Special Needs Friendly Vacations

Cinderella's Castle, Disneyworld

As any parent of a special needs child knows, taking a vacation can be a recipe for disaster. The two issues that most impact our ability to enjoy our time out and about as a family are ADHD and Sensory Integration Disorder. The best way I can explain our son's sensory issue to others is this:

Imagine that you are driving with the windows down and the music blaring at just the right level to sing along above the sound of the wind. You park in front of your house and go inside for the night. Then the next day you get into your car turning the key in the ignition and that music now seems extremely loud. The sound level hasn't changed and your ears have not changed, it's your perception that has changed. People with sensory issues don't have an impairment with their senses, it's how the brain perceives the input.

So why on earth would we take a child like this to Disney World? This past year was actually our third visit, but the first time we stayed at Disney's Caribbean Beach resort. It worked well for us since we were able to explore the parks each day based on how crowded the park was, then we could return to the park again in the evening or just relax by one of the seven resort pools.

One benefit we took advantage of was a "handicap pass." We took our son's medical records to guest services at the first park of our stay and were issued a pass that allowed us to skip ahead of the long lines for our entire stay. Instead of waiting the 1 to 2 hours, we were able to enter by way of the FastPass or handicap gate—cutting our wait time to just minutes in most cases. This pass works at all the theme parks, however it is not accepted at the waterparks.

After a friend had explained this benefit I checked other parks and found that Paramount's Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens both offer this type of pass. So, if you are planning a vacation to a theme park and have a family member with health issues, you might want to contact the theme park in advance to see if they have a program similiar to these. One of the parks I contacted even offered the handicap ticket and one caregiver's ticket at half price. I think it's wonderful that parks are recognizing that not all "handicaps" are visible at first glance.

The Snow Came Down

I have never been one that liked actually being in the snow. Watching it fall—making a pristine covering that takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary is more to my taste. I know this can be rough on my son who would really like a mom who will roll around in the snow until her toes freeze off. The dampness that settles into my joints and bones can leave me in such pain that I would spend the entire night in tears due to the pain.

I was born with a dislocated hip, which was not diagnosed until I was two years old and had troubles walking. Our landlord Mr. Ricker "just happened" to be a Shriner and he was the one who recognized what the doctors had failed to see. The interesting thing is J.D. Ricker was not in the medical field, he owned a plumbing and heating company!

Mr. Ricker took us to another Shriner who got us an appointment at the Greenville, South Carolina, location. At the time we lived in Greeneville, Tennessee, so this was quite a trek. The doctors there agreed with the diagnoses and I was admitted into Shriners Hospital.

For those of you that only know the Shriners as the men in the funny hats and little cars in parades, they mean so much more to me and the more than 835,000 children they have helped free of charge since 1922 (I was not their first patient contrary to popular opinion.)

For two years I spent time in surgery, body casts, and leg braces. I have few memories of this time, however, I do have vivid memories of traveling up to the Philadelphia Shriners hospital when I was older for check-ups and a two-week hospital stay due to the likelihood of more surgery. They often had movies, and clowns that came in to entertain us.

I remember this not as a place of fear but as a place of caring people. I have to admit several nighttime raids with a couple of nurses into the kitchen to take goodies back into the ward. I'm sure looking back they had the full permission of the kitchen, but it was quite an adventure for a fourth grader.

As Christians, of course, these "just so happens" really don't just happen. We are held in God's tender loving care and He brings people into our lives who we need or who need us. Shriners has now expanded into 22 hospitals and burn centers. If you know a child that may need medical attention in the area of orthopaedic conditions, burn injuries, spinal cord rehabilitation or cleft lip and palate repair, I would recommend that they go to www.shriners.com. You could also go to their site to make a donation.

Looking at me you would never know that I had such huge issues or that doctors didn't hold out much hope that I would walk normally. As Ephesians 3:20 says "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."