Road Trips with Food Issues and Autism...

So, in June of this year, we went on vacation. More specifically, we went on a 4,000+ mile (round trip) road trip to Texas and back. On the way there, we visited Zion National Park, The Grand Canyon, Zilker Botanical Garden in Austin, etc. On the way back, we visited Garden of the Gods and Dinosaur National Monument...and did a lot of things in between. It was awesome. We saw sights AND visited friends and family. 

...but the vacation itself is not what this post is about. It's about surviving the trip down there without having to stop to buy anything to eat. It's about surviving with an autistic child in the car. So...here's how I did it...

First, we'll discuss the food aspects. For weeks before the trip, I planned everything out with what exactly I could bring for my children to eat during the 3-4 day drive down there. Their restrictions are no gluten, no dairy, no egg. So...for breakfasts, I made sure we had plenty of cereal to take with us (Rice Chex), gluten free breakfast bars for me, and also fresh fruit (apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, etc.). For lunches, I cooked and shredded a whole chicken the night before we left...which I then placed into ziploc bags for the separate days. I brought some GF corn tortillas as well...and fruit cups (peaches, pears, etc. in their own juices) as fillers. For snacks/extras, I brought chips (Kettle brand sea salt potato chips and Jackson's Honest brand corn tortilla chips), Rice cakes (Lundberg brand), boxes of raisins, almonds, and gluten free pretzels (Glutino). Then, for dinner, I had either lunchmeat (Boar's Head; I bought 2-3 lbs. to last 3-4 days for 6 people) or canned tuna (Pole Line brand; I brought 24 cans with me...and we used more than half of those) with baby carrots and whatever snack foods they wanted. I also packed some apple juice (mostly for my 2 y/o...though my older ones drank some as well).

The items that didn't need refrigeration were placed in cardboard boxes for the trip...



...and the refrigerated stuffs were placed into 1 of 2 coolers. The smaller one was used for each particular day's items...the other for all the rest of the refrigerated stuffs...



In order for the larger cooler to stay cold for 3-4 days of time, I froze one of the apple juices and several bottled waters a few nights before they were needed (both there and on the way back). This helped keep the large cooler super cold without having to depend completely on packed ice for that.

When it came to packing the coolers, I tried to layer the largest cooler for each day...with the food needed on the 2nd day on top (the 1st day's food would be in the small cooler). I put the frozen juice and 6 of the frozen bottled waters in the bottom...then laid the food we'd need on the last day above that, placed a layer of ice, did more frozen waters and the next-to-last day's food...and repeated until I had the 2nd day's food on top....and filled with ice to the top.

For the small cooler, I put the current day's food in it every morning...plus a few drinks and filled it with ice.

This method actually worked fairly well. Things stayed cold (we only opened the big cooler twice/day to replace ice and move that day's food to the smaller cooler; we also drained the water from the bottom while we were stopped at each hotel) and we kept the smaller cooler behind the driver's side seat, so it was easily accessible throughout the drive. The larger cooler was kept in the back underneath our luggage. In the back of the van, we had the cooler with our luggage on top and to the side...and the boxes of dried/non-refrigerated foods on top of that. It was pretty packed...but not so bad that we couldn't see out the back (so still safe for driving).

As for feedings, I had bought paper plates...and generally plated/fed the children whenever we stopped for gas around/near their normal feeding times. We usually ate in the car...though did get out and eat at some nearby picnic tables a few times as well.

In this way, we didn't NEED to stop and actually buy ANY food the entire drive down there...or the drive back. We were able to avoid flare-ups due to cross-contamination...and none of the children complained of bellyaches the entire trip. :)

As for dealing with my autistic child, this was actually fairly simple. We'd bought a portable DVD player to entertain the children on the drive down...and while this did help somewhat, it wasn't always enough for our ASD (autism spectrum disorder) child. We did, however, bring other "tricks".

Before we left, our speech therapist actually suggested I buy a lycra blanket. I'm SO glad we did. This, above all, was probably the biggest help for my ASD child (age 5). When she'd start getting irritated and annoyed by being in the car, I'd just hand her the blanket. She'd (still buckled in her car seat) place it over her head...and it would immediately calm her. In fact, it often made her fall asleep (which, considering she hasn't taken naps since she was 2, says something in itself).



She LOVED it. When she wasn't sleeping in it, she'd still look like above and just sit there chatting to herself. It was the cutest. thing. ever.

She also had a few night terrors while staying at others' houses (new/different environment, unfamiliar surroundings, etc.)...and our occupational therapist had given us a baby brush...like this...


...for calming/soothing her. When she'd wake up in the night, I'd brush her with this on her legs and arms and she'd immediately calm and relax and fall back asleep. It was also a miracle worker for us.

I got to the point where I tried brushing her before bed...and, on those nights, she generally slept straight through the night without issue. So...it also came in very helpful...though I still feel the lycra/spandex blanket was the most helpful.

Anyway, that's how we survived the trip...or...how I kept my sanity (for the most part ;) ). I know it was a lot of work/preparation on my part, but it made things a lot less stressful for me to NOT have to worry about where we're going to find safe food. There were still inconveniences along the way, of course...but all these things helped make the trip a LOT smoother and easier for us. I hope these tips will be helpful to others as well. Happy and safe travels to you all.