Adventures with autism

Well, I am finally posting some photos from the vacation we recently took (with Bigbig and two of our 4 kids) to Gilbert lake state park, where we have gone for at least 5 years. Traveling with someone who has autism on Jace's level is not always an easy experience. 

Jace normally has trouble dealing with certain aspects of the trip. He gets very anxious about the packing and after a week there, he gets anxious again about the packing to come home. 

We all love it there though. It is a quiet, calm place. With lots of places nearby to eat good food. Jace loves the swimming especially,  but part of the reason we have gone to this park over and over is to give him some consistency. We rent the same cabin every year and still Jace has been so upset in previous years that we thought he was sick. He made trips to the bathroom every 20 minutes one year, but after a trip to the doctor we found there was nothing wrong and he stopped doing it as soon as we got home. Other years he has wanted to walk nonstop and even though he's pretty much non verbal as far as actual communication goes, he can talk and that trip he kept saying "sad people walk".

BUT....This year was so much better. He is 13 now and we were warned puberty might make things worse, but for him, it doesn't seem to be the case. He was so much calmer this year. He didn't show any anxiety this year when we packed, and then he had no trouble on the 3 hour drive. (We have had to stop at least twice other years.) He is certainly nowhere near "over" all his autistic tendencies but he is now calmer most days on average.  

The forests there are lush 

and quiet 

and full of ferns 

that seem primeval.

Primordial.

So we hiked a bit. This year we only got Jace to hike with us one time, he refused the rest of the week. So I stayed in the cabin or on the beach with him more while my husband and daughter hiked. Which was fine and relaxing.  I got to quilt and read and get a tan. Other days my husband stayed with him while my daughter and I did things. 

The photos don't really show how many ferns and fungi there are....

Can you read the sign?

(The photos of Jace at the beach are stuck on my camera which I can't transfer online without a computer yet) These were all taken with my daughter's cell phone.

Oneonta is 20 minutes away from the state park so my daughter and I went to the Butterfly conservatory there one hot afternoon.  It was too hot to try to take Jace as he hates the heat. Plus we really don't take him out in public unless we are sure it is something he can handle. 

It was extremely humid in the conservatory, and there was panflute music playing in the background. The owner, I am assuming he was the owner, had a gray beard held together with a ponytail holder and he told us the names of all the birds, not just the species names but the names they gave them as well.

This little poisonous tree frog was very tiny. The owner explained he isn't actually poisonous now because he hasn't eatten the ants that make him poisonous. 

This bird is a cousin of a toucan. He let me pet him and his twisty black "hair" actually feels as plasticy as it looks. 

These blue morphos are so hard to get photos of, this one was mid flight!

I only got a gew sketches done in my sketchbook while I was there....Because I actually spent more time reading. I finished 'Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children'. But here are a few pages from my sketchbook. Of the beach and things I bought....

And since it is Sunday, and I did show sketches in my sketchbook, I will happily link up to Sunday sketches at Bluechairdiary...

Have a good week everyone!

adventures and autism

I don't usually say too much about my son or autism,,,
well, at least I don't think I do, but today I wanted to share a bit of what it's like traveling with autism...

Travel is hard for my son. 

New things make him very anxious.

 But he did very well on our week away a little while ago. 

He panicked for a few days before,
 so much that we thought he had an infection or something,  as he spent his whole day in the bathroom and in tears off and on. After a quick trip to the lab for a  sample it turns out there was nothing wrong. I am still glad we had him tested other wise I would have spent the whole time wondering if he was sick.

 It's very hard to know, as he has a very high pain tolerance and he doesn't answer questions, not even with a yes or no usually.

 He says "no thank you" if he doesn't want something, but if you ask " does it hurt?" or "Do you have a belly ache?" He'll answer "YES.........or no".

 So like in a pet or a toddler, we use body language to understand most of his wants and needs. 

But after the first few hours at the cabin we rented in Hills Creek State Park in Pennsylvania, and once he saw most of his stuff had made the trip,  he calmed down and had a good time.

 

 We took along a hammock, which turned out to be a great idea. 

When he is nervous he likes to walk
 or ride.
Especially on vacation....
 He says simply "sad people walk" and so off we go.
We hiked all the trails around the lake and through the woods, at least 3 times a day.
  It's a beautiful park. The weather was too cold for swimming most days and the water was not wonderful for swimming either so mostly we hiked and relaxed and sat around the bonfire.
(we did find a wonderful fairy shop in Wellsboro that I'll show you next week... )
The wildlife was very comfortable with us and so I was able to get some good photos, except for the little junco that kept visiting us, he was just too quick.

We watched this guy fishing in the rain one afternoon....

 

Sparkling lilly pads
home to green water selkies,
grindylows and sprites

I didn't sketch at all while I was there.... 

I just felt like filling myself up... 

i didn't feel the need to spill it all out yet. 

But once I was home I made a few really quick sketches in my book from photos...

Jace gets nervous about coming home as well.

 He started to panic again as we packed our things. The look on his face when he tried to get me to take their kitchen table with us, was just too sad. He pulled at the table and looked at me, like 

"you can't possibly be leaving this!!!!!" 

But he managed to get in the car without it.

 And he seems to get better and better at dealing with things like this. 

You just can't help but think he is the sweetest child in the world,

 (honestly, it's not just me)

And as a few people have reminded me recently... 

it is so interesting to look at the world through his eyes. 

To see the different way his mind works and processes his world.

Smell and sound and texture take on new levels...

If it weren't so hard at times, I would think Autism was a grand adventure. 

So, I am reminding myself it IS an adventure, 

and learning with Jace has made us a better family,
 and me a better mom.

Our trip was all over way too quick,
 so now I will just start dreaming about next year.
And planning smaller adventures to take with Jace in the meantime...




I realize this post has less art than my usual ones so if you wanted to see a finished piece of art that I posted on monday, click on this photo....

Virtual vacation

I haven't been to Cape Cod in years, or the beach at all actually. I miss it and have felt in need of a vacation so I am taking a virtual one. I googled CapeCod spots and here are some picks I took from the internet. I think I may have been in these spots, they seem familiar...

 

 

 

 

 

This lighthouse is in Provincetown, we probably were there as we went to a lot of lighthouses...

vacation photos

so sorry if you hate to look at other peoples vacation photos as I have a bunch for you. It was a wet week, tons of rain and for some reason my son never managed to adjust, he was either sick or just anxious... hard to tell which as he still doesn't communicate that kind of thing.... all he wanted to do was walk... we hiked 5 miles a day to keep him content, well as content as he could be. We'd had soooo much rain that hiking the trails to the pond was like walking in creek beds....

walking, more walking

then even more walking too

blisters by weekend

 

 

happy Friday to all you Haiku my heart people....

Most of my photos don't show how lush and wet and green everything was.... so much moss and ferns!

and if you're still with me I do have some art to show for paint party Friday and the last week of Color of Summer....

I thought it was done but now that I see it on here it definitely needs something more.... i'll get on that once it cools down a bit, it's too hot to function the last few days.... have a good week all!