Zoom Autism Magazine Summer 2015 (Issue 4) | Page 44

BALANCE STAY–CATION The Perfect Alternative for Special Needs Families W hen the money situation is as short as your child’s attention span, a summer vacation may be out of the question. Even if money wasn’t a problem, the reality is that, for many special needs families, the stress of going someplace different is just way too much. Every trip requires careful planning, every new outing a social story, and on and on and on. But a STAYCATION may be just the BALANCE you need! What is a STAYCATION? Exactly what the name suggests—a vacation at home. A STAYCATION allows you to put yourself into a relaxed state of mind and enjoy some quality family time without having to drag the weighted blanket and car full of faithful stuffed animals with you. But in order to get the most out of your STAYCATION, there are a few things we suggest you do. At first they may seem a bit radical and expensive, but remember, you are on vacation! CANCEL COMMITMENTS- Yes, you are home, but you need to take the time off for your vacation as if you were not. That means taking the days off of work and telling the therapist you will be away. This seems to be the hardest part for many moms. After all if hubby is home, it is a perfect time to sneak away and take care of all those items on the to-do list. But would you really have your teeth cleaned if you were at DISNEY? Hopefully not! HIRE A CLEANING LADY- This is the radical and expensive part that most people raise their eyebrows at, but, for a lot of us, the 46 ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses best parts of being on vacation are not making the beds or having to wash the dishes. So go ahead and splurge and hire someone to clean up after you. PACK- This sounds really crazy, but hear us out. How much time do you waste each morning trying to figure out what to wear or finding a clean pair of socks? On the other hand, before every vacation, you usually do all the laundry and pack only the necessary items. While you don’t need to bring out a suitcase, although the kids may enjoy that, go ahead and pull out 3 days’ worth of outfits ahead of time. That way you can skip the drama and get right to the fun every day. GET INTO IT- Why not let the kids check into your HOME HOTEL? Have them sign a ledger and fill out a room service card of what they will have for breakfast the next morning. Then the next day pretend to be room service and bring them breakfast in bed. HOME SWEET HOME- The best part about a STAYCATION is that at the end of a long day, you get to come home and sleep in your own beds. Change is hard for some of our loved ones, but with a STAYCATION, you get all the benefits of a regular vacation with minimal change. We can’t think of a better way to keep BALANCE in your life than that! Have you ever done a STAYCATION? Send us some pictures that we can share in our next issue to [email protected]. ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses 47