{our hike to Virgin Falls on the Cumberland Plateau, TN}
If you know our family at all, you are probably fully aware that we love the great outdoors. Hubby and I spent many of our pre-kid years hiking and camping in the wild blue yonder. We vowed that once we had children, we would also include them in our outdoor adventures. Why let parenthood slow us down? we frequently mused to ourselves. Once Little Man came along, we kept good on our promise and swept him away with us into the wild. He loved every moment of it. When Big Brother came along, we knew our entire world was about to change, including our outdoor activities. Still, we wanted to do the best we could in helping Big Brother fall in love with the natural world. And guess what? It’s been a great and wonderful adventure in and of itself–different, but great.
I’ve come up with some practical tips to share about hiking with a special needs child. Obviously, this list is geared towards our experience with Autism. Each child is unique with varied needs, but hopefully you will find some sort of inspiration within the list. The most important goal is to just have fun and to be creative in finding a way to bring a love of nature to your child.
1. Practice makes perfect
When Big Brother came home, we immediately started spending as much time as possible outside. He was used to a life within the orphanage, so we had much work to do! We started with exploration of textures in the backyard and then moved to short, easy walks at nearby parks. Big Brother was not used to walking any amount of distance, so it took time to build his leg muscles (and motivation) to want to walk for any length of time. We built our way up slowly and made it fun. By 6 months home, we were doing short easy hikes/walks at a nearby park. Gradually, he came to love the time outdoors. The peace and quiet of the woods turned out to be the best environment for him! Now he asks to go hiking all the time and can even be heard saying “fun hiking.”
{exploring the back yard}
{Big Brother jumping for joy on his first real hike in the Smoky Mountains}
To read the full blog please click here.
Credits
Hiking Mama is a lover of nature, an avid hiker, a former biochemist and a mama to two boys adopted from across the globe, one who happens to have significant special needs. She uses her blog to chronicle her adventures and to also connect with others in the adoption and special needs communities.