- Welcome Message and select excerpts of our first year blog
- Our New Blog
- Contact us
- Travel Advice
- Guidelines for travel agents
- Flying-all you need to know before you book your next plane ticket>
- Cruising-planning the perfect cruise>
- Car Travel
- Traveling by bus...in style
- Hotels-Creating the ideal autistic friendly hotel room>
- Packing -101>
- Ask away -Autistic Globetrotting Free advice service>
- Tid bits-travel advice from our readers in 100 words or less
- Autistic Travels' Golden Rules
- Guidelines for travel agents
- Autisticals-a personal view of autistic travel
- US 10 best in
- The 10 best of Boston
- The best 10 of Hilton Head,South Carolina
- The 10 best of New York
- The 10 best of Alaska
- The 10 best of Texas-San Antonio and Galveston
- The 10 best of Santa Fe and the surroundings
- The 10 best of Arizone-Grand Canyon
- The 10 best of Colonial Williamsburg,Jamestown and surroundinds
- The 10 best of Washington D.C.
- The 10 best of Las Vegas
- The 10 best of Boston
- International 10 best
- Mini autisticals- the darnest travel stories you'll hear
- The Sleeps-our biased and un biased hotel reviews
- The Eats-Tasty challenges from around the globe
- The Shops-what you can buy next
- Collector's Corner-How did these travel trinkets become a collection
- Recommended products
- Giveaways
- Monthly news roundup
- Interviews
- Q&A with Jackie Longino founder of Aspietravel
- Q&A with Tal managing director of ALUTEVA-autistic hotel in Israel
- Eva Bronstein-Greenwald-special needs travel agent and founder of We Belong
- Q&A with Trip it's
- Q&A with David Intercontinental Tel Aviv
- Keri Bowers- film producer of 'Normal people scare me'
- Jamie Grover-Autism on the seas
- Peter Shears
- Clive-guide dog extraordinaire
- John Brown of 'Devyn and Dad' -an inspirational adventure across the United States
- Rose Niehaus Olsen Morris inventor of the safety sleeper bed
- Annette White,counselor for Camp Autism
- Colin Brennan-Canada's new singing sensation
- Dennis Debbaudt-autism safety expert
- Gisela Sedlmayer- author of 'Talon'
- Q&A with Jackie Longino founder of Aspietravel
- Inspirational travel stories by our guest writers
- Danette Schott's-Revisiting family vacations
- Brian R. King-Meltdown at the airport
- Joy's visit to the Aquarium
- Denise Klipsic-An incredible encounter with Princess Tiana
- Tanya Savko- Hope on a river
- Tiffany Robison-Great Wolf Lodge
- Fiona Westner Ramsay -Making-room-for-autism-in-your-canoe
- Laura Shumacher-Traveling with autism: a true story
- Phyllis Fanzo Lombardi-s -Vacation Time with Joey
- Kristina Chew-18 Miles On the Bikes At the Beach
- Jeff Katz-Chicago
- Margaret Ann Franklin's visit to the Great Northern Carousel in Helena Montana
- Claire Sarcone-Chessington the aspie way
- Elaine Hall-Tips for summer vacation
- Steve LHeureux -Autism "Outings" need to be planned and appropriate
- Kelly Green-The Gardens of Gilroy
- Wolfie Blue-Tips I learnt by traveling with my family
- Gluten free Disney cruise experience
- Danette Schott's-Revisiting family vacations
- North,Central and South America-pictures,videos and AG's tips
- Arizona,The Grand Canyon
- Alaska Cruise-USA and Canada
- Florida,Orlando-Universal Studios-looking for Harry Potter
- Florida,Orlando-Macy's mini parade in Universal Studios
- Florida-Everglades Park ,Miami,Key West
- Hawaii's big island with a glimpse of Pearl Harbor
- Louisiana,New Orleans-French Quarter,Christmas Parade,Nanchez Steamboat
- Louisiana,New Orleans-in the footsteps of Katrina,Garden district
- Massachussetts-Boston ,New England Coastal towns of NH and Maine
- New York-NYC
- New Mexico-Santa Fe and Bandoliers National Park
- Pennsylvania-Philadelphia
- Texas-San Antonio and Galveston
- Canada-Niagara Falls,Montreal,Quebec,Toronto
- Caribbean-Bahamas- the Atlantis resort
- Caribbean-Castaway Cay-Disney's bahamian paradise
- Caribbean-Roatan,Honduras>
- Caribbean-Grand Caymans-Hell,Turtles,Wild Hens and Stingrays>
- Mexico-Cabo San Lucas(Mex Riviera)
- Mexico-Puerta Vallarta (Mex Riviera)
- Mexico-Acapulco and Manzanillo
- Mexico-Mazatlan(Mex Riviera)
- Mexico-Playa del Carmen's Xcaret eco park>
- Mexico-Tulum and XelHa Eco Park
- Yucatan,Mexico- Chichen Itza,Cozumel's Paradise Beach
- Arizona,The Grand Canyon
- Europe,Asia,Australia and New Zealand,Cruise ships-pictures,videos and AG's tips
- Australia-Sydney and Melbourne
- Austria-Salzburg
- Belgium-Antwerp ,Brussels
- Canary Islands-Lazarote
- Croatia-the walled town of Dubrovnik
- Denmark-Copenhagen
- France-Normandy's D day beaches>
- France- Cannes,Nice,Eze
- France-Paris
- Finland,Helsinki
- Germany-Munich,Dachau
- Germany-Romantic Road
- Ireland-Dublin
- Ireland -Cork,Blarney,Kinsale>
- N. Ireland-Belfast>
- N. Ireland's Giant Causeway
- N.Ireland-Carrick -a -Rede-rope bridge>
- Italy-Venice,Pompeii,Rome
- Italy-Florence,Messina and Taoramina
- Israel-Jerusalem>
- Israel-Masada and the Dead Sea>
- Israel-Tel Aviv>
- Morocco-Casablanca
- New Zealand-Rotarua
- New Zealand-Fjord Park,Dunedin,Christchurch
- New Zealand - Auckland and sheep farm
- The Netherlands-Amsterdam,Delft,The Hague,Rotterdam,Madurodam
- Sweden-Stockholm and the Archipelago
- Russia-St Petersburg's Palaces
- Scotland-Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh
- Scotland-Edinburgh>
- Scotland-Inverness>
- Scotland-Loch Lommond,Luss,Sottish sheep show>
- Spain-Barcelona
- Spain-Cadiz and Seville
- Spain-The Alhambra Palace,view of Malaga
- Tasmania-Hobart
- UK-Liverpool and the Beatles>
- UK-London>
- UK-Stonehenge,Bath,Warwick Castle,Stratford on Avon,Oxford
- UK-Guernsey>
- Carnival -Legend
- Aboard the Carnival Legend
- Carnival -Ecstasy
- Carnival- Fascination
- Carnival Spirit
- Celebrity-Century
- Crown Princess>
- Sapphire Princess
- Royal Caribbean-Brilliance of the Seas
- Royal Caribbean-Mariner of the Seas (parades)
- Royal Caribbean- Mariner of the Seas
- Australia-Sydney and Melbourne
- Monthly guest's -Travel videos and pictures
- Web sites and blogs we follow
- Face Book discussions
- Guest Book
Tanya Savko- Hope on a river
Tanya Savko is a writer and the mother of two sons Nigel and Aidan. Diagnosed with autism at age three ,Nigel went through ABA training and somehomeschooling and now is mainstreamed in High School. .Aidan, now fourteen is imaginative, sensitive (including having sensory processing disorder), and compassionate. His Kindergarten teacher remarked how he would always be the first to comfort his classmates if they were hurt or upset.
Tanya's poetry and articles about autism have been featured in several publications, and her novel Slip, about raising a child with autism was recently published:
You can read Tanya's blogs at TeenAutism.com as well as TanyaSavko.com. ,
Tanya's poetry and articles about autism have been featured in several publications, and her novel Slip, about raising a child with autism was recently published:
You can read Tanya's blogs at TeenAutism.com as well as TanyaSavko.com. ,
Hope on a River
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don’t give up.” - Anne Lamott
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Sometimes I think that as much as I have defined my hopes over the years, it is they that have defined me. Hope is the thing that gets us from one day to the next. And those days turn into weeks and months and years, until finally we look back, exhausted but still hopeful, and see where those hopes have taken us.
My hopes have certainly changed over the years, evolving and developing as my son has. I remember hoping when he was six years old and learning to talk that someday we could have a conversation. I remember hoping that someday he would stop screaming and bolting away from me in parking lots or other public areas when a noise startled him. And I remember hoping, as he started talking more and bolting less, that someday I could take him on an international trip with me. That he would be safe, and that he might even enjoy it. Because I love to travel – my whole family does – and someday I wanted to share that with him. It’s a frivolous hope, I know - unimportant, and certainly nowhere near a matter of life or death. And in the grand scheme of things, in all of the hopes that I’ve had and still have for my son, I can assure you that international travel was low on the totem pole. But still, it was there.
Last month, after a year of planning, both of my sons (one with autism, one without) accompanied me to Thailand, where we met up with my father on his annual Thanksgiving in Thailand trip. We had purchased our plane tickets back in February, timing our departure with the school district’s break for the US holiday. What we didn’t know was that our arrival date coincided with the festival of Loi Krathong (pronounced loy krah-tong), a Thai holiday that takes place on the evening of the full moon of the twelfth month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November. And this year, it just happened to be on the day that we arrived.
It was night when we flew into Bangkok and checked into our hotel. We slept well and had continental breakfast before heading out for a stroll that morning. Everywhere we walked, people sat outside making and selling krathongs – handle-less baskets traditionally crafted from intricately folded banana leaves and loaded with flowers, incense sticks, candles, and other offerings (you can see a photo of some krathongs at this link). They are beautiful in and of themselves, but it’s what they symbolize that really hit home with me. The krathongs are released into waterways across Thailand as offerings of hope – an opportunity to wash away the past year’s misfortunes and let go of resentment or fear, so that one can start fresh, with hope for good fortune in the future. A festival about hope! How wonderful is that?
That night, after a lovely outdoor international banquet at our riverfront hotel, we watched as the locals picked up their krathongs and walked down to the dock when it was dark. There they stood, holding their krathongs in front of them, eyes closed and heads bowed for a moment as they meditated. Then they placed their krathongs in the river and watched them float away. Parents held their children by the hand as they walked to the dock, bent down, and, it appeared, instructed them about what to think of before they released their krathongs into the river. I watched in wonder; I was so moved by this beautiful tradition.
Then it was our turn. The hotel had provided pretty krathongs for its guests, and we each picked one out, lit our candles, and slowly walked to the dock. I thought about all the things I needed to let go of in my life – fear, resentment, stress, sadness. I thought about all the hopes and dreams I have for my children and myself and the fact that at that moment, where we stood there on the dock of a river in Thailand, one of my hopes had come to fruition. We were there; we had made it. I released my krathong, and then I looked out across the river and saw dozens of tiny candle flames floating down it, bobbing along in the water. And I watched as my family’s krathongs floated away together and bobbed along with the rest of them.
The remainder of our trip was just as magical. We had our challenges, of course, as my son (now 16) still has a tendency to wander and has a very limited palate. But overall we were blessed with safe travels and wonderful memories. And hope that continues to evolve.