An autism travel agency!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-16-2003
An autism travel agency!
1
Mon, 10-09-2006 - 5:19pm

This is a new organization. Sounds cool!

http://www.travelwithautism.com/

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Tue, 10-10-2006 - 8:59am

This does sound interesting. I wanted to say that last summer when were on vacation in Crested Butte, CO, also a family-oriented ski town, I wandered into an Adaptive Sports Center there. I had stopped in to ask questions about their ski programs for special needs kids, thinking wishfully to the future, and was delighted to find they had a whole menu of summer activities and were used to ASD kids. I had thought they might just help folks with physical disabilities, but they do so much more.

To make a long story shorter, they work with the whole family to provide a customized experience. We took a pontoon boat ride through a Mesa with a guide who was terrific. It was like having your personal OT/babysitter along, plus he was a water sports dude (way cool)certified in everything, with OT/PT training. Eric loved him and DH and I actually had FUN! If we had done it with an outdoor outfitters group, I would have spent the whole time worrying about Eric, DH and I would have "traded off" watching Eric and if he had a meltdown, there would have been nowhere to go. This was private, just us. They even provided GFCF food! Plus it was not that expensive, I think it was about $200 for the whole day.

They do all kinds of things, biking, canoe rides, fishing, white water rafting. They make accommodations. For example, we didn't do this, but for white water rafting, if you think your child might like it but have trouble with the roaring sound, they have special helmets that include a sound system. You can hear the guide, but the water sound is muffled. Stuff like that.

So my point is, I guess, before you go on vacation, see if there are adaptive sports places at your destination. We are definitely planning to use the group we discovered again. This new group on Steamboat sounds similar.

Also, the place in Crested Butte is planning sometime in the future, date to be determined an ASD family retreat weekend. They are going to find a a group of experts and offer workshops and everything from social skills to nutrition and plus have some outdoor fun. I am on the mailing list and if they get it together, I'll share.

Anyway, if you have the $$ to vacation after paying for therapy etc., adaptive sports agencies rock, IMHO!

Katherine