Escape Room Adventures with Cerebral Palsy

Can you believe that it’s October already? I went shopping today, and I saw Christmas decorations displayed! Let’s slow down a bit and enjoy each season as it comes. October is a fun month with changing leaves, autumn decorations, and Halloween! Cerebral palsy doesn’t have to prevent anyone from having fun in October, but there are some things that need to be considered.

A few weeks ago, I did something that I’d never imagined I would do. My children and my nephew had a day off from school. We discussed activities that we could all do together. I had the idea of going to an escape room. An escape room is an adventure game in which you’re locked in a room and you use clues to solve puzzles to unlock the door so you can escape. 

After doing a Google search, I found an escape room nearby. We called ahead to make sure that it had wheelchair accessibility. All rooms but one were accessible. The options included “Toy Story” or “Scare.” My nephew immediately chose “Scare.”

My 12-year-old daughter and I were reluctant because we don’t like scary things. However, this year we’ve decided to try to overcome our fears. We conquered the highest roller coaster and went on rides that we never thought we would. So, we agreed to give it a try, although we were nervous.

With cerebral palsy, muscles tend to jump when a person is scared. I remember when I was a teenager taking a haunted hayride at a weekend camp. Our group consisted of teens with cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities. The counselors had to hold us tight so that we didn’t jump out. I didn’t care for being scared, but I enjoyed the laughter and the feeling of accomplishment. My nephew got his first job at a haunted house, and he really wants me to come. I probably will, out of love, but I am pretty nervous.

The guy who ran the escape room was very nice. He didn’t treat me differently than anyone else. We entered the room in complete darkness. Our first task was to turn on the lights. I was so nervous I couldn’t concentrate or think. I tried my best to help my daughter and nephew, but my mind got the best of me in the darkness.

When we finally figured out how to turn on the lights, we could see what the room looked like. There was blood (well, red dye that looked like blood) all over, and props to make it look like a murder scene. The lights being on helped, but I still felt nervous something was going to jump out at us. Nothing did. We did pretty well, considering it was our first escape room, and the hardest room to figure out. I’d recommend going, but perhaps choose a room that’s a little less scary.

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