We are home! We had a really good vacation and, like most people - we needed a vacation from the vacation. That is why we plan our vacations so we will get home sometime on Friday of our week off. That way, we have Friday night and all weekend to settle back into the "home" routine. So, here I begin a recap of our trip to the "happiest place on earth" during the midst of change for those who are in need of the GAC (Guest Assistance Card) in order to help their kiddos enjoy the "happiest place on earth".
I am the type of person that I have to plan in order to be ready for a vacation. In other words, I have a routine for the week before the vacation, as well as a general plan for the vacation. As anyone familiar with autism can attest, if you don't have some type of plan, the kiddos will remind you really quickly of why you need one.
This time I was really behind in getting things done. The night before we were ready to head out to the "happiest place on earth", I was ready to pull my hair out. However, the boys were very "excited" - even though no one mentioned the "D" word yet, they knew... the minute the luggage came out... they knew just what that meant. So for the next few hours amidst our "regular routine", we tried to get things finalized to roll out early the next morning. By 9:30 p.m. the boys were finally tired enough to go to sleep - we were too, but we still had to finish the last minute packing.
Packing for kiddos on the spectrum is, well, a challenge. Many kiddos have certain things, toys or items that they want available to them virtually all the time. For parents of kiddos with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) it can be difficult to stay in touch with what comforts your child at any particular point. Most of them have certain "things" that can calm them down, some will keep the same "comfort" item for years, but not always. If our boys have a meltdown or episode, we know that the weighted / compression vest will help them to "regulate". We know that a car with wheels that Daniel can spin around between his fingers will help to put him in "his happy" place. Anthony currently likes his iPod. However, not just "any car" will appease Daniel, and don't try to give Anthony Daniel's iPod. Like having a teenager, you have to know "what's in" that day.
We got to Disneyland a little before noon on Sunday, got settled into our hotel room, then headed to Disneyland, or rather Disneyland's City Hall for the GAS (Guest Assistance Pass), knowing they would be changing the system on Wednesday, we wanted to try to get as many "rides in" for the boys as possible... Just in case. Because we have 2 boys with autism, we were talked into getting 2 passes for 2 people each. DON'T EVER DO THIS! Put as many people in your party on each pass as you can. They were starting to "slowly" institute "new" rules beginning Sunday, not the following Wednesday. We ended up being told that they could "only put one group / one pass" on the ride each time it started. If we had not been told by a previous cast member that we could all ride together, the boys would've exploded when one had to wait for yet another cycle before they could ride.
From a mother's heart - with the first day over, the second day in question, we went back to the hotel room to start our evening routine.
To Be Continued...
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