The Journey from Special Education to Special Travelers

I am so happy to introduce the newly available services of Special Travelers. Here is its story. It began over ten years ago during my first exposure to children with special needs, a recreational program through the Arc. Shortly after that, I became a trained respite provider, which meant joining the immediate worlds of the children, in their homes. Nearly my first introduction to the working world, both jobs brought me great joy. It was through those opportunities that I grew a passion for impacting the daily lives of children with special needs.

As I began working in the Special Education system, I found myself becoming more disconnected from the family life of my students and more focused on their world of a classroom. Feeling still drawn to their home lives, during my first year in a school servicing students with autism, I began providing respite to one of my students. The administration called this a "conflict of interest;" I called it "understanding." For one thing, it decoded a pattern of behavioral episodes with this young girl of running from staff and dropping in the grass, discovering that the grass at the school was the only grass she experienced, as she lived in an urban apartment building where it was not safe for her to play outside - she just wanted to be in the grass! How would something as simple and yet revealing as that come about without seeing her world?

That respite experience was also the start of my seeing that children are typically so much more themselves and relaxed in their home environment, which often leads to more social connections and communication than they reveal at school. I craved to be more a part of that world of my students. I was fortunate to be a part of a few enjoyable travel experiences with families, before fading away from respite as I became more of a "professional."

The educational piece never felt complete to me, always reflecting on what the students’ afternoons and evenings consisted of, away from group structure and paid employees. I also continued to feel a deep connection to my students’ families, to the extent that school administrators and teachers often questioned who I was "working for." When I answered "the child" it never seemed to satisfy them.

I reached a point in my career, while acting as Educational Director for a private based company and consulting with school districts, that I wanted to leave it. While I welcomed the idea of continuing to know and enjoy the children, the educational systems through which I could reach them were becoming more challenging and unappealing by the day. It was like I woke up one day and realized that my work had become about memos and meetings, and while those efforts still made an impact on children, it was the longest dance of a means to an end imaginable, and they were happening with adults (not nearly as much fun).

It was another travel experience with a family to the Caribbean, ten years into my career, that led me to the understanding that I was not sentenced to a classroom and neither were the children I served. Joy and learning (which in my opinion is "education") can happen anywhere. It was the first time that I thoroughly enjoyed playing and discovering with a child in a long time. It also brought me back to the raw contribution of added quality of life to families, who are so much in need of time away from their routine and a change of scenery.

It is exciting for me to think of sharing all that I have learned from so many students with new children, in the creative context of travel. The mission of Special Travelers is to provide a range of supportive services that will enable all family members to enjoy a travel experience. Our hope is for families who never thought that a family vacation was possible will now be empowered to plan one and learn differently.

More information about our services can be found at www.specialtravelers.org, and I welcome all of your feedback and questions. Enjoy your journey!

Meghan Mulvenna
Founder, Special Travelers