What is a perfect vacation for a 9 year old boy with autism?

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My son attends public school in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thank you for all of your wonderful suggestions.

Well I was going to recommend something outdoors but I see you're in Phoenix and outdoors isn't such a good idea in the summer I would have to say museums. If he's really into school you could go visit some museums on your own 1st to come up with challenges for your son , make it a series of 'field trips'. You could get him to interact with the world around him more by giving him challenges and offering rewards for correct answers. He would also be actively studying the exhibits rather than just observing them.

Whatever he'd most enjoy, even if it seems like a really weird option.

My older brother has a civil war obsession. He became a history teacher, he also loves sports especially football so he is the football coach and the girls track coach. Anyway, can you afford to drive across country and see all the historical sites and all the museums and natural sights (biggest ball of twin hehe, just kidding)....those were always my favorite vacations, we would drive from Illinois to San Diego California and we always had to stop at all my brothers places....every place were big battles from the civil war are marked....I think he still does that....Custards last stand, oh boy (Ok, been to too many of my bros Civil War monuments and markers LOL) Loved the drive though, we would play license plate game and the alphabet game....and watching the landscape change. Since you are in Arizona you should go up, maybe even to Canada, that would be awesome!

I live in that area
- Arizona Science Center - http://www.azscience.org/location_hours.php
- There are some neat Native American ruins you can visit near Roosevelt lake (get there before 4pm). http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizon ... ument.html
- Boyce Thompson Arboretum http://ag.arizona.edu/bta/
- Desert Botanical Gardens has a neat butterfly exhibit http://www.dbg.org/
- Mesa Historical Museum has aviation exibits: http://www.mesamuseum.org/ Others like that here:http://www.arizona-leisure.com/mesa-attractions.html
- There is a neat train ride he might like in Cotton Wood - http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/
- UofA Mineral Museum http://www.uamineralmuseum.org/
- Lowell Observatory http://www.lowell.edu/
- Arizona Sky Ride - http://www.arizonasnowbowl.com/rates/summer_rates.php
- Woods Canyon Lake near Payson has canoe rentals http://www.arizona-leisure.com/woods-canyon-lake.html

I don't think there's one particular type, or particular distance from home, or method of travel, which is "best for Autism". I have high-functioning autism, and when I was your son's age, I preferred to be only with those I knew well, and I was terrified at the thought of any kind of vacation, camp, or summer school which might force me to be with new people. I've seen kids and adults with autism, react completely oppositely to places like Disneyland, etc. If your son is like I was, and he goes to Disneyland, he might be much more interested to see the machinery behind the rides, rather than to actually go on them. Off hand, in AZ, I'd probably say that the Pima Air and Space Museum might have interesting stuff to him; again, if he's like I was.

The bottom line is that I would just use common sense, and when you have a good thought of a vacation spot, maybe take him to a similar place nearby just for a few minutes or an hour or so, and see what he thinks. When I say similar, I mean with the same kind of people (whether it be a large raucous crowd, or a bunch of retired people). Think ahead as to whether there will be sudden new noises (fireworks at many amusement parks at night, etc), and how does he react to whatever those things may be?...

I'm not the "typical" autism example by an means, but I can say that I am 45, and I am a successful businessman, but honestly the terror is exactly the same for me now, when I face any kind of change; for better or worse! Case in point, I'm very fortunate that I could go get on a plane right now to spend a year touring Europe with my wife if we wanted to, but I'd rather go to the dentist than get myself into a foreign country with customs I haven't a clue about, and to add a language barrier to my communication issues. Jeez; the thought of it! . A one-night trip to a nearby town is all the vacationing I need, and for recreation, I'm just as happy driving along a fire road someplace in the Santa Monica Mountains where the illegal dumps are, to look for interesting abandoned TV sets from the 1950s.

I wish you and family the best vacation, and I feel that by the fact that you're here asking around, you'll do fine with your choices!

Charles

I will remember the following:
1. Make certain he is not trapped in a place with perpetual sensory overload.
2. Stimulate his intellect.
3. Nature, nature, nature

In the middle of a city, high rise hotel, good restaurants. That was my favorite vacation at nine years old.

Duckling ala orange.