
I have three special needs children- I share the same worries each trip- and the trips have all worked out just great!
Child #1 - 13 years old, has Chronic Granulomatous Disease- basically in a nut shell-lots of kids like him are totally isolated due to their inability to fight off bacterial and fungal infections without extensive medical intervention, not to mention that these kids often have granulomas on their brains, lungs, and all other major organs- we are the antibacterial kings of the world- he also wears a mask at the parks and we all wash repeatedely as any infection can cause death-- top that off with the fact that he has OCD problems and is quite overwhelmed at times with all of the stimulation, his sensory issues drive us crazy- his mask is uncomfortable, collars on shirts, tags, sun block, his shoe lace is just not the right way

- anything can set the mood for the day

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Child #2 - 11 years old, has diabetes type 1- he is dependent on insulin daily- he takes a minimum of 5 finger pricks for glucose checks daily in addition to the minimum of 4 insulin shots with meals and bedtime- if his sugar is really high as it often is from excitment/stress and park food choices, he also has to take additional finger pokes and insulin shots for corrections

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Child #3 - was a premie, he is almost 22 months old now- speaks only 3 words, is being evaluated for behavior, speech delay and so on.. so his frustration levels are very high- he has meltdowns with a high pitch scream that is enough to raise the dead

in addition to the "normal" issues of being an almost 2 year old- he has bad skin issues exscema ( sp? ) that flairs in dry heat ( winter ) and flairs in moist heat ( summer ) and he itches all the time- he also has
allergies to peanuts, eggs, soy, beef, chicken, dairy, dogs and other allergens-
also-
all three kids have reactive airway disease and Mom has asthma and diabetes too!
I can relate- you are not alone!
To avoid the "feeling slighted" issue, I never say we have to "_______" because of your brother's- whatever- I always say things like "we are doing a, b, and c then we will take a break"- I don't voice any identifying info into my words because it is hard for an older child or sibling to understand that sometimes we just have to cater to another child even if they don't like it-
one thing that works wonderfully for us is to take the older child on an important run- take them to the main building to get food, for example, and then once you get her with you- alone, have an icecream with her or take a few mins. to just sit by the pool and have a cold drink- tell her that you are proud of her for being such a good girl and such a great helper- that always makes my older boys feel special -

Even just letting her pick out a secret ( small ) gift- a charm or a pin just for her during your "run" and having her put it into her pocket or what ever to remind her of how proud you are of her will work wonders-