Everyone loves to go on vacation, right?  For autistic twins, triplets or quadruplets, this can be very stressful as it involves a lot of changes and unexpected situations. You’ve probably heard families complain about how their vacation was “ruined” by their autistic child. Rather than taking the time to understand why travel might be hard for them and what accommodations they could make. Even though your autistic child may be excited and looking forward to going on vacation – change is hard. 

Getting ready to go on vacation

One of the best things you can do is plan ahead and depending on your child, you may want to involve them in the planning.  (For some children this would be more stressful and you are better off letting them know a few days ahead of time that you will be travelling.)  Try involving your child by letting them look at pictures of the destination or hotel.  You could even create a social story with pictures printed out of the airport, hotel or other destinations.  Take a look at local restaurants and choose some nearby that have your child’s favourite foods.  We live in the UK and even when travelling in Europe, we always find Italian restaurants with safe foods like pizza or spaghetti luckily!  You may need to plan on bringing some favourite foods, snacks or drinks from home though.

If you are travelling by airplane, you can usually let the airline know when booking and checking in that you are travelling with an autistic child.  Usually you can request things like first or last boarding, waiting for your flight in a quiet room, expediting through passport control or customs, etc.  Most airports are familiar with the sunflower lanyard and they may be asked to wear one if they are comfortable (Buy US II UK).  Keep ear defenders/headphones or sunglasses handy if your child finds lights or sounds overwhelming. 

Sensory challenges

Speaking of sensory challenges – some children find it hard to be in a different climiate than what they are used to. Whether too hot or too cold, their body may not be used to processing the temperature. For beach vacations, sunscreen, sandy beaches or salty seas may lead to overwhelm.  My autistic son enjoys swimming in the ocean, but he finds the salt water itchy as it dries on his skin and he will scratch his skin to the point of bleeding if we don’t take him to a shower and rinse it off straight away. 

If sunscreen is an issue, try using the spray cream or rash guard/swim tops to cover the skin without sunscreen.  As we live in quite a cool climate, we have learned over the years that our autistic son just does not cope well with heat, so we plan our vacations accordingly – either booking places that are not so hot, or going at a different time of the year when temperatures are more acceptable. 

Keep it quiet

Whether you are in a hotel or have rented a house or apartment, it may be difficult for your autistic child to go to sleep.  The room is different, the bed is different, the pillows are different, the lights are different, the sounds are different, etc!  To help with this, bring favourite toys, pillows, books or pyjamas to let them feel more at home.  You might also bring a nightlight, flashlight or glow bracelets to keep them calm at night. 

If possible, try to request a quieter room (such as away from entrances, stairwells, elevators, swimming pools, restaurants, main roads etc) as the noise may be too much for your child to cope with.  Just like your own home, you may need to think carefully as to whether your autistic child will need their own room or will be able to cope with sharing with a sibling. 

More helpful tips

Some families find travelling in a group helpful – more adults means more people to help out!  This may be friends or relatives and going with a group of people that your child is already familiar with may make relaxation easier.  You can often get a better deal by renting a larger house with more than one family.    

Many theme parks and travel destinations have disability passes or autism certification which allow you to go earlier or stay later, have separate entrances and shorter wait times, etc.  Some destinations allow special access for the whole family or group, while others may be limited to your autistic child and one parent/carer.  Do your research ahead of time to confirm, and also determine what proof you may need to bring in order to access the pass.  Sometimes it is a letter certifying the disability, other times it may need to be a doctor’s note, etc. 

I think one of the biggest pieces of advice is just to stay flexible.  As mentioned before, we have learned a lot by taking our family on vacations over time.  We don’t create a jam packed schedule as our autistic son may not be able to cope.  He often enjoys just relaxing in the hotel or his bedroom and doesn’t want to go out every day – that is ok too! 

What tips do you have for a successful family vacation? Leave your comments below.

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