Hello!

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for stopping by! I’m Cate and I’ve created this blog with a mission in mind.. to help out other families who need travel advice! Whether you have a child with special needs or not, I hope to cover all the bases!

Originally from North Carolina, my husband and I met at Appalachian State University. Shortly before marrying, I followed him to Georgia where we lived for about 6 years. There was a brief stint in Austin, TX but that’s a story for another day! During the summer of 2015, Thomas accepted a new job opportunity and we were given the chance to return to NC. We jumped at the chance! Our son was just shy of a year.. and I had a brother who was battling brain cancer. Needless to say, returning closer to family was high on our priority list. We settled on a surburb north of Charlotte and we’ve been here ever since!

I can’t say for sure when we knew that our son had Autism.. but we definitely hade a strong sense that something was different. At his 4 year appointment, we requested a referral to a Developmental Pediatrician where it was confirmed- Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. I would describe our initial reaction to his diagnosis as relief. Relief that our feelings and thoughts were justified. Relief that we had answers and a path forward. We were already involved with the Early Intervention Program.. but we also moved forward with private therapies. Currently, he’s in first grade and thriving in a public school setting. It’s not all rainbows and butterflies (virtual school has been a disaster for us) but we work hard at it every single day!

So where does travel come into this? We like to take trips. A lot of trips. We traveled a good bit before kids.. and we’ve continued to do so even after. But traveling with a special needs child (or just small children for that matter!) can be taxing. It takes a lot of prep, a lot of organization, and a lot of patience! But we do this to MAKE our son go out of his comfort zone. If it were up to him, we would stay home all the time. I’m not sure he would actually CHOOSE to travel any day of the week. He is complacent with his routines.. and doesn’t like to veer from them. But as parents, we want to challenge him. Because ultimately, these are life skills that need to be practiced.. especially by someone with a social disorder.

So follow along as we adventure! I’ll share every aspect as we go (the good, bad, and ugly!) in hopes that we just might give someone the energy to take their own spectrum adventure!