BamaTanya Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 I'm sure this has been discussed before, so someone direct me to any related threads. We haven't had a vacation in forever. Seriously. It's been 11 years since we traveled any distance to do something fun. Last year, before Mom died, dh and I bought Gameboys for each of the dc and actually drove 3 hours to Mom's family reunion. The children were manageable for almost 2 hours. :glare: We stayed in a hotel -- had to get two rooms, so dh stayed with the boys in one room and I stayed with the girls in another. Not fun. I'm watching my dc grow up and trying to figure out if they'll have any great memories . . . (Having 2 hyperactive dc who often act inappropriately has colored the memories at home -- besides limiting our experiences.) Dh wants us to go on a far away vacation to visit relatives in another area of the country. I get excited about it one minute and scared the next. What are our options? 1. Drive 28 hours. Pay for all that gas and at least one night in a hotel on the way and on the way back - and with 7, that would mean two hotel rooms. Deal with hyper, loud dc for all those hours. Deal with traffic (makes me nervous) while children could be whining or fighting. Of course, then we would miss the pretty scenery along the way . . . 2. Fly. And then rent something big enough to haul us all around for a week or so. The dc would probably be nervous on a plane, but the transportation time would only be 6 hours or so. Does anyone have experience taking ASD dc on vacations? We can stay with relatives once we arrive, and I pray they'll still love us when we leave. :tongue_smilie: They've invited us for years and say they understand . . . Are there better options? Like, could we rent an RV or something to give the kids more ROOM on the road and to minimize the transitions to different places? Would that be crazy expensive? Especially with gas prices? I WANT to visit my relatives. I haven't been since we married. I WANT to show my dh how pretty their region is and I'd like for him to meet all the people I grew up loving so . . . Now that Mom has died, it's made me think we shouldn't put off plans until everything is perfect. I know any of the options will be expensive, but I've no idea how MUCH more or less each would be. Help, please! How do you get from Point A to Point B with a lot of dc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 They have a DS with Asperger's who is very resistant to change. They bought (but you could rent) an RV. The only vacations they take are driving vacations. They do this so he has a constant in his life during the trip - the RV. I know they went from Houston to California, and that's a long trip. The RV give their son the stability he needs. I bet it's also nice to have the room during a long trip. I hope you're able to figure something out. I have a son with Asperger's, and while we are able to travel, he spends the first day or two saying, "I want to go home" over and over. Then he's pretty much okay. We are, however, very limited in what we can do with other people because of DS's inappropriate behavior. It's hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleB Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 I only have four dc and one who has pretty unique needs. Much like Rhonda's child, he spends a lot of time saying he wants to go home, wants to be back where everything is "the same", and while he eventually will come to enjoy where we are, he isn't truly relaxed until we get home again. If I were you and could afford to fly, I would. You can get some kind of anxiety meds or something for the flight for the kids who would need it the most, and you'd be there in 6 hours vs. 28 of driving. Once you got there, could you stay in the same place for the duration? Could you set up some consistency while there? I know that's hard to do on vacation. I hope you can figure it out and go! You're right... life is too short to wait. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTanya Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 in case others care to chime in ... tia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I have two children on the autism spectrum. My 14yo is more along the lines of Asperger's and my 6yo, who is more along the lines of 'traditional autism'. I can tell you this ... no amount of money or anticipation of joy or explanation about how it makes the trip shorter ... could get my ASD children on an airplane!!! They like to watch them from the sky, but they don't even like to visit airports! Both of them are sound-sensitive and there's no way on earth I'd take either of them on a vacation by plane! (Ever seen "Rainman"? That's my 14yo at the airport!) I would opt for the long trip and make it an adventure!! Plan some short little stops along the way (playgrounds, parks, toy stores, fast food restaurants, ice cream shops, etc.) An RV is an awesome idea!!! My children would LOVE that!! And be sure to take along the handheld videogames! My 14yo loves to take his on car trips. My 6yo doesn't play videogames, but we have a DVD player in the car and she watches movies --- so that is another suggestion!! Movies are great distractions! Both of my ASD children love to sleep in hotel rooms -- but they didn't when they were younger, especially my 6yo. She could only sleep in her own room. Now that she's older, she loves it -- and try to find a hotel with an indoor pool! Both of my ASD children love to swim! I hope this helps!!! Btw...we're leaving today for a week-long vacation in Myrtle Beach! So I'll be following my own advice! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 (edited) My son with autism, we just throw him in the car with everyone else and drive off. For us, audiobooks of LOTR and all the Harry Potters make for a smooth trip. The only drawback to traveling with a Joe is having to stop at or near a McDonalds for at least one meal a day - his diet is so limited and McD. fries about all he will eat (he does get a big protein powder milk drink at night - I threaten NO TV to force him to drink it. So - I have to pack protein powder, too.) We have gone into nice restaurants or alternative fast food joints with Joe and his big McD bag o' fries with no problem so far.... It can be done - you just have to think ahead. Our Joe needs a dvd or similar two-hour tv time daily - plus he is hypotonic so can not walk all over a museum or city w/o a rest (or a wheelchair if we can borrow one!). We did fly to California this June - Joe of course caused the only blip in the trip as he had an action figure in his pocket that set off the alarm at security - he is almost 6 ft tall and did not understand the security guard who was telling him to STOP. I was right behind Joe, though and luckily the guard listened as I called over to her that Joe had autism. I had Joe take out the toy and toss it to me to toss to Dad to put on the conveyor belt with shoes, etc. But it could have turned bad fast - Joe does not LOOK "special", although if you try to talk to him you can pick up on it pretty quick. Edited October 6, 2008 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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