A few travel tips for those with food Allergies, Asthma, Tourette's and Autism......
1. Week before the trip make extra servings off all the meals that I make and freeze them in single serving containers. Single serving containers make everything so easy and if we want to go in somewhere to eat, this is also a very useful tip. Once the trip starts pack a huge freezer with ice. I put the ice in gallon zip locks. This makes it so much easier to change ice out nightly on the trip. The key is to freeze everything before the trip and it stays frozen if the ice is changed once a day. Make sure your hotel room has a microwave. I also bring along the smallest of Forman grills so I can get some fresh chicken, hamburger or pork chops to prepare at a moments notice. So easy to travel with and clean.
2. Refill all scripts, sounds like a duh but it is easy to miss one. Don't forget the nebulizer !!!!! I also let my dr know of our travels so that if something comes up they are aware. This last time my son's asthma really flared and my Dr called in a steroid for him while we were on the road. Saved time, money and my son was treated much faster.
3. We always make sure no pets are allowed in hotels we use and we try and make sure they are all recently renovated or new. I also bring the hepa filters to run in the hotel rooms. Bringing your own dust mite free pillows can help some and always make sure where you stay has central air conditioning.
4. On your map try and map out hospitals along the way, better off being prepared.
5. Always bring the life jackets for the pools and we never stay anywhere right on the water, river, lake or ocean etc. Also at night if the lock on the door isn't up high enough we are always prepared to figure something out. Bottom floors are preferred if your child is a big stimmer like my third son. Fewer complaints about noise above from people below you.
6. Make sure your kids have identification on them and make a set of pecs cards that are laminated and place them on a key ring so they can be easily carried in your purse and pulled out quickly. We always use the buddy system, hand n hand.
7. You might think movies would be the way to get through an 18 hour car trip, especially with kids. Not so in this house. Movies get them through moments but after them my third sons stimming sky rockets. This last time we brought books and listened to classical music. I read many chapters to the kids and they read many to themselves. This approach really helped my third son get through the trip. Some times less is more.
8. Having plenty of hand sanitizer is a great tip for car travel. My son gets very upset if his hands get sticky and this is a quick fix if you are not near a stop.
9. No rush, don't even plan on rushing. One moment at a time and go with what ever everybody is having the most fun with.
10. Because of the food allergies and asthma there is so much to bring, meds, medical equipment, full weeks supply of frozen meals and hepa filters etc. that I bring very few cloths and plan on doing a load of laundry every night or every other night at the hotel. Making sure to bring plenty of quarters and detergent helps too.
11. If you are going somewhere like Disney always look into policy to help people with special needs. Disney was amazing and so helpful and made our vacation unforgettable. There are often more accommodations then you realize.
12. Going to an unknown place is always tough but let each child bring one small toy/stiffed animal and make sure it can actually hook onto their suitcase or bag so it doesn't get left behind. A little bit of familiarity can go along way to calm nerves.
Happy Travels........................
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