Additional Needs
Age Appropriate
by Jodi Shenal
on 26th April, 2024
Mobilising a small army
In just over a week’s time, we shall be piling into our van and heading off on our hols.
Preparations have already begun – medications have been checked to ensure we have enough for the week we’re away from home, the route has been planned to ensure we can stop at services with changing places loo’s for the Dude, his suction machine has been checked and serviced, and the LISTS have started.
Lists of essentials we need to take (oxygen, phone number for the oxygen people…), as S is on a blended diet and formula regime his meals have been planned out and will be cooked and frozen ready to take with us, together with all the syringes, feeding tubes and other paraphernalia that comes with being a very complicated little human.
When Sam was little it wasn’t quite so bad – he still had a lot of stuff, but not quite this much.
Now, travelling away from more than a couple of days requires military planning and two cars!
Fortunately, my Mum comes away with us so her car is generally packed with Sam’s stuff (as is our roof box), while J and I share a bag between us.
J periodically likes to reminisce about life pre-child, when we travelled for 3 weeks around Japan, with only one case each and a bag for toiletries!
Going away as a family is one of life’s great joys, for us however as Sam gets older it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
Accessible properties to stay in aren’t always as accessible as people imagine – remembering here a bungalow we stayed in once which was advertised as wheelchair accessible and designed with disabled guests in mind, but which had a series of steep stone steps leading to the only door to gain entry.
Or the bathrooms with shower for ‘less mobile’ visitors, except the shower is over a bath making it difficult for those visitors to use.
I drone on about accessibility a lot and with good reason.
My son is 8 years old, he loves holidays, the beach, swimming, and going for days out but as he grows it becomes increasingly difficult to give him the life he loves and deserves.
Its only by letting people know what accessibility LOOKS like that anything will change.
