We are visiting my FIL ( Father-In-Law) before Christmas. Afterwards, we will spend a few days at Knott’s Berry Farm. It’s been over a year since we have been at Knott’s. Baby Hulk is excited. He loves Knott’s. Even though he gets overstimulated, we learn to manage his burnout well enough. I am wondering how much he has changed from our last visit.
The older he gets, the more he seems to be managing his melt/shut downs more. It’s very helpful, and he sets a good example for Little Princess ( Our 2 yr old NT daughter) for her to manage her behavior, and feelings. Still, I have to prepare for this trip. Preparing for this trip is very similar to preparing for a trip for NT children. Though there are some slight differences pertaining to my ASD son.
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Stock Up On Medication
It’s important for me to have his familiar medication with me. Baby Hulk doesn’t take medication pertaining to his ASD. Medication such as liquid Gravol ( for his car sickness), children’s tylenol, and melatonin ( I don’t give this often). Baby Hulk gets car sickness. It doesn’t seem as extreme as it was before, but I still let him take Gravol before our road trips.
Decide On An Appropriate Wardrobe
Is your ASD child particular about clothes? Mine is. I mentioned some posts before about how he loves wearing hoodies. He would wear them in the summer if I let him. So I make sure to pack him his favorite ones. I also started to notice he likes his shirts looser than I like. I pack his looser fit t-shirts. I make sure to have a steady supply of bottoms he likes as well (joggers/drawstring/elastic pants).
Test Airtags & Place On Clothing
Baby Hulk doesn’t have elopement issues with us. At school, it’s a different story. I still like to make sure his air tag work. Crowds can cause a melt down. From our day to day activities we generally don’t need an airtag, but with theme parks & public spaces with lots of areas to hide/get lost we make sure he wears it. My biggest fear is him losing us. Having him experience shut downs is a huge anxiety for me. Shut downs for him can look like lost of speech, echolalia of words that can be alarming, & retracting toward less crowded spaces.
Pack Appropriate Stroller
I currently have two strollers, Coast Rider Stroller I posted/reviewed about, and A Tomato stroller. The tomato stroller is something we definitely bring. While Baby Hulk doesn’t need this ( it’s his and his sister’s stroller) for our day to day activities, and even home town events, for a theme park he does need it. Those hours, and hours of walking can make him have a melt down/shut down. We notice he does so much better having his own designated space when he needs to relax. For theme parks it’s usually Little Princess using the Tomato stroller, but we will let the kids switch when he needs to. For the most part he understands sometimes his little sister needs it more than him.
Pack Familiar Foods
I always pack snacks & food he will eat. One of his sensory issue is food. Trying foods outside of his food list ALWAYS causes a melt down. Sometimes we are lucky when he tries something different ,but for the most part we stick to his familiar/favorite foods. His diet seems very typical for an American child. I do pack things that’s easy to prepare which is his favorite oatmeal, cereal bars, & other snacks just in case he turns down all food.
Pack His Own Toy Sensory Bag
His bag will have a couple alphabet sets, his Ipad, & some building sets ( legos, waffle blocks, etc). While he is on his Ipad a lot, he also likes to have his alphabet sets on hand. I read somewhere that young autistic children can use toys as part of their stimming profile. I do believe that. A big chunk of his day is playing with his alphabet toys, alphabet apps, and even building shapes of the alphabet.
Set The Date On The Calendar & Remind Them It’s Coming
You know how some parents like to surprise their children on the day of a special trip? Yeh, no. That can’t work for Baby Hulk. He has a routine at home he’s used to. While deviating his routine to something else he’s fond of might seem harmless, he will shut down easily. He seems to like to mentally prepare himself.
If a new plan pops up, it’s better to let him do some of the things he usually does. Basically his mind set will be A-B-C. Not A-D-B-C. Throwing his expected day or week for a loop can be draining (uggghhhh Mondays). He needs to mentally prepare himself. This is completely different from me. I’ve always been a go with the flow child to adult.
These tips work for my NT toddler daughter as well. She gets her own toy bag, air tags, medicine, & snacks. Our children love visiting their grandpa. Even if the drive is horrendous, the thought of going to his house is worth it for them. My FIL has a playroom filled with his children’s old toys. I don’t have a room dedicated to my children’s toys so for them to have their dedicated actual room instead of space feels probably more of a kid vibe for them.
If you are a parent of an ASD, or ND child what kind of things do you do to prepare for trips? My next upcoming posts will be about our experience at Knott’s. Baby Hulk has change so much from therapies in school, and just him learning to manage his feelings/behavior better.
