SchaferAutismReport: Taking The Kids: Some Families Must Pack Extra Patience

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Subject: Taking The Kids: Some Families Must Pack Extra Patience

Monday, July 28, 2008

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Vol. 12 No. 110p

In This Issue:

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CARE

Taking The Kids: Some Families Must Pack Extra Patience

•

•

TREATMENT

Devices Help Bring Voices To Life

Swimming With Dolphins May Not Have Any Health Benefit

•

•

•

PEOPLE

Washington Autistic Boy Found After Jumping From Car, Fleeing

Family Members Find Missing Autistic Teen

Pasadena Police Search For Missing Boy

•

ADVOCACY

Youth Advocate Lashes IQ-Based Denial of Care

•

•

•

PUBLIC HEALTH

Fewer Florida Parents Give School Vaccines A Shot

MEDIA

SF Protestors Call For Savage To Be Fired

Savage Has Syndicator’s Support

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CARE

Taking The Kids:

Some Families Must Pack Extra Patience

By Eileen Ogintz. tinyurl.com/6klz8y

Wherever 6-year-old Lennon Gunn goes - even

to Germany to visit his dad - he's got his wooden-handled spatula in hand.

His mom doesn't mind a bit and even carries

spares. " It starts the dialogue, " says Gunn, who tells

everyone she meets who might otherwise be put off by Lennon's odd behavior

that he is autistic and his spatula helps him feel more comfortable on

unfamiliar turf. " I'm not afraid to explain, " says Gunn, who

works with parents of newly diagnosed children at the Village of Hope

Center for Autism in San , Texas.

We all know traveling with kids, especially

young ones, is never easy. They don't want to let go of their

" lovey " to put it on the security belt at an airport. They get

impatient in long lines, hate to sit still on airplanes and may cry and

spill their drinks. And the passengers, restaurant patrons or hotel guests

in the vicinity may not be sympathetic to the beleaguered parent's plight.

That situation is only exacerbated for

children who suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorder, a complex developmental

disability that affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with

others.

These kids, who look perfectly normal, often

are very anxious and find travel - the noise, the crowds, the lines, the

disruption of their routine - particularly difficult, explains Dr. Lynda Geller,

a psychologist and nationally known autism expert at the NYU Child Study

Center. They may have a tantrum or make strange noises. The smallest thing

might set them off. These kids, she adds, don't have the social skills to

realize they are disturbing anyone else.

" For these families, the judgment of

others can make a very difficult situation far worse, " Geller says.

" They have no idea what that parent is going through. " They just

see a bratty child and inept parent, other parents who have autistic kids

agree.

And no matter how well a parent prepares

there can be a meltdown in a public place. That's what happened recently to

North Carolina mom Janice Farrell, who ultimately was asked to get off an

American Eagle flight with her 2-year-old autistic son Jarett. " If

they would have been a little more understanding, I think that none of this

would have been a problem, " she told reporters.

American Airlines spokesman Tim said

the bigger issue - in addition to the child's uncontrollable screaming -

was that he wasn't buckled in his seat belt - an FAA requirement for

takeoff. " Every effort was made to help the passenger comply with

safety regulations, " he said. " It was a last resort measure to

deplane the two passengers. "

added that it is possible for any

passenger to note special needs in their customer record. Whatever airline

you are flying and whatever special needs your family might have, that

certainly is a good idea.

Delta Airlines, in fact, is going a step

further, developing special travel recommendations for families traveling

with someone with developmental disabilities. The guidelines will soon be

available on Delta's Web site www.delta.com .

Autism is now the fastest-growing

developmental disability, diagnosed in 1 in 150 births and affecting more

than a million Americans, according to the Autism Society of America.

Bell, executive vice president at the

advocacy organization Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org), and parent of

an autistic teen, says some families don't go anywhere, not even out to

dinner while others, like his family, opt " not to let autism rule our

lives. " Bell adds that his family of five has successfully navigated

national parks, cross-country car trips, theme parks, ski resorts and

Hawaii.

" It takes extra time and

practice, " he says, and isn't often relaxing, but he encourages

parents to try - and the rest of us to be more empathetic.

The good news is that there are more options

for these families than ever before. The Autism Society of America, in

fact, just brought 2,000 people to Orlando because Walt Disney World is so

accommodating with front-of-the-line passes for autistic children who find

it so difficult to wait. SeaWorld and Busch Gardens have similar programs.

Resorts such as Club Med and cruise lines,

including Norwegian, Carnival and Disney, also try to be more inclusive in

their organized activities, though that doesn't always work. At the same

time, Adaptive Sports Centers are offering special camps and programming

that enables these kids and their parents to get out and try activities -

even whitewater rafting - that would be impossible otherwise.

The Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte,

Colo., (www.adaptivesports.org) is having a special High Adventure Weekend

for families with children with autism, while the National Ability Center

in Park City, Utah (www.DiscoverNAC.org) offers several weeklong day camps

this summer. This allows autistic children to have a special program, the

families to have some time with their other children and the entire family

to share vacation time together, said Ability Center spokesman Jensen.

As for Gunn, she and her twins just

got back from Oregon and are looking forward to a Disney Cruise at

Christmas. " Every time I take my child someplace, " she says,

" We all win. "

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