Finding Support & Saving Money, A Trip to the Movies

Last night some of the kids and I ventured out to the movie theater to watch the movie "Paddington".  It is always an adventure going out with our crowd so I always try and increase the number of "possible helpers" just in case we need extra support.  We put the "call out" that we were attending the movie if anyone wanted to attend with us and got one additional taker.  The kids and I loved having their big brother attend with us and I especially like having the additional support, just in case.

All of our kids with special needs that qualify have "access 2 entertainment" cards that allow for a support person to attend the movie (or other activities as specified) at no additional cost. See more about the access 2 entertainment card here in a previous post.  We have found the lure of a "free activity" to be a benefit when recruiting support for various activities  really I don't think it's the free activity that lures them it's the goodness of their heart and the strong possibility of some really funny stories of what may happen on the outing.  The cost of attending a movie, for a large family already adds up, so having support people getting in free is a huge bonus.

Having the extra help for this outing was especially welcome as we were running late (really tried to arrive early) and then when we got into line to pay one child grabs my sweater as he starts to seize.  Big brother was able to take the seizing child and the others to sit while I got the tickets and snacks.  Trying to get everyone and their snacks into the theater and seated was another challenge - a note to movie theaters:  it would be really helpful if you could deliver the snacks to our seats!  During the movie we had a couple more minor challenges but all in all a good time.