It's Not a Family Vacation Until Someone Goes to Urgent Care

We have a saying in our family, "It's not a Family Vacation, until someone goes to Urgent Care."

With three boys, I'm sure lots of Moms can relate. While we haven't had any broken bones, we've had our share of scrapes and bruises. And we've been oh so lucky enough to have some of these happen while on vacation.

Waiting to be called at Urgent Care while on vacation in Florida

Being in the pool 24/7 on vacation has caused more than one ear infection. On one particular trip, we were fortunate enough to score a DOUBLE ear infection the day before we were to fly home, making the flight a joy.

But our best vacation injury happened at Walt Disney World.

Being checked out by an EMT at Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness Resort

We decided to call it a day after a tiring day at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Some "down time" was needed, having pushed the kids to their limits. We decided on going back to our resort, and exploring the activities on site, and just relaxing.

Our resort, Disney's Fort Wilderness, has horse-drawn carriage rides, and that seemed like heaven after a day on our feet. We hired the carriage, but was asked to wait 25 minutes until the next one was available.

No problem. The kids were running around, looking for those little lizards that you see all over Florida. The lizards were darting in and out of the bushes and the kids were counting, seeing how many they could find.

That's when my littlest ran his hands along the log fence and got the largest, longest, deepest sliver I've ever seen. I think guests within a 5-mile radius heard his screams; it shattered car windows. O.k. maybe not, but it certain drew the attention of everyone around us.

The son with the sliver has Sensory Processing Disorder, and was also very young at the time. I knew he would have trouble being poked and prodded, but we had to try and get the sliver out. I asked a Cast Member for a First Aid kit, thinking perhaps they had tweezers in them. But nope. No tweezers. I'd even try some tape, to try and McGuyver the situation, sticking the tape to the sliver and pulling it out that way. No tape either.

They did call us an ambulance, though. FOR A SLIVER.

During all of this, the horse-drawn carriage begins to circle around. We've paid for the ride, and my other two sons are anxious to go. My oldest son has anxiety-issues and starts repeating "The carriage is coming back! We're going to miss it!" over and over again. Like a whole "Five minutes to Wapner" situation.

My husband's eyes meet mine, as he's holding our screaming boy. The evening has turned into an absurd series of events. We know at some point in the future, we WILL laugh about all of this, but in the moment, no one is laughing. He nods, and takes our youngest boy with the sliver to meet up with the ambulance. I take the other two boys and hop on the carriage. As we ride away, I snap the photo above of him holding out littlest while the EMT checking him out.

And did the ambulance have a pair of tweezers? NO. But you better bet that I carry some in our Vacation First Aid kit now!

Now whenever we head out on a Family Vacation, we google the 3 nearest Urgent Care locations, just so we are prepared. You never know what will happen!

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Nicole Thibault is the owner of Magical Storybook Travels, a travel agency that specializes in Family Travel and Travel for Families with Special Needs. She's also the owner of Spectrum Travel Social Story Videos, a production company that creates travel social story videos for children with Autism, anxiety, and other Special Needs.

Creating a SPD Travel Toolkit

Traveling with any child can be a daunting experience, but traveling with a child that has Sensory Processing Disorder or Autism can be especially difficult. Children with Sensory Processing issues can be oversensitive to sights, sounds, textures, flavors, smells and other sensory input. While parents can regulate these in their homes and daily lives, the sights, sounds and smells while traveling can be an assault on someone with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).

In our family's many travels, I've developed what I call a SPD Travel Toolkit. This toolkit is used to help my son with SPD regulate himself better when he's having sensory issues on our vacations.

Fireworks are too much for my little guy

Why do we travel with an SPD Travel Toolkit?

My youngest son has Sensory Processing Disorder.  The photo above was taken during the night-time fireworks at Walt Disney World. This scene also happens during loud music concerts and parades with firetrucks that put on their sirens. When the loud noises become too overwhelming, he shuts down and just sits with this hands over his ears.

So what's in our SPD Travel Toolkit?

1. Fidget toys (spinners and cubes), small bag of Legos, Silly Putty (or Thera-putty), small cans of Play Doh
2. Sunglasses or a wide-brimmed hat: for light sensitivity on those sunny vacation days
3. Gum, chewy snacks, or chew toys: for oral input
4. Noise-cancelling headphones: to block out or lessen the sounds of fireworks, loud music, or the many sounds that can bombard a child with SPD
5. Scented lip balm: to sniff when unfamiliar smells assault the nose (we like Vanilla, Cake Batter, or Strawberry scented lip balm).

We carry the SPD Travel Toolkit in a large backpack, and the toolkit itself becomes a tool. Kids with SPD and Autism can benefit from "Hard Work" or tasks that involves heavy resistance and input to the muscles and joints. Carrying around a heavy backpack can be considered Heavy Work, and can help a child improve attention and body awareness, as well as decrease defensiveness.

While parents cannot control their child's sensory environment while on vacation, they can carry tools with them to help alleviate the stress it can put on their son or daughter. Having the right tools with you can avert sensory meltdowns, and can ensure more fun and happy memories being made while on your family vacations.

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Nicole Thibault is the owner of Magical Storybook Travels, a travel agency that specializes in Family Travel and Travel for Families with Special Needs. She's also the owner of Spectrum Travel Social Story Videos, a production company that makes travel social story videos for kids with Autism, Anxiety, and other Special Needs.

Traveling with Autism

We're a family with Special Needs; we have three boys, and one has Autism. With his diagnosis comes sensory issues, food aversions and lot of anxiety. We used to have more behavioral meltdowns, but as he's gotten older, he's grown out of those.

Just after our son's Autism diagnosis, I remember going to Mommy-and-Me Autism groups. I learned so much from the other Moms of older kids on the Spectrum. They had "been there, done that," and were able to pass on so many crucial nuggets of information - which dentist works best with kids with Autism, where to go for sibling support, what places around town have great recreational opportunities for families with children on the Spectrum. 

One of the important questions I had for the other parents at these meet-ups was, "How do you travel with children with Autism?" I asked the other Moms in the group, because I was/am an avid traveler, and I couldn't imagine trying to take my two-and-a-half year old son on a vacation. His meltdown and sensory issues seemed insurmountable.

In response to my question about travel, most parents with kids on the Autism Spectrum said, "Well, we just don't travel. We don't go on vacations."

The parents cited that the car rides or flights were too difficult for their children to handle, they weren't sure about destination's accommodations for their children, and dealing with their child's behaviors in public, in an unfamiliar destination, seemed too overwhelming.

After our son's diagnosis and about a year of therapies, we decided to try a family vacation again. Our pre-diagnosis vacation (at age 2) had gone horribly, with meltdowns, crying, and sensory overload, so we were taking a chance on trying another family vacation. 

A meltdown

But family travel is very important to us, and thought that the only way for our son with Autism to get better at travel was to actually, you know, GO SOMEWHERE.

On our first post-diagnosis vacation, we chose a low-key trip to Walt Disney World. I know what you're thinking, an oxymoron, right? But my sons were obsessed with Cars and Toy Story at the time, and thought having such targeted interests would make our time in the Magic Kingdom fun and engaging.

One of our first family vacations!

And while we had some hiccups along the way, we survived.  Our vacation was not without Autism-related meltdowns, but it went smoother that the previous vacation. And we learned so much about accommodations within the Disney Parks and the resorts that made things just a little easier for our son.

Thibault vacation, 2012

Perhaps our vacation wasn't exactly like everyone else's vacation, but it worked for us. And you know what? We planned another family vacation, and another, and another.

Wild Africa Trek, 2016

It's been years since that first post-diagnosis family vacation, and we just got back from our first cruise to Mexico with our boys. On this past vacation, yes, we did have some Autism-related issues (as we always will), but we also had amazing family adventures: caving at Rio Secreto in Cancun, rock climbing on the cruise ship, days at the beach, and petting penguins in Orlando, Florida.

Because family travel is such a huge priority to us, we will always push the envelope of our son's comfort zones. We don't want to upset him and push him beyond his limits, but firmly believe that the only way he will grow and learn is to continually expose him to new things, new experiences and new cultures.

Our family's travels have allowed us to share unique experiences with the boys, creating memories that will last a lifetime. We've become stronger as a family because of our shared travels, and despite our challenges with Autism, we're all learning and growing together.

And while our family's travels might not look exactly like everyone else's vacations, we are still in a constant state of planning our next family's adventures. Where shall we go next?

Thibault vacation, 2017

Nicole Thibault is a Mom of three boys, one diagnosed with Autism. She's also the owner of Magical Storybook Travels, a travel agency that specializes in Family Travel and Travel for Families with Special Needs, and also owner of Spectrum Travel Social Story Videos, which makes travel videos for children with Autism, anxiety, and other disabilities.