Break Away! 

Smart Vacationing Tips and Ideas for Chicago Floortime Families

Vacation.  A respite.  A change of scenery.  A break from the routine.  We all long for and need these things…perhaps more than we know.  But many families of special-needs children can find themselves overwhelmed by the day-to-day routines at home and cannot imagine feeling able to plan or be comfortable on a typical vacation.  So how do you do it?  Is it even worth it? 

We posed those questions to a special-needs travel veteran.  Lisa Hartlage of Elmhurst, IL runs Change of Scene Travel www.changeofscene.com .  She has worked as a school principal and has 7 ½ year old twin boys, one with ADD and sensory needs and the other with Asperger’s.  So Lisa knows how to put together a trip that answers the individual needs of families while allowing for that precious balance of fun and regulation.  She spoke to Chicago Floortime Families and we’ve included a long excerpt from our conversation including some of her top spots to visit close to Chicago, help for surviving Disney and some wonderful tropical resorts which cater to special-needs families.

CFF:  Hi Lisa.  We’re so glad you could help us out on this topic.  We often hear from families just trying to keep it together at home who say the idea of taking a trip is too much for them.  Can you give us some ideas for them?

Lisa:  I feel really badly when I hear from families that they’re afraid to travel.  In our society, in the U.S., we travel!    I want to help them.  I’ve found the sooner you get families out and get them used to being out, the better.  They’ll have a lot of help along the way from the airlines and places like Disney and other resorts.

CFF:  Let’s start out with some basic tips that apply wherever you’re going.  Did you use any coping strategies, or do you recommend any for families who are new to this?

Lisa:  Well as much pre-planning as you can do will make the experience easier for everyone.  I find that having a picture schedule ahead of time, a day by day schedule for the kids, almost like social stories.  Working on that that even a month ahead of time is helpful.  It’s like a creating a book, “Our Disney Trip,” (or wherever you’re going).  It says these are some of the things we’re going to be doing with pictures of the monorails, or the rides or pools for example.  Involve your child in the planning as much as that’s possible so they can select and help choose some of the things they’d like to do.  Kids either like water and sand or don’t like water and sand.  They might be nervous about flying.  Anything you can do to make the experience more comfortable for your child.  I tell families all the time, go ahead and ship a box down.  Have it arrive a few days before you do.  Include your child’s favorite cereal or snacks or his loveys because then they’ll be there for you.  Ask specifically and places like Disney will do a nice job putting them in the room for you. 

CFF:  Okay, let’s say we’re ready and willing to give it a try, but we don’t want to venture too far afield.  Can you give us some ideas of places that would be great bets close to Chicago?

Lisa:  Sure.  I have some ideas for a city-type vacation and local resorts that are great.  I love a little resort in Michigan called Oak Cove.  www.oakcove.com.   Susan and Bob Wojcik have owned this resort for a long time.  They’re residents of Naperville.  Oak Cove is on a little lake in Paw Paw, Michigan only about a two hour drive away.  It’s a beautiful, clean lake.  They offer cottages as well as an inn and two houses.  They include breakfast and dinner and they have a pool.  It’s a really nice very family friendly place.  I know about it because I’ve been going there since I was a kid.  They do reunions, weddings.  It’s a comfortable family environment.

For a “city” trip I would advise folks to get their feet wet by visiting Milwaukee.  People think of Milwaukee as too close and there’s really nothing there.  But we stay at the Hampton Inn in Brookfield.  It is extremely family-friendly, probably the most family-friendly hotel I’ve found within a four-hour drive.  They’ll work with you to make you comfortable, their pool is very nice, and the staff is very nice.  While you’re in Milwaukee you can visit the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum www.bbcmkids.org .  It’s very hands-on.  And then there’s the Milwaukee Art Museum right next door which has the largest Georgia O’Keefe collection www.mam.org.  The Milwaukee Zoo is phenomenal.  You can get so much closer to the animals than you can at either of the Chicago zoos.  And if you call ahead of time they’ll arrange for a guide to take you around and give you the “behind the scenes” tour (www.milwaukeezoo.org)   Our other favorite museum is the Milwaukee Public Museum www.mpm.edu.  It’s kind of like our Museum of Science and Industry but on a smaller scale, much more manageable to do.  So if you can combine two or three nights or a long weekend, there’re four great places to go.  They’re all family-friendly and their all kid-friendly places.

About 4 ½ hours away is Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Of course the University of Michigan is there and they have great restaurants.  The University of Michigan Natural History Museum is there www.lsa.umich.edu/exhibitmuseum. And the museum has students working in it.  They love working with kids!  They have a planetarium there that’s small and not frightening for kids.  There’s a hands-on science museum.  Plus a lot of lakes.   It’s one of our favorite places.  We also enjoy Galena, IL and Chestnut Mountain resort up there… you can ski or enjoy summer months (www.chestnutmtn.com).

CFF:  Wonderful suggestions.  Let’s say we’re ready to tackle a tropical trip.  What have your experiences been like?

Lisa:  If you venture out a little bit, in Jamaica my number one favorite resort is FDR Runaway Bay www.fdrholidays.com , it is rated number one out of 286 hotels by www.tripadvisor.com.  When you check in you’re given a nanny.  And that nanny can be with the children if you wish, from eight in the morning until 4:40 in the afternoon.  She will take them to the beach, pool, the kids club.  And their kids club is not like any other kids club I’ve seen.  They do tie-dyeing, and leather work and tiling and really cool activities.  If you have a huge age difference in the kids, you can get an extra nanny for the day for $20 for the day.  And then if parents want to go out at night by themselves, it’s $4 an hour extra for babysitting, no matter how many kids you have. 

What’s nice about FDR is that the resort has a cove-like beach so there’s really nowhere for them to run off to.  Right next door is a huge long expansive beach you can take the kids to walk on if you want.  It’s just a great hotel, nice family atmosphere.  The nannies are wonderful, my kids just still talk about their nanny and want to go see her again.  The nanny would get them dressed in the morning, play with them all day, give them lunch…she’d even give them a bath before her day ends and get them in pajamas or clean clothes, she’d put them down for naps…whatever you want.  What’s more is the staff is very used to working with special-needs kids.  They don’t have any specialized training that I know of, but they’re extremely friendly and patient.  A parent can be right there on site in a lounge chair watching the whole thing and playing with kids as well.

FDR has a kid buffet where they have the food at kid level.  It is definitely not pretentious and not fancy.  But it’s also not super-cheap, but I would put it at about moderate.  It’s really worth it and far above most resorts kids clubs who are not used to working with special-needs kids.

I have sent many families there.  I request certain nannies depending on the family and I know the general manager and he knows the families I send there need extra help.  He makes sure they have whatever they need. 

And then in Mexico, there are a lot of resorts that are family-friendly.  One I like is the Crown Paradise Club in Cancun www.crownparadise.com .  They have a baby club all the way up to age 12.  That’s really nice for families who want to have a few breaks throughout the day.  But those people don’t have any specialized training, although it’s a great family resort.  The other is the Melia in Puerto Vallarta www.solmelia.com which also has an infant club up through different ages and stages.

In Florida I like the Club Med Sandpiper www.clubmed.com.  It’s located on a river, not on the ocean, but there is a beach and pools with an extensive children’s program.  If people want to stay in the states but still have an all-inclusive experience that’s a good one.

 
CFF:  And how about things close to home for a day out?

 
Lisa:  The DuPage Forest Preserve www.dupageforest.com has a great site.  My children and I have explored every single preserve.  Our favorites are Fullersburg Woods in Hinsdale, Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn and Herrick Lake in Naperville.   The Lakeview Nature Center in Oakbrook Terrace is a great resource www.obtpd.org .  They’re really great because they have hands-on exhibits for kids.  I always check the local park districts and forest preserves because they’re often not crowded and allow kids to just get out and run and climb.

CFF:  Thanks Lisa for all of these suggestions.

Lisa:  Thanks to you and CFF and please let me know if I can help out families in any way.