Vacation Time | ADHD Information

Oohhh boy, a Greyhound bus???? Have you ever taken a Greyhound bus??

I don't have much advise as far as traveling with an ADHD child other than the ususal, but we took a Greyhound from Phoenix to Disneyland, and an 11 hour busride took 17 hours because of bus trouble, missed all of our connections and had to hang out in the worst depot in the country, and the service and answers were terrible. Kiddo did ok though (he's innattentive-type), we took books, and his DS, and tried to nap. Does your son like those things, and can play on them for hours? Mine did, and I got him a new great game just for the trip. What was really annoying, just in case you have never taken THE BUS, is other kids, just would not SHUT UP, EVER! with no intervention or entertainment from the family. Literally running up and down the iles constantly. And on changovers, the whole bus was really mean and would not change seats to let us sit together. One of the guys in the back ended up being arrested for doing "something" in the back of the bus. Drugs or alcohol. It was sort of a nightmare and my blood boils just to write it. Yeah, it will save you money, and the fantasy of sitting peacefully looking out the window as the countryside wizzes by is, just a fantasy. Or it was for us. We decided we'd rather have not gone at all. Or saved up for the darn plane ride.

It might be different in Canada............

I would never suggest to anyone what they should or shouldn't do, but you might think twice about taking any kid on a bus trip like that. Is there a way you can find out what it might be like there? Anywhoo, that was our experience.
It was just gross.

Disneyland was awesome though.

calicorose38853.5609953704A Gameboy! I bought my girl one for Easter and she will hyperfocus on it all day and fight when it is time to put away. Gameboy is a small hand held video game and you can choose a game of your sons interest. Unforunetly it costed me 0 and that included the game and warrenty. They come with a re-chargible battery. Good luck Jill Jillette38852.7801041667Would you consider giving Brandon his meds just for the two days of the trip? It might be worth it.

Brandon and I want to go to see my dad in another province this summer. Due to financial restrictions I want to take a Greyhound bus. I also want to see the countryside. This trip will take almost 2 days. They do stop for meals.

His doctor and I agreed not to medicate Brandon during the summer. In fact he is only medicated on school days. Brandon is 10 and has ADHD. This will be a very long trip and I want us to enjoy it.

Does anyone have any advice on how to keep Brandon entertained and reasonably quiet without his meds? I plan on bringing along some books,snacks and drinks. Anyone taken a long car trip with their ADHD child? Brandon usually talks quite loud.

Well I have lots of time to decide my mode of transportation. I am not sure if we can even sit together on the train. I just sent an email to find out. Apparently not all of the trains have assigned seating. I imagine the bathroom on the train is not the same as the one on the Greyhound. It is small and cramped. You almost have to turn sideways to get into it. I probably will give him his meds for the trip. I still like the idea of being able to get up and move around though.

I think I will try and save up enough for the train. It would be less stressful since we can stay on the train and relax. Also we can get up and move around. I think this would be better for Brandon. He could release his energy. If not ,we will take the Greyhound.

Calicorose yes we have taken a Greyhound within our province. It took about 5 hours to get to my mom's with a stopover in Toronto. Brandon was 5 at the time and did quite well. What is a "DS"? I hope Canadians are more well behaved than those Americans are. It would take me a long time to save up for the plane ride since I am a single mom. The plane is about 3 times the price of the bus ride.

Jillete there is a second hand store where I can buy a gameboy more cheaply. It may have a rechargable battery. This would be okay if he doesn't get too excited and yell when he does well or upsewt when he doesn't. He loves his computer games. Is the gameboy loud? Is your daughter on meds?

Smallmom would the meds be effective though after almost 2 months of being off them? He will begin his meds again a few days after we return so I would likely have to keep him on them from the time we left until school began.

Lovemyboy,

I have taken Greyhound from S. Ontario to Lexington, KY (USA) as well as Espanola in Ontario (North of Manitoulin island) so I have seen both sides of the border on those wheels. And yes, Canada is different from US in this regard. On the Canadian side you'll mostly see students travelling on Greyhounds, especialy in the summer. The US (and please, no disrespect intended here, just observations) was totally different - a lot of scary people (especially men) on those busses. I almost didn't make it home from Lexington because when my bus arrived It was 1/3 full of huge, boxer - type guys, rather rowdy and drunk and I literally had an anxiety attack and backed down the steps. Never saw that on the Canadian side, though I'm sure it happens as well here and there.

As for entertainment, I would suggest taking the bus that travels a lot during the night if your son is a reasonably good sleeper. For the rest of the trip gameboys or other portable video games are a godsend. Also, if you can afford it or maybe borrow one - the portable DVD players are wonderful on long car trips! They run around 0.00 right now and they have saved many a trip in our family. Stock up on his favourite movies, plug in the headphones, and noone knows he's watching a movie.

Good luck on your trip!

Margaret.
I am with smallmom for giving meds on the trip if it would help him feel better.
When I have taken the kids on road trips, my motto was to keep their hands, mouths and bellies full. Since I don't let my kids have small electronic games we'd play a variety of road trip games...string gadgets and gizmos for busy fingers...and the kids do the shopping of snacks for the road. (No candy & not too much sugar,please

)

A DS is put out by Nintendo, and has more bells and whistles than the Gameboy, and plays the same games.

http://www.nintendo.com/channel/ds

You might be able to find one used at this point, they've been out about 1 1/2 years now. They have a brand new game too, called Brain Age, that is fun and educational, and stimulates the brain. My sone likes doing it every day to see his improvement.

Let us know when you are going on your trip, I will DEFINATELY keep you in our prayers. I am a single mom too, and did the trip. It might be fun for him to "be the man" and watch over you on the trip, like my guy does. Like learning to keep an eye on everything, locking the doors in your rooms at the hotel and car, keeping your cash safe when travelling to avoid pickpockets. He had fun watching out for stuff like that, with out getting OCD about it. Well maybe just a little. But it will be fun, and if you have any difficulties and grossness with the bus, you can use it as a good test of patience and tolerance.

[QUOTE=calicorose] It was full of the most loathsome, pond-scum, south-of-the-border sort of folks I had ever had to be in an enclosed space with for way too long...
[/QUOTE]

Wow. Just a Canadian observation, but when I read your comment, I thought "WHO would talk about Americans like that?" Something for you to think about...

Lovemyboy: My sons are 15 and 12 (the ADD one), and we invested in a portable dvd player a few years back, but then we can plug that into the lighter outlet in our car. Do the Greyhounds in Canada show movies now? They just might, so make sure you grab a seat with a good view. My younger son has a colour Nintendo Gameboy, and my older has a Sony PSP (which will play games as well as movies, but they're not cheap). I've asked my 12 year old which one he would recommend, and he says the Nintendo DS - it has more and better games. You can probably find any of these fairly reasonable at second-hand stores or pawn shops, but if you buy used from Canada's EB Games (Electronics Boutique), you'll get some kind of guarantee at least. Just don't forget to sufficiently charge them before you go ...

Our other family fave is the Harry Potter series, either in book-form (with earplugs!) or audio-books on cd or cassette, with headphones/earbuds. The audio version might be a nice thing for you to do together, as it would also drown out those other, annoying interruptions potentially coming from the other riders. Just make sure you have a player with dual outputs for headphones. You could find all of that at reasonable prices at a second hand store & used bookstore. While you're there, look for any travel games/puzzles and word-search books.

For the old reliable stand-by's, there's always the games "Eye Spy" and that one where you say a country/animal/person's name, and the other person has to say one that starts with the last letter of the previous word (ie. You say France, your son says England, etc.) I always pack drawing paper/pens and a deck of cards too.

Good luck with your trip, and hopefully you'll be there before you know it!

PB

ps, I met one of my best friends on a cross-province Greyhound ride 24 years ago...

Thanks for all the ideas. I think when we leave our town we should be able to sit together. I'm just not sure when we change buses if those places are the first stop and if not whether or not the bus will be full.

I will bring lots of things to entertain us. I will ask about movies. I will have my money in a pouch around my waist so nobody can grab it.

A train ride may be full of headaches. We would have to take the Greyhound to Toronto, then take the public transit or a cab to the train station. The travel agency charges extra to buy our train tickets at the closest staition too. We would have to make the connections from the GReyhound to the train for noth ways also.

*Yes she is on meds. currently on Concerta. The past couple of months we are going through lots of adjustments and changes, Argg! The Gameboy also keeps the husband occupied too.

PuckBunny, YIKES! I apologize if I offended anyone. I struck my comment from that post. So much for my "tolerance" 'eh?? I live in the southwest United States. Does that put it in perspective? There were alot of Mexican nationals; immigrant-like looking folks on our bus. It smelled dirty and sweaty. There was something being "done" in the back of the bus by the younger men. It was just a loooong day. I'm sure the original poster's experience won't be like mine in that regard. I guess I should vent at another place! Again, sorry.

I guess Glenny better watch it too, or he might offend the "drooling dementia suffering old lady."

calicorose38853.5775925926

[QUOTE=lovemyboy] I di hope we get to sit together. [/QUOTE]

i have never ridden (sp?) on a bus for that long, but is there any way that you can go early to the station, or explain to the driver/operator that you have a medical condition (spare your son the embarrasment) and would like your family member (son) to sit by you?

i don't know if the bus stop is the first one, but perhaps by going early, you can get your choice of seats.

what about a train ride? might be less expensive than a plane ticket but more expensive than a bus ride.

Well, what ever you decide to bring along for your son for entertainment, don't forget about yourself! Some of the senery may be boring.

gameboy has a headphone jack (thankfully) and if you pick a couple of good games and keep LOTS of batteries around there should be plenty to do. I'd suggest getting harvest moon. Last gf's kid loved it - it never ends and can be played endlessly. Buy the external light for it if you can (it is dark screen and you'll regret it if you don't get it).

Greyhound is awful! I used to travel Canada on it and there were always either chatty hippy travelers, someone convinced they wouldn't get caught smoking cigarettes/pot at the back (ugh), drinkers, etc. And I always seemed to get this drooling, dementia suffering old lady. Seriously she was on a couple of trips at different times. I began to worry that there was a conspiracy! LOL!!

best of luck. Bus is a nasty but affordable way to go.

Gee with my luck I will be travelling with some real winners! LOL However I don't have much choice if we want to go. I di hope we get to sit together. I don't think Brandon would want to sit with someone else. Of course if I don't medicate him, he would probably drive them nuts and they would insist that I sit with him! LOL

Brandon is on RitalinSR. In that case it would make more sense to get a new Gameboy. He has been asking for one. I guess Brandon may listen better if he is medicated.

What type of meds does your son take? If he can only take them on school days and they are effective, they may work. My son's gameboy has a lighted screen. I think the older ones do not have that and they took regular batteries. Now the battery they come with is rechargeable and you just plug it in like a cell phone. If we were taking a trip like that I would medicate my son. It would be easier on all involved, especially the child, and especially if the child is hyper active.