Going on a vacation is always difficult with two kiddos on the spectrum. The changes in routine, environments, expectations and just everything…overloads them. Sleep is impossible for a couple nights. Behaviors escalate and tensions are generally…well, just not worth the journey for the most part. However, in this pandemic where we have been staring at each other in the same place for months and months, a change of scenery was thought to help. So, after deliberating the safety aspect and destination possibilities where we could be most safe, we landed on going to the lake.
The lake is a place of peace and tranquility for me, a sanctuary. Or, it was…before children. Now, I worry about every nick knack my grandmother has collected in her 90 years, the fact it is two stories with easy to open windows, doors that do not lock, etc. The passed times we have been have been nothing short of stressful and well, awful, really. It’s been a year though, and time to try again and fingers crossed (toes too) we went for it.
Predictably, the first two nights and days were, indeed, terrible. The kids were completely de-regulated, could not get to sleep, then when they did finally fall asleep, woke up in the middle of the night/wee hours of the morning! YAWN. Already, I was thinking…right, lets just call this what it is and head home. But my husband convinced me to give it another day, and to try something we have not tried in years…a hike!
So we got through the night with no wakings…early rising at 5:30am but at least a full night sleep. We had a somewhat ok morning, then got ready to go. The hike was more of a gentle walk on a paved path and yes, we struggled, Surprisingly, my older kiddo was the one who enjoyed it most and wanted to continue on, and my younger one noodled and sat on every rock, boulder and tree stump he could find on the path. He did not understand the point, could not see the end or reward coming. We botched it a bit with this lack of preparation…however, even still…no tears!!! We managed the behavior, my oldest wore his mask!!! We separated at one point so that my older kiddo could get to the rewarding reservoir and I headed back to the car where my youngest wanted to go. It does not sound successful, but believe me, this was a massive improvement to our previous experiences!!!
We all slept well that night. We thought we would try again with a more rewarding hike. With lots of boulders to climb, waterfalls to see and caves to explore. It worked!!! The kids BOTH enjoyed it!!!! Parents enjoyed it, and we turned around at just the right point before my youngest got too tired to make it back without noodling or protesting. It was a TOTAL SUCCESS!!! As in…we had FUN!!! Elated would be an understatement. We decided this was it…we were hooked.
Day 3 of hiking we decided on a gentle walk but in a different terrain. Unfortunately, this walk was a little too long, a little too much of the same thing and both kiddos had enough after pushing them as much as we dared. We succeeded on getting us all back with only one minor glitch with my youngest not wanting to walk up a hill, but eventually we did it and can say once again, we had a successful walk as a family!!!!
My kids are 9 1/2 and almost 7 now. For a typical family the relay above would seem appalling I am sure, but for those of us who walk this path through our world of Autism, it is amazing! It reinstalls hope and makes me so proud of how far they have come as little people getting bigger by the minute. Our milestones are different, at a different time, but they are milestones to be celebrated just the same.
Today, the trip behind us, happy memories made…we celebrate. And rest. Always leave a day at the end to recoup….so important.
autstanding 