Wyndham Garden Austin Texas Offers Special Support For Guests with Autism
Posted on April 14, 2010 at 6:12 PM
Wyndham Garden Austin Hotel is opening a special wing Wednesday night. This special section of rooms is specially designed for children on the Autism spectrum.
The final touches were being put into a South Austin hotel room Wednesday.
"We wanted it to feel very much like a hotel room still, because we don't want people to come in and feel like, 'Oh, we've been tagged with this special needs label,'" said Conference Services Manager Anna Roberts.
Some of the changes are subtle: organic cleaning products, corner protectors and keeping most of the amenities just out of reach.
It's ideal for Ann Kaplan, who travels each year with her family, including her 9-year -old autistic son, Jon.
"He is what I consider low verbal, he has some speaking, he can request things," she said.
Jon is a pretty good traveler, but it's still not easy.
"We pack our own foods, we do a lot of prep before we go -- where's the Whole Foods or natural food markets," she said.
Many autistic children don't like being taken out of their comfort zone or routines. Kaplan has had scary moments while traveling.
"Our child has tried to escape a room -- it's very scary. He woke up in the middle of the night and he was disoriented and he tried to walk out," she recounted.
That is the type of scenario the Wyndham Austin Hotel is trying to avoid. Special alarms will wake parents if a child opens the door. No need to pack foods -- the hotel offers a gluten and casein free menu. The five special rooms are all in one section of the hotel, and the staff has been trained on what to expect.
"So to have a staff that's trained, that say 'oh, we know that's OK. We're not going to react to it or we're going to help you what ever the situation calls for,'" said Kaplan.
"I think that's the biggest part of making them feel comfortable," said Roberts.
That gives parents a sense of calm that they can have a vacation.
All five rooms are booked for the first night. The hotel offers those rooms at a discount.
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So this is obviously a cut and paste from another website, but I was trying to show how even hotel chains are stepping in and doing their part to help accommodate these familys. I think that it is comforting to know that businesses like this hotel are going out of their way to help the family's that have a loved one with autism. Most people don't realize how hard it can be for parents, brothers/sisters, etc. I admire these people for their patience, I know it must be tough at times. Especially when you are trying to go on a trip somewhere. That's why the autism awareness movement/organizations are trying to get their message across.
Also I just find it interesting how so many people don't even know exactly what autism is, I can honestly say that before I started this blog, yes I knew what autism was. But I didn't know the extent of the differences, or the broad range of symptoms that are classified as autism spectrum disorders. Good ole' wikipedia says:
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood. The two other autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and PDD-NOS, diagnosed when full criteria for the other two disorders are not met.
I hope that in the future, we can find out why our autism rates have been increasing exponentially, and then figure out how to stop this from happening in so many children. I think that with the advances in technology and medicine in the coming years, we will have a better understanding of autism and have more successful treatment plans, and HOPEFULLY one day put an end to autism.
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