Kind words of encouragement needed for tough decision...

[momejay]

As a single mom of 2 with autism I agree that you made the right decision. We visit Disney World several times a year. Our last trip was a disaster for my son. He loves being in Disney but, he is very impatient with me. (like it's my fault Space Mountain is on the other side on the park or the Pooh ride is closed) I bring help with me. I have at least one adult per child & one relief each.
It can't hurt to ask for help. I bring my son's 1:1 aide with us. I pay for his hotel & tickets. He usually brings a friend that works in the school so, I buy on get one free.
I would love to bring my twin girls (1 with autism) to Disney without my son, but I'd have no one to watch him at home. You are lucky to have accepting family members. Mine just don't understand that autism has nothing to do with parenting skills.

 

[sters]

Please rid yourself of any guilt you are feeling. Caretakers need a vacation, too. Your autistic child will also have a vacation with the grandparents. Enjoy!

 

[Daffy Duck]

LAB,

Just saw your message since I haven't had a chance to visit here for quite a while.

As the husband of someone who has either taught special ed (two years before our kids) or been an aide (the last dozen years) in the local school systems, I can only imagine how difficult it was to make your decision. But like most everyone else has said, "It's the tright one!" And, YOU DESERVE YOUR VACATION.

My wife had two new kids placed in her class this year. Both should have been placed in an autism class since her class goes out into the community once each week and the criteria to be in the class is an IQ of 70 or lower. You can only imagine the challenges she and the other aide and the teacher face trying to control the autistic kids. They have a total of five, altogether, between the ages of 5 and 8. When they go out into the community, two of them have to be holding the autistic kids so they don't break away, leaving just one to handle three kids that are Downs or have some other undiagnosed learning disability.

When these kids visit the local Disney store, that's their trip to WDW! And they enjoy it just as much and they probably get to go every other week!

Two other FYIs. Since our first visit in 1978, we must have gone about 20 times. We live outside the Washington, D.C., area and have used the autotrain for our travel the last fifteen years or so. It's a whole lot of fun for young kids, whether you have a room or TRY and sleep in the regular cars.

The other thing is that all three of our kids are adopted and have needed some sort of assistance from the school system. The oldest is in Hollywood and was in line to audition for the Last Comic Standing Show on NBC. She got seen in a clip on the Tonight Show last week! The second kid will finally graduate with a B.S. in computer Science in May and get married the following month. The third is getting a degree in paralegal studies and wants to be a lawyer! Two out of three ain't bad. LOL

You sound like you're doing a great job! You and the rest of your family should be proud of yourselves. It does get better, I think! I've gotten so I can only claim two of our kids on my income taxes, even though their ages range from 21 to 33.

THEY ALL STILL WANT TO GO TO WDW WHENEVER WE GO, however! I guess they are all still kids at heart!

Stan, a/k/a Daffy Duck

 

[s&k'smom]

batt01 you popped into my head last night. Chances of taking the whole family to WDW is fast fading as we had to buy a new truck and are now completely in debt. But I did decide that I would take my 2 year old for 3 days to give her a break from DS who has been diagnosed with PDD. She so desperately needs time that is just hers and I need time with just her. But yup I feel guilty but I know both my children need to have time that is just theres and this will give DS time to spend alone with dad and do "guy" stuff. Boy am I glad this thread is here.