I want to share this in case it helps another parent. I live in Suriname, and when my autistic daughter was 2 years old, we traveled to the US to find the right support for her. That’s when we met Jiselle Velazquez, an occupational therapist who uses the Floortime approach, and she completely changed our journey. My daughter is now 11, so we’ve been working with Jiselle for many years, and the impact she’s had on her has been incredible.Jiselle connects with children in a way that’s hard to put into words. Through play, patience and genuine warmth, she builds trust and gets kids to do things no one else has been able to achieve. And it’s not just my autistic daughter she bonded with, my 6-year-old, who is not on the spectrum, absolutely adores her and even calls her her “bestie.” That says everything about the kind of connection Jiselle creates.I’ve even brought Jiselle to Suriname over the years so more children could benefit from her work. She has changed the journeys of many kids here too, noticing things others had overlooked, helping parents understand what their child needs, and giving teachers tools to better support them.If you’re in the Virginia Beach / Chesapeake area and looking for an occupational therapist who truly connects with kids and helps them grow through meaningful, playful interaction, I can’t recommend her enough. She has made such a difference for our family and many others.You can find her here: https://www.mindsinmotionva.com

If you’re going to Disney World with a child on the autism spectrum, definitely use DAS (https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/disability-access-service/). It’s easy to set up, and being able to reserve return times makes the waiting so much more manageable.But if you can, I really recommend Disney After Hours. We went in April to Magic Kingdom, and it ended up being the best Disney experience we’ve had as a family. You can enter at 7pm, enjoy the regular fireworks, and then there’s a separate After Hours fireworks show. What I loved about the After Hours fireworks is that we didn’t need to use the disability viewing area for calmer views, we were able to stand right in front of the castle with plenty of space around us.Once the normal park hours end, the crowds basically disappear. Lines get super short (some rides were walk-ons), and everything feels more relaxed. We got to do so much more in a shorter amount of time without the usual stress.For us, combining DAS with Disney After Hours made the whole trip so much easier and way more enjoyable. I’d definitely recommend it to other families.

I just wanted to share something we really enjoyed as a family. We visited a trampoline park during their special needs hours, and it made such a big difference. There were no crowds, the loud music was turned off, the lights were dimmed, and the whole atmosphere felt much calmer. For us, with my daughter loving to jump on trampolines, it was a really nice activity where she could move and have fun with minimal sensory overload. Many trampoline parks offer special or sensory-friendly hours, so it’s definitely worth checking if your local park has something similar.

I wanted to share our experience at Legoland Florida and Peppa Pig Theme Park, because our day there went incredibly smoothly with our family. Both parks offer the Hero Pass (https://www.legoland.com/florida/plan-your-visit/know-before-you-go/accessibility-information/), and it worked really well for us. It helped manage wait times and made the whole visit so much more relaxed and enjoyable. We were able to enjoy the rides without long lines, and everything just felt easy and manageable for our family — which is not always the case at theme parks. Something I really appreciated is that both Legoland and Peppa Pig Theme Park offer Sensory Guides created by IBCCES. You can download them beforehand, and they’re also posted around the parks. The guides show the sensory levels for each attraction, which helps a lot when deciding what’s suitable for your child and avoiding any unexpected overwhelm. At Peppa Pig Theme Park, we especially loved the air-conditioned movie room. It’s dimly lit, has big pillows on the floor, and plays Peppa Pig episodes on a big screen — the perfect calm-down spot after all the excitement and heat. Overall, both parks were extremely family-friendly, and the accommodations really made our day easier and more enjoyable. If you’re visiting with a child who benefits from shorter wait times or sensory support, I’d definitely recommend looking into the Hero Pass and using the sensory guides.

I wanted to share our experience at iFly Indoor Skydiving in Orlando, because it turned out to be such a great activity for our whole family. We booked ahead, so the group was really small, just the four of us and one other person, which made everything feel calm and manageable. Before we went, I let them know my daughter is autistic, and they immediately said it wouldn’t be an issue. And they truly followed through. The way they guided her through the whole experience , with patience, kindness, and clear explanations , was honestly wonderful. They treated our whole family so well, and I’m really grateful for how smoothly it all went. What also helped was being able to show my daughter their videos beforehand, so she could see exactly what was going to happen. That preparation made a big difference for her. I went during regular hours, but iFly also offers All Abilities Nights (https://www.iflyworld.com/programs/all-abilities) for flyers who need extra support. We didn’t attend one of those, but it’s great to know they exist. Overall, it’s rare for us to find an activity that works perfectly for everyone, and this one really did. I’ve only been to the Orlando location, but I’ve heard positive things about other iFly spots too. If you live in Orlando or you’re visiting, I’d definitely recommend giving it a try.

Just wanted to share a really good experience I had traveling through Miami International Airport with my autistic daughter. We used the Sunflower Lanyard, and it honestly made the whole process so much easier.You can get the lanyard through their MyMIAccess program (https://www.miami-airport.com/myMIAccess.asp), but I actually got ours from an airport employee on the spot. With the lanyard, we were allowed to use separate lines at customs/immigration and again at security, which really helped avoid long waits and kept everything calm for my daughter. They also have sensory rooms in some terminals, but we didn’t get to check them out because we were short on time. For families who live in Miami, they even offer a program where kids can practice the whole airport experience in a controlled setting (https://www.miami-airport.com/miaair.asp). Such a great idea if your child needs that extra preparation. You can also get the sunflower lanyard from places like Amazon or https://hdsunflower.com, and it’s used in many airports and public spaces for hidden disabilities. Overall, our experience at Miami Airport was really positive, and the sunflower lanyard made a big difference for us.