Summer vacation and autism!

Summer Vacation and Autism!

     

     Obviously, it is now summer and I thought I would write while I was vacation.  I didn't write while I was on vacation, simply because I didn't want to take away valuable family time!  I love my family and it's hard to balance work, a personal life, and some quiet time with my husband so I relish the time we get while on vacation.  We still act like we just met (we have been married for two years), and I am beyond blessed to have this wonderful man in my life.  God is good.  I never thought I could be married to someone who just gets me, because I can be a complicated person.  One of my very good friends told me years ago when he met me that I was the "creative thinker" and he was the "black and white thinker".  I knew what he meant-- he got to the point and didn't embellish what he was thinking, but I liked to be creative when I was talking.  You would get this concept if you knew me, which I think most of you know me personally already.  I am just one of those people that think outside of the box and ask a lot of questions!

     Summer vacation has been wonderful!  I signed up Cole for a summer camp called H.E.R.O.E.'s back in March, as it is a wonderful camp for kids who have autism and learning/physical disabilities.  My family and I love to travel, so we had to cancel our camp plans for Cole.  A lot of my friends send their kids to camp and I even grew up going to camp, but for Cole, he needed a break from camp/school.  I love summer, simply because I need to rest and take a break.  I know if I had a difficult kid, he would be scheduled for everything in the Dallas/Fort Worth area until school starts, but I have an angel.  Cole loves his family, he loves staying home, but most of all he loves to travel.  Early in Cole's life, we were able to provide him the gift of travel which has expanded his life and how he sees it.  I thoroughly believe he learns so much more while we are taking road trips (or flying to New York), than attending camp.  This doesn't mean Cole does not have structure.  We have three chore charts in our house and if Cole doesn't do his chores around the house, he doesn't get to have an extra thirty minutes with his electronics.  We also make sure Cole looks at his calendar every day to see what he has planned.  Cole loves his friends and we are blessed to have some great ones!

     You probably are wondering where we travel in the summer and our main vacation spot is:  WALT DISNEY WORLD!  I didn't put this in the title, simply because I wanted to make sure you read this post :).  My husband fell in love with Walt Disney World when we took our first trip in 2011 and we have been going back every year.  We have stayed all over the Orlando/Kissimmee area for our vacation, but I think this was our best vacation EVER!  We researched the best area (closest to Disney), found the best hotel set-up for us, and booked our hotel in April.  We knew we were going to stay for two weeks, so we wanted an apartment or two bed-room suite that had a kitchen.  We have never taken a vacation without Cole, so it was important to us to have that adult time and our own rooms.  Cole LOVED having his own bedroom!  He called it his apartment and in his bedroom, he set it up like home.  We are beyond blessed to have such a creative child who knows what he wants.  He put his stuffed animals-- all thirty of them-- on the other bed in his room, and kept one with him in his bed.  The hotel staff couldn't have been friendlier and the room was sound-proof!

     The best advice I can give you as a mom who travels a lot, read reviews from Trip Advisor and other travel websites before your book your hotel.  Actual people write reviews about their stay and this has really helped me when booking a hotel.  We requested the fourth or fifth floor, simply because all of the reviews said the first and second floors were very noisy because of the bar and pool on the first floor.  The reviews have helped me a lot when looking for that "perfect hotel" for our vacations.  The other bit of information I can give you is be prepared in advance to go with the flow, which can be hard when you have a child with autism.  Disney World, much to my chagrin, changed their disability policy last October due to people abusing it.  You can still receive a disability pass at any guest services in the Park, but you have to get your pass signed and come back at your appointed ride time.  Cole did much better this time, simply because they also have the Fast Pass + option.  This option, Fast Pass Plus, is a God-send to parents like me.  This new feature lets you pick three rides at the Park you are going to for the day and it assigns you specific ride times.  We would plan our day accordingly when we received our Fast Pass times and it worked out for us, for the most part.  What you can't plan on is the weather in Florida!  Sometimes it rains for hours (which stinks if you have a water park planned for the day), but other times, it can just rain for ten minutes.  Make sure to give your child and family options when it rains.  We knew if it rained, we would head over to Downtown Disney and Disney Quest because it would be open.  Make sure to always have a back-up plan, simply because if you don't, expect a melt down.  We were very lucky on our vacation.  Cole didn't have one big meltdown, and I think it was because we planned in advance for it.  You can't think of everything, but if you plan in advance for a trip like Walt Disney World, you will be better equipped to handle the meltdowns.

     Did I mention I love summer?  I love being home and I love teaching during the summer!  I have two students that I love to teach during the summer, simply because they love music so much.  These kids bring me joy and I feel blessed to continue to inspire them!  I hope in the future to open a music school (totally dreaming here) that is dedicated to students who have learning disabilities, such as autism.  Music is what inspires my son.  Music inspires me to do great things with my life and to continue to educate our youth of tomorrow.  I may not be a great teacher, but I feel I inspire others to be their best.  I know if music doesn't get to you (any kind of music!), then you don't have a passion for it.  I get that.  However, you can't tell me when you hear that song on the radio that makes you cry, it inspires you do something better with your life.  Life can get crazy and hectic in our house, but if you take the time to stop, enjoy the moment, and realize life goes by so quickly, you will enjoy your life more.  Our vacations are wonderful, simply because of Cole.  Cole sang the ENTIRE WAY to Florida (think two days for ten hours each day).  He sings like an angel.  His new favorite song is "Over the Rainbow" and he sung this a lot while we were driving.  The version he is learning of this classic song, as made famous by Judy Garland, is sung by Hawaiian native (now deceased) is Israel "IZ".  Check out the original YouTube link here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DKWlrA24k.  The irony of our vacation is that when we were leaving, it rained.  Guess what showed up?  Not one, but two rainbows.  I believe God is speaking through my Cole.  Was this a God thing?  I think it was!  

     Our next vacation:  Galveston with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and my awesome nephew Dylan, and gorgeous niece Rylie!  This has become our go-to place every year since I was a baby and I thank my grandparents, Nanny and Granddaddy Compton, for taking us as children.  Those road trips to Galveston were the best because of the memories we made with Nanny and Granddaddy.  I reminisce about my Grandparents, simply because they were phenomenal people.  I was blessed God called them to adopt my mom at two weeks old.  They were the best Grandparents a girl could have.  Cole asks about them a lot, simply because he sees pictures of them and knows who they are.  Families can be messed up, simply because they don't receive the unconditional love they needed as a child.  I have been blessed by God to have had a wonderful family and now Cole has that gift:  an amazing and wonderful family who love him beyond words.  My husband can't join us in Galveston, but he always gives us his blessing.  We love you sweetheart and will miss you!  However, that being said, I can't WAIT to see my niece and nephew.  Galveston bound in ten days!!!!!!!!