Last month my husband and I (along with the kids of course) began our Christmas vacation by driving from Florida (Tampa) to St. Louis (to see our family doctor) and then continued on to Colorado. Oh, an we made the drive back to Florida 17 days later. Of course when we decided we would make this terribly long drive I had no idea that I would be doing it just under 3 months pregnant and suffering from morning (noon, and night) sickness, but regardless, we made the plans and had to follow through.
So, you might ask yourself, how does a child on the spectrum deal with a 4 day, 1850 mile road trip…better than I thought, but still rougher than I’d like. Any child would have a hard time sitting in the car for that long of a time but adding a special diet and special needs to the combination and you have one mom who really wanted to make the last leg of our trip strapped to the roof of the car.
Packing…this was the most important part of the trip, I knew that I needed to plan for everything and anything. Jaxon is a pretty responsible child despite being on the spectrum, I can give him instructions and he will almost always follow them to a T. I made a small list of the most important things for Jaxon to have at his disposal in the car…
1. Snacks
2. Ginger (his stuffed gingerbread man)
3. Blanket (we always bring the weighted blanket when traveling far)
4. Drinks (mostly water, but 1 or 2 organic lemonade juice pouches)
5. Kleenex
6. Wipes
7. Nintendo DS and games
8. Ipad
9. Movies
10. Books from school (he brought home a ziplock of books to read)
11. Coloring books and crayons
12. Medicine and supplements (this was for me to have on hand to be able to give him)
13. Headphones
14. Sunglasses
Ok, now if this is the short list, I would hate to see what my long list would look like. Just remember, Jaxon was on a gluten free diet so his snacks had to include enoug nutrition to cover large amounts of time when we were unable to stop for a decent meal.
I am pleased to report that we made it home and back without any major melt downs or issues. The last day of our trip to Colorado was one day too long but he pushed through, luckily we only had to drive 5 hours that day. On our way back to Florida from home (Colorado) we traveled 1800 miles in TWO days instead of FOUR and that was very hard, but he was so happy to be home the second night and not have to get in the car the next day (so was I). I actually thought Jaxon would nap in the car from time to time during the trip but he never did.
So, you might ask yourself, how does a child on the spectrum deal with a 4 day, 1850 mile road trip…better than I thought, but still rougher than I’d like. Any child would have a hard time sitting in the car for that long of a time but adding a special diet and special needs to the combination and you have one mom who really wanted to make the last leg of our trip strapped to the roof of the car.
Packing…this was the most important part of the trip, I knew that I needed to plan for everything and anything. Jaxon is a pretty responsible child despite being on the spectrum, I can give him instructions and he will almost always follow them to a T. I made a small list of the most important things for Jaxon to have at his disposal in the car…
1. Snacks
2. Ginger (his stuffed gingerbread man)
3. Blanket (we always bring the weighted blanket when traveling far)
4. Drinks (mostly water, but 1 or 2 organic lemonade juice pouches)
5. Kleenex
6. Wipes
7. Nintendo DS and games
8. Ipad
9. Movies
10. Books from school (he brought home a ziplock of books to read)
11. Coloring books and crayons
12. Medicine and supplements (this was for me to have on hand to be able to give him)
13. Headphones
14. Sunglasses
Ok, now if this is the short list, I would hate to see what my long list would look like. Just remember, Jaxon was on a gluten free diet so his snacks had to include enoug nutrition to cover large amounts of time when we were unable to stop for a decent meal.
I am pleased to report that we made it home and back without any major melt downs or issues. The last day of our trip to Colorado was one day too long but he pushed through, luckily we only had to drive 5 hours that day. On our way back to Florida from home (Colorado) we traveled 1800 miles in TWO days instead of FOUR and that was very hard, but he was so happy to be home the second night and not have to get in the car the next day (so was I). I actually thought Jaxon would nap in the car from time to time during the trip but he never did.
The perfect senario, king size bed for the parents and a roll away for the kiddos right at the foot of the bed!
We always stay at a Marriott or Marriott Brand hotel because the rooms clean and large enough for a roll away, the beds are comfortable, and the staff is always so helpful. If you sign up for their rewards program you can earn free nights with Marriott.
Close up of Jaxon and Ginger.
