Taking a Trip With a Disability - Series - Episode 1

Best Buddies Leadership Conference - University of Indiana

Over the summer, Tysen and I had the opportunity to attend the Best Buddies Leadership Conference for the second time together. Every year, over 2,000 inclusive students, teachers, parents, caregivers and advocates descend upon the University of Indiana for weekend of magical moments. I personally have never experienced anything like it - nothing compares to the level of inclusivity each person experiences over the course of the weekend. This post will discuss the level of preparation that went into that weekend for Ty...and myself.

For starters, we don't live near the University of Indiana - flying is the only option. That in itself is it's own blog post *insert nervous mom-laugh here*. The first year Ty attended, I had to fly ahead and meet him and the other attendees in Indiana. All I can say is thank God for the incredible chapter Advisors and teachers who made sure his trip was a success. This year, however, Tysen and I got to fly together along with several other Best Buddies Ambassadors and students from North Texas. It was a great adventure!

I started prepping Ty months ahead of the conference. 

That prep included:

-Bringing the conference up in conversation weekly

-Counting down the days on his wall calendar

-Watching YouTube videos about flying on an airplane and navigating an airport

-Practicing getting ready in the mornings using his toiletries kit

-Practicing introducing himself and his Best Buddies Ambassador speech using his incredible AAC app, Proloquo2Go by AssistiveWare - Ty uses this regularly to order food, so that was something we (luckily) didn't need to practice

-Going over a social story I created on an amazing app we have loved forever called Social Story Creator and Library by Touch Autism that included pictures of the campus, other Best Buddies attending the conference with us, pictures of who he could ask for help

-Ordering Ty a Sunflower Lanyard for the airport (this arrived late so Ty didn't get to use it, but others in our travel group used theirs, and I found them very helpful)

-Booking Special Assistance from American Airlines - if Tysen was flying without me, I would have requested their Cognitive and Developmental Assistance, but we're not there yet. To make life easier and reduce meltdowns, I booked Ty wheelchair assistance at the gates.

-Ordering an Apple AirTag and shoe lace accessory on Amazon - because "he's a runner, he's a track star" ;) IYKYK

As you can see, a lot goes into going out of town for us. Some people might think this is nuts, and never take their adult child with a disability out of town, but luckily (or unluckily haha) for Tysen, I'm pretty stubborn LOL. We're going. Since he was a tiny nugget, I have worked very hard to make sure Tysen is exposed to every opportunity his brothers are afforded. Again, maybe that's nuts and not in the cards for everyone, but at the end of the day I need to know in my heart that I tried to give Tysen every opportunity available. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it's a dumpster fire. You just never know until you try.

I hope this post helps someone plan a trip with their kiddo or friend with an intellectual or developmental disability because life is meant to be lived. Be on the lookout for Episode 2 in this Travel Series, as well as posts on the apps mentioned above that have made life easier.