Thank you for visiting Traveling the Spectrum, I’m Katrina, a Mommy to 3 children who always keep me on my toes and a Bostonian who packed up her family to live the Floridian life. We moved partly for the warm weather, partly to be close to my parents, and mostly to be close to the Mouse!
I am a fierce advocate for children on the Autism Spectrum and as a travel addict, I love showing fellow autism moms that it is possible to take adventures and make memories every day.
When we are not traveling, you can find me on the sidelines helping my son’s basketball team, camping with our Girl Scout Troop, Shivering in the bleachers while my daughter figure skates, and cheering on my son’s track team.
The Start of Traveling the Spectrum
In 2009, I launched a parenting lifestyle site called Mommyhood Life where it is my goal is to inspire moms to spend intentional time with their families having fun. Mommyhood Life features kid-approved recipes, family-friendly travel ideas, must-see Florida attractions, and tips to help make motherhood a little easier.
I love sharing my life stories, and other parenting-related topics over on Mommyhood Life, however as an autism mom I knew that my experiences, especially when traveling weren’t always what other families encountered. I was planning for trips in different ways, my worries were a lot different, as well as the things that brought me immense joy were different.
Then one day in November of 2018, I was sitting in a conference center 1700 miles from home in the small town of Gallup, New Mexico at the TMS Family Travel Conference. I had been feeling that twitch in my gut that I wanted to create something new, something meaningful, and something that brought out my passion for advocacy and travel, however, I just couldn’t pinpoint what I should do. That was until a woman that I fiercely admire and who never ceases to inspire me, Joanne Vero, got up to talk about writing to make a difference, and following our passion, and suddenly it all clicked! That night in a hotel room surrounded by the red rock mountains, I bought a domain and began the process of building Traveling The Spectrum.
What has started as a passion project, I hope turns into something much greater and inspires everyone who clicks over to it, to take a deep breath and then take a huge leap and start traveling with your children that are on the spectrum. It may be different, it may be hard, but it will always be worth it!
Meet the Family Behind the Blog
My husband, Antonio, and I were married in 2003. We’ve grown up together, moved to Brazil and back together, created 3 beautiful children, moved our family across the country, and after 15 years of marriage, we continue to create amazing memories together.
Merging two cultures together isn’t easy, and I never sugarcoat the struggles and stress that come with adapting and compromising on cultural differences and language misunderstandings. However, we are still here, together, putting the puzzle pieces together every step of the way.
Our oldest son, Anthony, loves museums, STEM club, the Track Team, and traveling to new places, and learning about everything he lays his eyes on.
Anthony is 14 years old and is a Freshman in the Engineering Program at his High School. Having a teenager is teaching me a whole new type of motherhood.
Anthony was diagnosed with a language disorder at age 2, from there he was diagnosed with ADD at 4, and later with Aspergers at 6. He has worked hard to stay on grade level while making the decision to stop taking his ADD medication on his own. He is a very serious child, but once you break through his shell, he loves to talk about travel, politics, and of course engineering.
When Anthony was 4 years old, the twins were born and our life went from calm to chaos but in the most amazing way!
Aidan is my rambunctious and adventurous boy who loves basketball, animals, and making friends everywhere he goes.
Aidan is 10 years old and was diagnosed with Autism at age 2. He has a lot of sensory processing issues and doesn’t feel things that would cause others pain, he always has a random bruise from crashing into things, but his favorite way to get sensory input is by snuggling with mommy or our Golden Retriever Bella.
Aidan has taught me how strong I am in so many ways. Advocating for him, protecting him, and watching him grow has been the hardest and greatest job I have been blessed with.
Lilly is the princess of the family. She loves fashion, getting her nails done, baking, and anything that is the color gold.
Lilly is 10 years old and Baby B of the twins, meaning she is also the baby of the family. Although, she thinks she is the oldest and likes to care for and boss her brothers around.
Lilly was diagnosed with Autism at age 3, and has since been diagnosed with several language disorders, but works hard every day to overcome the challenges she faces and has begun reading on grade level.
She is teaching me to love myself and work hard because a little girl is always watching.
In our family Disney is an obsession, our passports are never expired, and we are never too tired for new adventures and making memories together.