Parade Season: Tips & Tricks

 

Summer is upon us, which means parade season is in full swing (at least in Utah)!  

June 8th, 2025 was Utah's Annual Pride Parade and I was fortunate to go for the 4th year in a row.  Everyone in my group that went with me to the parade had an autism diagnosis (or intellectual disability).  With this in mind, we had to keep our sensitivities and discuss how we were going to address everything that could go wrong and be prepared.

Here are some tips and tricks I've gathered over the years with going to many parades so you know how to handle parades:

  1. Prepare for the worst/Plan ahead-Bring items that may help you get through a meltdown, headache, sunburn, etc.  
  2. How popular is this event?-How popular this event is will depend on your travel time and how early you want to be.
  3. How are you getting to and from?- Plan your transportation accordingly.  If you can take a train to save you gas money, do it.  
  4. Bring sunscreen-You're going to be outside, bring sunscreen and put it on every few hours.
  5. Bring portable chargers for your phone-Nothing says TROUBLE like coming to a parade and getting lost in a sea of people like having your phone die on you.  Make sure your phone gets enough charge and that you bring something to charge it should something happen (you never know what will happen).
  6. If it's hot, find the shade- If provided, find a place with shade.  It does wonders.
  7. Think about starting at the beginning or end of the route-Oddly enough, most of the time when I go to parades, I will either set up "camp" at the beginning or close to the end of the route.
  8. Be safe-Depending on what city/town you attend, be aware of your surroundings. 

Do you have any tips or tricks? Let me know!

Until tomorrow, c'est la vie!


If you would like to reach out to me, my email inbox is always open: alyssa.onthespectrum@gmail.com .  You can also find me on social media through my advocacy pages (TikTok & Instagram) @neurospicyblondie.



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