Traveling with Tommy: Disrupting the Routine of the Autistic Child

Boy, did we learn our lesson. We’ve always been able to travel with Tommy, our autistic child, but this time, we ran into trouble. Autistic kids generally like routine. When Tommy was younger, around six to nine, we could create routine for him. On this trip, at age 11, he exhibited a mind of his own, and it was difficult for us to build that cocoon of normalcy round him. We ventured to Florida over spring break. The weather was nice, i.e., the sun was out, but it was a bit cool, in the 60s. In years gone by, we could have coaxed our son into the unheated swimming pool, but not this time. Tommy wouldn’t leave the room. He didn’t like the remodeling that was going on. The whole hotel was being redone. It was quite noisy. The problem was we’d picked a cheap hotel, the cheapest we could find. And as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.  Many hotels would close for renovation, but not this one. Workmen hammered and sawed away. The place was a virtual construction site. Probably the worst moment occurred when we were sleeping. Suddenly, we were all awakened by loud groaning. At first, I thought someone was on the toilet with a severe stomachache. As the moans got louder and much worse, I decided some woman might be trying to deliver a baby. Tommy yelled, “What’s that?” “I don’t know,” I said. And then, it dawned on me. How could I be so naive? The lady and her partner were having sex. But there was pain in that m...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Aspergers Autism Children and Teens Family Parenting Personal adaptability Asperger Syndrome Autism Spectrum Family Vacation Obsessions Resilience routine Source Type: blogs