Father invites others on special hike
By Bob Charney Special to the Acorn

QUALITY TIME- Agoura Hills resident Bob Charney and his son Michael, 11, reach Paradise Falls in Wildwood Park, Thousand Oaks during one of their Saturday hikes in the local mountains. Michael, who attends Bay Lauren Elementary School, has autism. Charney is inviting other fathers of special needs children to come along on their weekly treks.

For several months now, my son Michael and I have been enjoying hiking on the local mountain trails. Lots of people do, but what makes our adventures special is that Michael has autism. He doesn't talk very much, but our Saturdays together provide an opportunity for us to share our love of the outdoors, get some exercise and bond in a way that wouldn't otherwise happen.

It occurred to me that perhaps we could expand the benefit of our time together by inviting other dads and their developmentally challenged children to join us on these Saturday hikes..

Not only could we together enjoy all the wonders of the hike, but our group activity would provide another opportunity to further develop our children's socialization skills.

So on the first Saturday of each month we'd like to invite interested dads and their developmentally challenged children to go hiking with Michael and me.

The trails are always rated "easy." We hike for approximately two hours and then go out to lunch. The entire day runs from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

If you're interested in participating, please call me at home (818) 735-7331, or at my office (818) 789-1586, ext. 223.