Autism Win – An Amazing Experience for All

Let me tell you – I am still so awestruck and excited about how well our trip went last week! You know I was worried – I shared that last week – but I’m so happy to say that we had a wonderful – awesome – amazing time! Autism didn’t bother us at all! (Partly because we planned so well, but also because Mandy and I are always aware of what bothers them and what could go wrong! Have you seen the meme about autism families scanning the room better then FBI agents? Yep – that was us! 🙂 )

One of my biggest travel worries was finding a safe bathroom for Rob. Happily, we discovered the Pennsylvania turnpike has family bathrooms at every stop! There was one time on the way home that it was occupied and he really needed to go and took off for the men’s room. I waited as patiently as I could outside (seriously – how long can it possibly take?? ) and he was fine. He danced out with a grin on his face and wiping his hands on his pants.

The ocean was beautiful! We dropped everything in our hotel and went straight to the beach. I tried to warn Casey that the waves are stronger than she knows, but she ran right out in the water. The first wave made her stumble and the second knocked her over. She got a face/mouth full of salt water and was not happy. She ran back to the beach, gagging and trying to get the salty taste out of her mouth. After that, she was more careful about how far she walked into the water. She was happy standing and letting the waves flow around her legs.

Rob went in to his knees and stopped. As the waves splashed, he said “It’s wet, Grandpa Mack!” (Grandpa was at home – not with us! 🙂 ) He just stood and watched the water. Soon, he backed up and sat down. The longer he sat, the more relaxed he became. He was almost asleep at times and always had a small smile on his face. He didn’t say another word – just watched the water. Casey got hungry, but he refused to leave the beach for chicken! I knew then that the ocean was a huge hit! We enjoyed the beach for a long time after the girls went back to the room.

When it was bath time, we discovered the room only had a shower – and Casey doesn’t do showers. But, again, we were amazed that she jumped in without a problem. The room had a pull out couch in a little alcove under the air conditioner and Rob claimed that area as his. They both went right to sleep – another win!

Wednesday morning, we went to Sesame Place. Even with all the research Mandy and I had done, we were both a little nervous about how the day would do. We got special wrist bands so we could skip the lines at rides and rode a roller coaster. (I really do NOT like those things!) We checked the schedule and discovered we could go meet Elmo!

Rob had no interest in waiting for Elmo, so Mandy took Casey to meet him and Cookie Monster while I took Rob on a few rides.

I was on a ride when she met Cookie Monster, but Mandy told me how she lit up – ran up to him and got a hug. I did see her face when she turned the corner and there was Elmo! I took 15 pictures of her as her walked up to him wearing her Elmo shirt. I wish I could describe her face – complete, total and pure joy is the only way I can say it. Her smile was huge – her eyes were twinkling. She has seen Elmo in shows, but to get to hug him – meet him – say hi – it was like a dream come true to her. I had tears in my eyes watching her happiness. I wish every parent could experience a time like this with their child.

After lunch, Casey wanted to meet Big Bird, Bert and Ernie. Rob had no interest in that, so Mandy took him to a water playground while Casey and I got to see a show and meet her “friends.” She waited so patiently to meet each of them – and was dancing with excitement while waiting for Bert and Ernie. She couldn’t take her eyes off of them and ran right to them when it was her turn. (Another awesome thing about Sesame Place is that they have photographers to take pictures of your group throughout the park and you can purchase those pictures when you leave. But – at each “meeting” place, there is a staff person who will use your cell phone to take pictures, too!)

We changed into our bathing suits and found Mandy and Rob at the water play area. And here was the worst thing that happened on our trip. Rob was standing under a water spray and was finished on the water slides. Casey wanted to go down them, so I took her. I told her over and over when she got to the bottom to wait for me (I was about 10 seconds behind her). When I got down, she was gone. Just GONE. The place was packed and I panicked. I knew she wouldn’t leave the play area, but still.

I ran to Mandy and she started looking, too, but she needed to stay near Rob. She looked as much as she could while I ran around the water area. Finally, (and though it seemed like hours, it was really less than 3 or 4 minutes) I saw her at the top, in line for the slides again. I saw red. I went back to Mandy to let her know I found her and she went up to get her. At first, Casey said no when Mandy told her to come down, but she seemed to notice Mandy was as mad as I was and decided to come down.

Casey kept giggling because she was nervous that we were angry. We kept telling her she CANNOT leave like that – that she scared us. She finally seemed to understand, but I can still feel the panic we felt. They are adults and they need freedom – but not hundreds of miles from home, in water, with thousands of strangers. Nope, no way. Stay with us or we leave. It’s simple.

After the water, we found a cool, shady spot to watch the parade. Casey was still so excited and Rob was doing well (thanks to the water pouring on him for an hour!) but Mandy and I both knew they were going to be ready to leave after the parade. The excitement overload was coming. She enjoyed the parade and then went shopping for souvenirs with Mandy while Rob and I waited on a shady bench. He was about to overload from the heat and the excitement and had no desire to go into a crowded little store.

Casey was thrilled to discover she could buy Sesame Street socks at Sesame Place! And “da biggest Big Bird.” And then it was time to go back to the beach.

We sat on the the beach until almost dark that night. Casey and Rob both crashed quickly that night and slept even better than they had the first night away.

Thursday morning, when Rob got up, he said “Tomorrow’s Hopewell?” I said yes – and he jumped up, started putting his socks on and said “Let’s go!” But he was fine with going to the beach again before we left. When we got back to the room again, he started packing everything. When I came out of the shower, most of the luggage was already in the car. They were ready to come home.

We never heard Rob’s anxiety song. He only asked for Hopewell twice Wednesday morning before we went to the park. They both ate and slept well. They rode quietly in the car (they have always been easy in the car). They looked out the windows and just enjoyed the ride. (By the way – Rob was beyond thrilled with the wind turbines he saw in PA. He turned around in the seat and watched them as long as he could)

Last week was more than a wonderful vacation for us. It gave me hope that Rob can enjoy new places and that his anxiety won’t always be so hard for him. It reminded me again to never underestimate them. Autism is always with us, but we can still have a fun family time away. We may not go and go and go like some families, but we can do what’s best for us and have an amazing time. We adapt and plan, adjust and revise. Then we go and hope the for best.

And sometimes, like last week, it all works out and we have beautiful, relaxing memories of the ocean and pure, excited memories of Elmo and friends.