Cleveland Part 3

On our last day in Cleveland, we were getting ready to check out of the hotel.  I brought up a trolley and we loaded all our bags – was struggling to maneuver the trolley out the door and down the hall – looked around – where’s Todd?  A couple standing by the elevators said, “oh, he got on the elevator.” 

 

Went downstairs hoping he was in the lobby.  No.  My dad and brother went out to the parking lot to see if maybe he walked to the car.  No.  Starting to panic a little.  Did he go up the elevator instead of down?  He could be anywhere in the hotel!  Told the front desk clerk what happened – she was wonderful – got on her walkie-talkie to housekeeping, explained to them he was non-verbal.  A few long minutes later, a housekeeper brought him down  - he had been on the third floor.

 

I want to give a shout out to the employees at the Courtyard Marriott in Willoughby, Ohio – they were immediately helpful, calm and non-judgmental.  Thank you!

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/clewb-courtyard-cleveland-willoughby/

 

 

two good articles

Picked up on one of the many autism Facebook pages I belong to...

http://autism.voirici.net/?p=352

http://blog.theautismsite.com/dillan-speech/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=dillantest&utm_term=20140723&utm_campaign=4

The second one especially got to me. :)

Re-direction techniques

Will have to try these...

http://www.yogapeutics.com/blog/4-surprising-ways-to-support-a-childs-self-regulation-avoid-melt-down

Cleveland Part 2 - Courtyard Marriott, Euclid Beach, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Brewing Co.

So we drove into Ohio – myself, my dad, my brother and my two autistic kids.  We are visiting family in Cleveland, Ohio.  The road trip was a bit rough – 5 ½ hours is tough for any kid, much less autistic.  We stopped once to eat at a Hardee’s, twice to go potty and once when we were pulled over by the charming Officer Maureen. 

We are staying at the Courtyard Marriott in Willoughby, Ohio.  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/travel/clewb-courtyard-cleveland-willoughby/ Great brand, very clean, good and friendly staff.  The pool is smallish (which is good when it comes to controlling my kids) and indoors (which was cool because it rained today).  They have a mini convenience store area by the front desk and a bar that serves breakfast and coffee in the morning, snacks, sandwiches and cocktails at night.  There’s also a workout room that I may be ambitious enough to visit tomorrow morning. 

Our first night, we joined family for a picnic at Euclid Beach Park.  http://www.euclidbeach.org/This is a nice picnic area, right on the beach at Lake Erie.  They have live music there on Fridays.  Playground area for the kids.  Plenty of parking at the park or at the recreation center across the street.

Saturday our original plan was to have breakfast at Bob Evans, near our hotel.  Totally packed – and anyone who knows autistic kids, waiting is not an option – neither are crowds.  Drove by Cracker Barrell, same deal.  Saw a place called Eat-n-Park http://www.eatnpark.com/(although my brother surmised, shouldn’t you park before you eat? J) – parking spaces available – got a table within a few minutes.  Good food, good service, good prices. 

Saturday afternoon, went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.  http://www.rockhall.com/ Cool place!  Kids weren’t very cooperative – staff were very helpful – they have free strollers and wheelchairs – my little guy was a bit big for their strollers, so we got a wheelchair – got some funny looks but that pacified him for the trip through the museum. 

Saturday night dinner was at Great Lakes Brewing Company.  http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/home They don’t take reservations, so we showed up at 4:15, granted, in their defense, we had a party of about 28, so the wait would have been 2 hours – we instead broke up into groups of 5 or 6 and they took us right away.  Really like the venue, so relaxing – all their signature beers fresh and on tap.  Nice menu – it was a warm night, so I got the appetizer of fresh and local meats and cheeses – brisket, spicy sausage, chevre, gouda, gorgonzola, along with grapes, chutney and a carmelized onion and Kalamatta olive jam – really yummy!  Kids behaved well enough – had their standard chicken strips and fries – the fries were excellent with a breading that was cheesy and garlicky.  Great Lakes is a favorite go-to for my relatives and I will definitely be back whenever we’re in Cleveland.  There are also some interesting looking places right across the street – a coffee bar, a wine bar and another small restaurant called the Purple Fig, I think?  We won’t be there, but next week there is a Burning River festival – the  Cuyahoga River, many years ago, was so polluted it caught on fire – that was the inspiration for the Environmental Protection Agency.  Glad Clevelanders can have a sense of humor about it now. J <3 font="">

Cleveland, Ohio Part 1 - corrected contact info

Went to attend a family reunion with the two autistic kids and without the husband who couldn't get away from work.  5 1/2 hour drive from Chicago to Cleveland, but we've made the 4 1/2 hour drive to the Wisconsin Dells, so no biggie, right?


We dealt with the usual - my non-verbal ASD little guy trying to wriggle out of his seatbelt the whole way there and I spent a good amount of time wrestling with him to get him back in his seatbelt every time he tried to be an escape artist.  In his defense, one of my cousins said that his son, who is not autistic, got out of his seat belt several times on their way to Cleveland from Virginia.


Haven't been bothered by insensitive police in a while.  When I saw the lights, we assumed it was because my brother was speeding a bit  Nope.  Trooper Ladonna Klocinski of the Ohio State Police had seen me struggling to get Todd back into his seatbelt (not sure how since we have tinted windows).  When she pulled us over, he (autistic kids are robotic with routines) - the car was stopped, so he started to take off his seatbelt.  When she looked in the back, the shoulder part of the belt was off his shoulder. I tried to explain that he's autistic, I've been trying to keep his belt on the entire trip, and that when we stopped, he automatically thought it was time to take his belt off.  She stared at me blankly and then said that makes no sense. Officer Ladonna is obviously an autism expert! He wasn't in a booster because he rocks himself out of it and has actually opened the door while the car is moving a few times. She scolded me for that and also scolded me that the seat belt must have been rubbing his neck and bothering him and said to him in a singsong voice, "that's bothering you, isn't it? Mommy won't help you?" He just stared ahead.  I didn't explain that he's non-verbal, just hoped she'd think he was ignoring her for being such an insensitive witch. 


We got a ticket for no child restraints.  Now my older son is once again afraid of police and would never approach an officer if he needed help. Thanks, Officer Ladonna!  You're so good at your job! Apparently it's okay with the Ohio state police department to harass special needs parents and terrorize special needs kids.  No Officer Friendly in Ohio, you get Officer Ladonna!  Yes, I'm being sarcastic because it always blows me away when I yet again meet a completely insensitive jerk.  Anyway...I will post more later on the actual trip.  Just wanted to vent about this because I know my fellow special needs parents endure this crap from people of all walks of life and if you went through something similar today, I want you to know you're not alone.

Addendum - I was originally informed to contact Officer MacDonald in Maumee - he states he has received numerous emails and phone calls regarding this incident - the correct person to contact is:  Lt. Fisher with the Ohio State Police - 419-826-5871, email vefisher@dps.state.oh.us.  The officer in question is named Ladonna Klocinski. 

Thank you all - I am overwhelmed and touched by all the support I have received.

Music and Autism

This article on the Autism Speaks site really struck me - my PDD son sang before he spoke and music and theatre are so beneficial to him...

http://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2014/07/10/awe-inspiring-paul-mccartney-cover-adult-autism?utm_source=social-media&utm_medium=text-link&utm_campaign=espeaks

Autism Speaks on dining out

I dine out with my kids a lot - there's some good stuff in this article.  My favorite tip from Autism Speaks is the suggestion to sit in a booth by a window - distraction and if you make your child sit on the inside, it's more complicated for them to escape to run around the restaurant. :)

http://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services/going-out-to-eat?utm_source=social-media&utm_medium=E-speaks&utm_campaign=042712