Autism Adventures

Many families of those living with autism do not go on many, if any, family vacations. This can limit opportunities for exploring and visiting new places. Autism Adventures has changed that! Our mission is to provide supported family recreational experiences. We are doing this through a therapeutic recreation setting where all family members can reconnect, unwind, and create lasting memories in a supportive and caring atmosphere.

During our Adventures, children with autism have had professional targeted support that allows them to further develop their social skills, build their independence, confidence, and self-worth, and make new friends.

Siblings of children with autism have had time to connect, learn from each other, and build meaningful relationships in recreational settings.

Parents of children with autism have received a helping hand in planning and supporting their children during the trip. In addition, there were possibilities to interact with other parents with similar family dynamics. This supported therapeutic recreation setting fosters meaningful relationships and possibilities to continue socializing with the participants after the Adventure is over.

With our tireless volunteer Rob Zoppi at the helm, our inaugural cruise in January 2020 was tremendously successful. After a pause for a worldwide pandemic, Rob, then working as a paid part time administrator for AOK, organized a second cruise in January 2023 that was also a success.

Moving forward we hope to plan future adventures that are less expensive for families as well. We hope to have trips of varying lengths, settings and locations. If you have any ideas of what you would like to do please email us at info@autismokanagan.ca Check back in the future!

All our board members are volunteers. Please consider donating to Autism Okanagan – all the money we receive goes directly to help us continue our programs and develop new ones.