My 10 year old son, Max, has a high-functioning form of autism. Every other year I have taken him and his siblings West on long tent-camping trips to see various sights and he has made tremendous strides in overcoming his autism on each trip. He has progressed from an anti-social, non-verbal child at age 3, to an outgoing boy, getting average grades in public school. He also is in Cub Scouts and plays Little League as best he can. I truly believe most of his progress is because we took him out of the routine and exposed him to new things.

Now that his older sister and brother are unavailable for our trips (both are in the Army National Guard and college) I asked where he wanted to go this coming summer, or what he wanted to do. His response was to “be a cowboy”. He has ridden horses on short, hour-long, guided trips at various campgrounds, so he isn’t afraid to ride. I’m now looking for a good “dude ranch” or something similar that would have children’s activities and that isn’t too costly for a few days stay (no more than a week).

If you know of such a place would you please email me at sisjake@hotmail.com or forward my email on to them? I’ve checked online but can’t find any that mention being able to handle children with special needs, although at this point Max isn’t much different than a non-disabled child (he does see things a bit differently and talks a blue streak). Thanks in advance for your help.

Mary