Facing Fear
Josh’s Summer Vacation Blog Post Part 1
For special needs families like ours, there are many harsh realities that you learn to accept.
Traveling to new places together has always been one that we have struggled with. We have basically just avoided trying to do it. Long distance trips with Josh have been a mixture of tears and meltdowns with a few smiles sprinkled in.
Overall, Josh has been in a pretty good place at age 25. When Leah and Will moved to LA in June of 2023, we made a few lighthearted jokes about bringing Josh to visit them someday.
Our biggest fear while in public, aside from toileting issues, is Josh’s desire to elope. The thought of him running away from us at a crowded airport or across a busy road is panic-inducing. Plus, the things he craves most are his expected routines and daily structure.
The last time Josh flew on an airplane was 2003, when we took him and Leah to Alaska to visit Grandpa and Grandma Rushing and their family. While memories fade over twenty years, the one that sticks out the most from that trip is when Josh took off. You might be asking “how far could a four year old get?” When we finally found him, he was in the neighbor’s yard sitting on the roof of an old car. He had gone through the woods, crossed an electric fence (twice) and a pasture where a very large horse stood watching the commotion. While this maybe wasn’t even the scariest time that he eloped, it is definitely near the top of the list of things you never want to experience again.
The Nichols Family in Alaska, 2003
Over the last few years, Josh has been looking at family photos on his iPad often, especially photos of Leah and Will. Like a lot of people with autism, what he doesn’t say with words is often clearly expressed in other ways. We know how much he misses them.
We do too, buddy.
Josh scrolling family photos on his iPad
Often Josh does things that surprise us and make us beam with pride. With that in mind, we decided to face our fears and booked flights from Michigan to LA! For about two months we recited a little social story about flying on an airplane to California to see Leah and Will. Every day in the shower. Every time we were on the phone with Leah. If you heard him in person, you know how stinkin’ cute it was to hear him say it along with us.
Coming next “Learning to Fly”