Amaris Scipione
Amaris Scipione
Autism Travel Agent
Amaris and her son in England
My journey with parenthood started off differently than many. On the eve of my baby shower, my water broke while I was 29 weeks pregnant. The baby shower continued without my physical presence while my husband attended. I video chatted with everyone who attended while sitting in my hospital bed. Little did I know that this was the beginning.
Our journey continued on this different path. Our son was born the day following our baby shower. We were thrown into NICU life where our son’s machine’s beeped often and we witnessed the grief of other families whose children did not make it. It was an emotional roller coaster. We celebrated milestones such as our child being big enough for clothes, graduating from the ng tube to a bottle, and not needing a CPAP. NICU life was tough for everyone and over two months later we were finally able to take our little guy home.
Walking our son out of the hospital and into the sunshine for the first time was amazing. The future was bright and we were leaving the hardships of NICU life behind us. Little did I know, it is not that simple. Our son already had more specialists than I did, and we spent the next few years parenting our son and bringing him to follow-up appointments. While his milestones weren’t on pace with a typical newborn, he was on pace with his adjusted preemie milestones. He was very curious about the world and as an infant he already showed signs of being pretty brainy.
Soon enough I was taking my son to play groups and things were starting to feel normal. I noticed some differences between my son and the other children around his age. I initially thought it was the prematurity causing the differences, but time would tell that it was something else. Our child was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and we had a lot to learn.
My knowledge about autism and travel is almost entirely from my personal experiences with my son. At five years old, he has already been on three cruises, three all-inclusive resorts, Disney World, Disneyland, and eight countries. I’ve learned a lot of tricks along the way! I’ve also completed the certification through IBCCES making me a Certified Autism Travel Professional.
While I know about travel and autism, I am by no means an autism expert or an expert on your family situation. My job is to work together with you to come up with a vacation plan for you and your family.
My Areas of Expertise
CERTIFICATES & AWARDS
Related Travel Stories
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Our hotel has taxis sitting in the parking garage ready to take people where they need to go. After checking out, we headed to the taxi line and were on our way to port to board Norwegian Jewel!
This is where things get rough, and I’m not talking about the sea conditions. ... Read more from my Embarking on Norwegian Jewel story.
Vancouver, BC
Today is about Vancouver exploration! We didn’t have set plans for today because I wasn’t sure how we would feel with all the travel and the time difference. The suspension bridges were one thing we were considering. Over the summer, we took my son to Holden Arboretum on the small treetop ... Read more from my Vancouver, BC story.
Children Activities on Caribbean Princess
My son wanted to fully explore the children’s water table. We went up to deck 16. This ship was built in 2003 and while the decor is more modern than 2003, the ship design still reflects a ship that’s 20 years old. After sailing one of the newest ships this past ... Read more from my Children Activities on Caribbean Princess story.
Nassau, Bahamas
We booked an excursion for the day called the "See and Sea Excursion" and it was a land and sea tour. Our first stop was to the excursions desk on deck 5. Our App specified that we needed to stop here first because we were traveling with an unvaccinated traveler. At ... Read more from my Nassau, Bahamas story.
Best and Easiest Cruise of Our Lives!
On top of that, she was always available in a timely manner with information about our trip, as well as helpful insights and tips into the locations we were visiting along our cruise.
Easiest vacation ever!
Amaris knows the answers!!
Traveling thanks to Amaris
Amaris is my dear daughter in law but I write this as a consumer not just a proud MIL.
Two amazing trips and counting
Wonderful Trip!
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Planning inspiration!
A recent post of the Blue Ridge Parkway reminded me that not all trips are Disney or tropical- agents are knowledgeable about so many destinations
Wonderful stay on NYC Broadway
Bucket List Trip
Our first cruise
My first cruise ... was awesome!
Most memorable trip
Off To See America!
As an experienced traveler herself, that gives her the ability to suggest so many different ideas, and pit falls to avoid just traveling to your destination. She was thoughtful enough to also print out maps for our road trip for areas GPS might not come in.
Live Life Living Trip
Our "Living Life Living" Get Away was everything we could hope for and more.
Thank you for your kind words! It was my pleasure to help you and your family with your special trip. :-)
5yr anniversary cruise-success!
Thank you very much for your review! I'm so happy to hear that your milestone anniversary trip was a success. :-)