June 20, 2017
During our June meeting we talked about all kinds of stuff to keep the kids busy this summer. We talked about places to go, camps, things to do at home, and much more. Some of the things we discussed we specific to special needs and some were not. All of the items that we talked about can be found (along with downloads, parent feedback, and much more) on our Activity Guide (you can find the Activity Guide under Tools).
If you would like to add additional items there is an option to do so on the Activity Guide, or you can just click HERE.
There is also an option to add comments to any of our existing entries. We encourage families to share their feedback. Let us know whats good, what to watch for, how to plan, etc.
Child care was provided by our wonderful volunteers from PSA Healthcare.
Dinner was generously provided by Golden Chick
Did you miss this event? No problem, you can watch the live video.
Part 1:
Part 2:
ICYMI
During this discussion there were 2 organizations we didn’t know a lot about- Autism on the Seas and Adventures with Autism, Down syndrome and Epilepsy (AWADAE). I was able to talk with AWADAE and got some clarification.
Autism on the Seas is a for profit group. You can use them with many cruise lines, and basically you pay extra per day ($15-25) to have someone onboard the ship to help meet your specific needs. This is a service that individuals can purchase.
AWADAE is a fairly new nonprofit. They have a scholarship program that covers the costs for the cruise. Families can submit their applications and then depending on the available budget AWADAE will select 10 or more families to receive the scholarships and join them on the cruise. They have 2 planned for 2018 as of right now. These are specific cruises and they bring families together on the cruise. There are parent workshops that focus on self care, they work with organizations in the destination ports so that families can meet other families while on shore. They have therapists and care providers to help with the child care while the parents attend workshops.
While the 2 organizations are both focused on traveling (cruising) with special needs they are very different organizations and not connected in any way.
One of our families recently gave me an update on this. She said that she and a friend of hers both called to see about joining the AWADAE trip coming up next year. She was told that the trip is not paid for as I was previously told by AWADAE, but she told me that her and her friend were both told by AWADAE when they called that the only thing covered is child care so that parents can attend the workshops while on-board.
I was a little bit sad to hear this after I spoke with AWADAE previously and they sounded so great for families. You are welcome to call and try yourself, but I wanted to give an update after hearing from this mom about her experience.