Adventures with Autism: Traveling to Canyonlands

Sometimes last minute trips are the best! As we approached Memorial Day, my husband and I realized that we didn't have any plans...so we decided to do something spontaneous!
We headed down to see Canyonlands National Park as a family! It was fantastic and not very crowded or hot. What a great time!
Another milestone was that we were able to get Nathan, who has autism, to go on a few of the short hikes without any iPod to distract him.
This is a huge accomplishment for him and many years in the making. Not too many years ago, we couldn't even go on a family walk around the block together. Then we used a simple map and showed Nathan where we were going and he began to go on short walks around the neighborhood. That evolved to hikes in National Parks if we brought a little iPod. And now, drum roll please, he took a few hikes without any device at all!
I feel like we need some confetti or something to celebrate, right?
It just goes to show that a little patience, persistence and maturity will go a long way. Baby steps, my friends, Baby steps!