It seemed that the larger the store, the more people that were there in the store, directly correlated to how large of a fit that Christopher would throw.
Our survival strategy for this situation was for mom or dad to remove him from the store and let the other one of us stay and finish the shopping. Christopher hated waiting in the car, but it was the only way that he would calm down.
It took a lot of trial and error to figure out that his senses were overwhelmed in a large crowded store, restaurants, and other public places. We have since learned to take him places during the "off hours" when there aren't so many people around. For example, I take him grocery shopping with me at 8 am on Sunday mornings because there are only three people in the store at that time- the store manager and the two of us.
We do our vacation trips the same way. When we visited Homosassa Springs, FLA, to see the Manatee, we arrived there as soon as the park gates were opened early in the morning. We nearly had the whole place to ourselves. The guides gave us a very relaxed and informal tour through the park and we were able to relax and enjoy the visit. As we were leaving at noon, the park was becoming so crowded that people were wedged in shoulder to shoulder at the park entrance and the ticket line was a half-mile long!
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