~~The Great Autism Road Trip~~ Adventures Await! Our family is planning the ultimate USA road trip. We would love to visit all 50 states in our 1995 Winnebago. (Hawaii would require a different mode of transportation, naturally.) Our plan is to hit the road in August 2016. Our first destination will be the Pacific North West.  We have to wait for the weather to be right to go to Alaska!

But to do this we are going to need help!! We have some challenges that go above and beyond the normal, "ARE WE THERE YET?!" road trip shenanigans.

All three of our kids are extraordinary in their own ways.  We know it’s not going to be easy. There will be huge bumps in the road as we navigate a new mode of living and relating to the world (and each other!). It’s

going to take patience, careful planning and a lot of understanding for this to work….but I know it will be worth every meltdown, every stressor and every sleepless night to get to a place of peace, bravery, enlightenment and accomplishment that this trip will allow. With your contribution, we can prove that with a fabulous idea and working together...ANYTHING is possible!

Why on earth would we do this? There are both personal and global reasons that this trip needs to happen.

Connections.

We believe that making connections is one of the best ways to address autism, or any other developmental disorder, for that matter. Connections with family and friends, connections with learning and play, connections with people and emotions, connections with who we are and what makes us who we are and why we do what we do. These connections foster insight and growth, provide mutual support, and help our children reach their highest potential.

Our 6-year-old son Sam loves maps, especially puzzle maps. Puzzles are all about making connections--piece by piece they come together and create an intricate whole picture. I want my children to make a literal connection with the map of the United States. I want them to follow the roadways and paths and meet the people and values and history of this country. They will make decisions on what they want to see and broaden their minds in a way that will show them that, with planning and perseverance, anything is possible.

Sam inspires us to go a step further and view the world from his perspective. We will blog our adventures and share videos and pictures on our Patreon page. As our road trip unfolds, we hope it will encourage other families with challenges to think outside the box, to explore different paths to peace and happiness, and to consider taking the road less traveled.

The reason we’re connecting with you, is that we can’t do this without support. I’m hoping that you can help with our adventure by providing us with a donation.  Please feel free to contact me for more information about this Great Autism Road trip. I’d love some input and I’ll definitely need encouragement!!

Thank you so much for considering making a donation. Your generosity will help us to help families with autistic children realize that making connections with a bigger world can open doors that they never thought possible.

Linda Malcor