As the seasons change I find myself reflecting back on my son Colin's greatest Summer yet. We had driven past the river many times. It has been taunting us for years as we watched many happy families floating down its long, picturesque course. This would be our year. Not shy about pushing the envelope for Colin's recovery, coupled with our desire to have "typical" family adventures, we decided to go white water rafting. It's just a three mile run on the upper Hudson River, controlled by a dam. Small rapids, a nice fast moving calm stretch, and then class two rapids for a finale.
Colin has serious behavioral and sensory issues that will make our journey difficult, but we believe he is ready. Being a professional I feel I have taken all necessary precautions, (don't try this at home kids), extra life vest, practice wearing it, change of clothes, several towels and a long discussion with our River Guide about the nuances of autism and Colin's particular issues. I have also taken Colin to the river several times to show him the rapids and rafts making the journey. "Do you want to go down the river in one of those boats?" Answer, "Yes".
As the seasons change I find myself reflecting back on my son Colin's greatest Summer yet. We had driven past the river many times. It has been taunting us for years as we watched many happy families floating down its long, picturesque course. This would be our year. Not shy about pushing the envelope for Colin's recovery, coupled with our desire to have "typical" family adventures, we decided to go white water rafting. It's just a three mile run on the upper Hudson River, controlled by a dam. Small rapids, a nice fast moving calm stretch, and then class two rapids for a finale.
Colin has serious behavioral and sensory issues that will make our journey difficult, but we believe he is ready. Being a professional I feel I have taken all necessary precautions, (don't try this at home kids), extra life vest, practice wearing it, change of clothes, several towels and a long discussion with our River Guide about the nuances of autism and Colin's particular issues. I have also taken Colin to the river several times to show him the rapids and rafts making the journey. "Do you want to go down the river in one of those boats?" Answer, "Yes".
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