would drift off, exhausted by their playground romp.

Neither of my kids nap anymore, so we need to be more strategic about our entertainment plans. I usually buy a couple new books for my son, and hit the $1 bin at Michaels for little craft projects to keep my daughter happy. We also will visit the library together and pick out some Books on Tape. Both can tolerate longer books now, and on our last car trip, we “read” the first Harry Potter. When they were younger, I would stick with the 30 minute books (ideally with a real book to read-along with) and take 3 or 4 of those along. I also pack my iPod in case one kid wants to listen to music instead.

When I was young, my mom had a box that would come out only for car trips, and I have those boxes for my children as well. They have crayons, paper, little toys, goofy things really, but they are comforting and remembered from trip to trip. I also bring storage clipboards, with space to hold more crayons and paper, which serve as a hard surface to write on. For my daughter, I will bring along tape, glue and scissors for any creations she wants to make. For my son, I will make sure to have a map of where we are going, pencils and a pencil sharpener. We also have a couple silly car games we like to play including the License Plate Game and I Spy. Other suggestions are offered here, here and here.

While packing suitcases, I put together our snack bag, with special snacks for car rides, including pretzels, nuts, fruit and chips (and chocolate for the driver!). I also pack our traveling water bottles, filled with water. These are convenient to fill at rest stops. Another bag will have car trip supplies, including baby wipes (you are never to old for these!), a towel, plastic bags, first aid kit and a bucket. That’s right, my daughter usually gets car sick, so we travel prepared!

Once in the car, we try to drive for at least two hours before stopping. Based on when we will be leaving, we try to anticipate areas of heavy traffic and try to avoid that with a cleverly scheduled stop. And always when we travel by car, we must visit an In-N-Out burger, a tradition we started 3 years ago and something the kids look forward too each trip. Fortunately, In-N-Out has a great map that we keep in the car with all the locations!

How do you manage long car trips with your kids? What has worked well for you? Share them here, I have to return trip to consider!

Related Posts:
Surviving Your Thanksgiving Family Flight
Kango’s Picks: Top 5 blog posts and sites about car games for kids
7 Tips to Entertain Your Kids on a Long Flight