- 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
An incredible encounter with Princess Tiana
As a mother of two Autistic Children, our vacations can be pretty challenging. This hasn’t stopped us,however, from seeing the sights and doing some globetrotting ourselves.
Our kids actually love the change and novelty of travel. As long as we are aware of what they are feeling and what they like to do vs. things that may scare them, we do alright and have a lot of fun.
During a recent trip to Disneyworld, we had a beautiful experience that was the highlight of my trip. It was one of those moments that made my daughter, and I feel good inside because of the effort that one beautiful person made to understand our world.
My daughter, Abella (5), is non-verbal and likes Disneyworld on her terms. Her favorite ride is the Disney Buses that take us to and from the parks and the carousel. Otherwise, she likes to see the sights in the park and enjoy it from the comfort of our rented stroller (which we named Happy Chappy). She doesn’t like the parks at night for fear of the fireworks and the loud noises that come with them, so we visit the parks during the day and try to see as much as we can in the daylight hours.One afternoon when we were visiting my daughter took a curious interest in Princess Tiana from the Princess and the Frog, who was meeting other park guests. She smiled when she looked at her and indicated to me, she wanted to see her.Safe in her stroller, we waited patiently in line to visit with the princess.
Unfortunately, at that same moment the afternoon show was going on at the castle, which was not far from where we were. As it ended, fireworks went off, scaring my daughter. Immediately, she put her hands to her ears in panic mode and indicated to me that it was time to go. I pointed to the princess and asked if she wanted to see the princess still. She only retreated back into the safety of Stroller. Near the front of the line then, our turn came to see the princess and her prince.
As my son visited with them, she watched curiously with her hands still pressed against her ears. After my son got his picture, both Tiana and her prince approached the stroller to say hi. Sensing her fear the prince backed off and let Tiana talk to her a little. She held out her hands to my daughter, reluctantly Abella reached out one hand to touch Tiana as if to say thanks, and then quickly put it back to her ear. Tiana tried to calm Abella down by talking for a little while and then tried to coax my daughter out of the stroller for a picture.
With no luck after a few tries, Tiana came up with a better idea. Instead of trying to ask my daughter to come to her, she came to her. With no regard for her dress, Tiana fell to the ground and got as close to the stroller as she could. She placed her own hands over her ears and smiled for the picture.
The beauty of the moment caused me to tear up. Even as her parent, I sometimes forget that her perspective on the world is different than ours, and often we try to bring her from her world back into ours. However, in this one moment, Tiana’s actions made it clear that it doesn’t have to always be that way, by making herself the outsider and entering my daughter’s Autistic world. God Bless her and Disney for this beautiful experience.
My Daughter became relaxed after their picture, even waving her hand bye-bye to the princess as we left. The rest of the day she was happy to check out other things before heading home. The picture I have attached is from my camera. The Disney photographer was taking the picture from in front of them.
Our kids actually love the change and novelty of travel. As long as we are aware of what they are feeling and what they like to do vs. things that may scare them, we do alright and have a lot of fun.
During a recent trip to Disneyworld, we had a beautiful experience that was the highlight of my trip. It was one of those moments that made my daughter, and I feel good inside because of the effort that one beautiful person made to understand our world.
My daughter, Abella (5), is non-verbal and likes Disneyworld on her terms. Her favorite ride is the Disney Buses that take us to and from the parks and the carousel. Otherwise, she likes to see the sights in the park and enjoy it from the comfort of our rented stroller (which we named Happy Chappy). She doesn’t like the parks at night for fear of the fireworks and the loud noises that come with them, so we visit the parks during the day and try to see as much as we can in the daylight hours.One afternoon when we were visiting my daughter took a curious interest in Princess Tiana from the Princess and the Frog, who was meeting other park guests. She smiled when she looked at her and indicated to me, she wanted to see her.Safe in her stroller, we waited patiently in line to visit with the princess.
Unfortunately, at that same moment the afternoon show was going on at the castle, which was not far from where we were. As it ended, fireworks went off, scaring my daughter. Immediately, she put her hands to her ears in panic mode and indicated to me that it was time to go. I pointed to the princess and asked if she wanted to see the princess still. She only retreated back into the safety of Stroller. Near the front of the line then, our turn came to see the princess and her prince.
As my son visited with them, she watched curiously with her hands still pressed against her ears. After my son got his picture, both Tiana and her prince approached the stroller to say hi. Sensing her fear the prince backed off and let Tiana talk to her a little. She held out her hands to my daughter, reluctantly Abella reached out one hand to touch Tiana as if to say thanks, and then quickly put it back to her ear. Tiana tried to calm Abella down by talking for a little while and then tried to coax my daughter out of the stroller for a picture.
With no luck after a few tries, Tiana came up with a better idea. Instead of trying to ask my daughter to come to her, she came to her. With no regard for her dress, Tiana fell to the ground and got as close to the stroller as she could. She placed her own hands over her ears and smiled for the picture.
The beauty of the moment caused me to tear up. Even as her parent, I sometimes forget that her perspective on the world is different than ours, and often we try to bring her from her world back into ours. However, in this one moment, Tiana’s actions made it clear that it doesn’t have to always be that way, by making herself the outsider and entering my daughter’s Autistic world. God Bless her and Disney for this beautiful experience.
My Daughter became relaxed after their picture, even waving her hand bye-bye to the princess as we left. The rest of the day she was happy to check out other things before heading home. The picture I have attached is from my camera. The Disney photographer was taking the picture from in front of them.