Short break with autistic child, Nov, - any recommendations?

pink_numbers

oh my gosh lapland would be amazing! can I come?

gosh, I never realised holidaying in november is so hard... I just looked here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-theme-parks and yup, all the outdoor ones are shut. hmmmmm...

as for being with other kids, just remember that if you act anxious and stressed, he will associate being with other kids with your stress, and get upset & anxious. If you encourage him and be positive, he won't have anything to worry about. I know he's autistic, but children still pick up and learn a lot from their parents' emotions. (this is coming from the child side, as I have no kids myself...)

sandiep

I've just seen where you are which is a shame because this place is absolutely excellent, and includes up to 6 hours a day of childcare in the hotel price.
http://www.crieffhydro.com/ And the prices out of school holidays etc work out really quite reasonable when you consider tha they include kids lunches, B&B, and Diner, and Childcare, and lesuire facilities.

The childcare there is very good, highly recommend. A hotel that's good for November because you and your kids are quite happy never leaving the grounds.

But I guess, a bit far away from Herefordshire

blue_monkey_2

That looks a good hotel sandiep, certainly something to look at for the future. It is a long way away so not one for the weekend though.

DX2

blue_monkey maybe something for future?
http://www.ojscare.com/exm/About_OJ's/

OJ's is a small registered charity that aims to provide activities for children with autism and associated disorders. Eventually we hope to provide for children with disabilities in general.
Most of our family days are based on the site of Hillside Specialist School, Longridge, Preston, Lancashire, PR3 3XB during the holiday times and sometimes on a Saturday afternoon. We welcome the whole family and we encourage siblings to attend and join in the fun as we feel that much support is required in this area.
My name is Lisa Donoghue and I set up the charity after experiencing problems with accessing mainstream/public areas with my child who has autism, called Oliver, and my other 3 children. When my two youngest children were babies I came acoss many difficulties in getting out and about and would resort to staying at home, only tackling trips out that were the most urgent if on my own with the children.
I would find that some people would not have patience with Oliver and this would cause much upset in our family. I would be constantly watching the reaction from people to Oliver and if my other children, who were babies at the time, became upset for any reason, then Oliver could become extremely distressed at the noise that they were making and scream loudly becoming very anxious. That would be it then, everyone upset, trip cancelled and in the car for another drive round. It got so stressful that during the holiday times, with my husband working, I would pack a few treats and take the children for a drive, and that would be it....just a drive round and then back again.
If you are reading this and you have a child or family member with autism, I'm sure that you know what I mean. It's not that everyone who you meet is not tolerant of our children, but it's sometimes the stress of what you feel is going to happen or what has just happened and how you can calm the situation down.
We really welcome contact from new families and carers are welcome to bring children who they are looking after to our sessions, thus giving the family a short break.
Contact details are Lisa on 07971 723607 or [EMAIL="lisa@donoghue.mobi"]lisa@donoghue.mobi[/EMAIL] .

DX2

http://www.autism.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1901&a=3338

Also the NAS autism friendly venues.

poe.tuesday

Lapland would be fab but Nov is not the best time to go, not much snow etc

if you do decide to go to DLP then you do know that you can get a Guest assistance Card which will help you greatly with the rides and may make it possible for you not to have a carer with you??

blue_monkey_2

Back to let you know that at the end of the month we are off to DLP. The hotel for the friends went and it would have cost more than I could afford so I asked the neighbour, she could not get time off work. So, I emailed an old friend but one I initially did not think about as she is a newly wed but her hubby works nights at the weekend so she is free anyhow.

She is excited, the kids are excited, and now I have spoken to her, funny enough, she was the right person to take but I did think she would prefer to be with her new hubby, totally forgot about him working odd hours.

And my hubby will get more work without the kids being at home and I do not have to listen to him swearing about what has gone wrong - again. Ha ha!! Thanks for all of your help.

sarahlouise210

How about Lapland UK ?? We went last year and it was truly magical ! All activities are arranged with precision so each and every child gets to do everything - I cannot recommend this enough and although it is only a day we stayed overnight in a hotel nearby and made a weekend out of it. I would go as far as to say it was the best day out we have ever had ... you would love it !

http://http://www.laplanduk.co.uk/