Accessibility Summit 2016

Two weekends ago, Trippin' with Jamie was at the annual Accessibility Summit held at Mclean Bible Church. It is a great event held to connect families with special needs to vendors, service providers, and other families as well as offering seminars and workshops taught by professionals in the field on various topics all focusing on dealing with special needs.

This is one of our favorite events to attend because it brings together a wide variety of parents, service providers, educators, and specialists all focused on helping families with special needs navigate through life. It is also an incredible reminder of why we do what we do.

I (Jamie) began Trippin' with Jamie in April 2014 after many years of planning our own family vacations and the increasing special needs that came as my daughter dealt with various medical issues and eventually was diagnosed with a rare disease. What used to be planning a simple ski vacation or all-inclusive resort now had a bit more complexity. How do we bring her feeding tube formula? Will the cruise ship have enough outlets to charge her various medical devices? Are we close enough to the slopes to go back mid-day to rest for a while? Are the layovers long enough to allow her to take her service dog out to go to the bathroom and make it back through security before the next flight?

Traveling has become much more complicated. But that doesn't mean it had to become less enjoyable. Things take more time to plan now, but we have continued to travel and continue to build family memories on all sorts of different trips. We've gone white water rafting in West Virginia, gone on a cruise to Alaska, she has stayed at bed and breakfasts, and is looking forward to both Disney and San Francisco later this year.

Yes, traveling with special needs is more challenging and it's not easy. But life with special needs is challenging and not easy. Trippin' with Jamie can't make your trip easy or take away those special needs, but we can make it easier. We offer our expertise in the travel industry and understanding from our personal experiences to offer suggestions and tips to help you make your trip as easy as possible. Some of my family's best memories have come from trips we have taken. We are in this business because we want families to know that having special needs doesn't mean that these memories are not an option for you. Traveling may still be a challenge, but we are here to help you navigate through the craziness of travel planning to make it easier for you. Special needs don't mean you can't have vacation memories, it just means that your memories will be that much more special.