Weston Families Affected By Autism Are Invited on Bus Trip to NYC

Written by Brian Fostervold

Over the last few years it seems more and more businesses have started having Autism Spectrum Disorder-friendly hours and events. Facebook is full of networking groups with parents sharing notes on those locations. If it wasn’t for these groups I wouldn’t have known about SCOR’s Holland League or the Sensory Sundays at SkyZone in Bethel. If you’ve ever attended events like these, you know there is an instant camaraderie among those attending. It’s awesome.

When my kids took a strong liking to “Night at the Museum” staring Ben Stiller, I thought a trip to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC would soon be in order. But, a trip to NYC did seem a little daunting. I wondered how many other parents with kids on the spectrum thought the same thing. I had a flashback to 20 years ago when my musician friends would book their bands at the same club on the same night, charter a bus, fill it with friends, and it would end up costing people about the same price as a Metro-North ticket (this was 20 years ago, mind you). Good times ensued.

I started looking for ASD-friendly bus trips to NYC but came up empty handed. So, I’m hoping to put one together. I wanted to give myself enough time to spread the word, so I took aim at 2016. Remember when everyone used the “Light It Up Blue” app and tinted their Facebook profile photo blue? That was for World Autism Awareness Day. Which in 2016, falls on Saturday April 2. A perfect day for a bus trip to NYC, if you ask me.

Here’s the plan: The bus would depart from the Ridgefield/Danbury area at 7 a.m. that Saturday and arrive at the Museum of Natural History at 9 a.m. for a private tour before the museum opens to the public. Everyone would then have a few hours to further explore the museum (or explore NYC), grab lunch on their own, and we head back to CT around 1 p.m. The museum has asked we keep it to ages 5-14 with a formal ASD diagnosis, but siblings are welcome.

The cost for the bus and museum admission should end up being about $45-$50 per person. I am not making a dime off this trip. This isn’t a fund-raiser and I’m not affiliated with any school or organization. I’m just a dad trying to plan something fun.

The Autism spectrum is very wide. An organized bus trip would make things more complicated for many families. But, if between all the neighboring towns there are 50 people interested in this trip - it can become a reality. I’m not collecting any money at this point. April 2016 is a ways away. But, if your family MIGHT be interested in this trip, please get in touch.

I’ve created an event page on Facebook called “Morning at the Museum!” You can also email me at MorningAtTheMuseum@gmail.com for more info. If any local businesses are interesting in sponsoring the trip, that would be a huge help and possibly make the trip a reality even if we don’t fill every seat on the bus.

Brian Fostervold, Ridgefield Dad

PS: Attention Ben Stiller: You should totally show up and go on the tour with us.