Preparing Your Special Needs Child for Travel

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Comprehensive Pediatric Therapy Services

…we’re just for kids!

PAs warm weather approaches, many of us will begin planning vacations with the hopes of relaxation, adventure, and quality time with family. Though it is often a welcomed change of pace, traveling can also be stressful and overwhelming, especially for families with children who have special needs. Preparing your child in advance may foster a more successful trip.

• Use books and pictures to talk about your trip and what to expect. • Visit the airport and/or practice car rides to familiarize your child. • Pre-program AAC devices with trip-related vocabulary. • Use timers to help your child understand time concepts (e.g. 4 hour flight; 50 minute car ride) • Use visual schedules to help your child anticipate upcoming activities while leaving room for unexpected events. • Pack a sensory bag with calming activities for your child. • Involve your child in packing a game bag for “on the go” play. • Allow extra time to transition between activities. • Maintain morning and night-time routines when possible. • Plan a rest day. Even with all the planning, it might not be perfect but remember to take the time to capture your family’s own perfect moments!

Little Sticky Fingers (fine motor/sensory skills) Kindergarten Kick-Off (kindergarten readiness) Social Superheroes (social skills) Friendship Factory (social skills) R eady, Move, Learn –gross motor and whole body awareness Printing Power (handwriting skills) Focal Point (ADD/ADHD treatment) Reading Camp (Orton-Gillingham approach to reading)

VULCAN PARK AND MUSEUM

After a decades long fight, women gained the right to vote in 1920 with the passage of the 19 Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. in 2020, Vulcan Park and Museum will lead a year-long commemoration of this significant achievement with its new exhibit, Right or Privilege? Alabama Women and the Vote. This exhibit and related programming will allow visitors to explore challenges of suffragists in Alabama and the fight for universal suffrage, which continued long past 1920. Shining a light on the suffrage movement will remind us of the ones who fought hard to establish the 19th

amendment and will instill a sense that we should value and use the right to vote. The exhibit, located inside of Vulcan Park and Museum’s Linn-Henley Gallery, will be displayed until January 3, 2021. The Anvil, the museum’s store, has also added new apparel, postcards, buttons and literature celebrating the Women’s Suffrage centennial.