Vacation with Special Needs Kids? It is Possible!

Summer is almost here and while everyone else is planning their awesome family getaway, you think of your special needs kids and wonder if their autism, their wheelchair, their behavior, their specific medical condition(s) or their medication schedule could ever allow you to all get away as a family.

Some of the particular challenges to family vacations with special needs kids is handling the changes in the daily routine and the sights and sounds of vacation travel and activities — which can be the source of meltdowns in autistic children.

Unfortunately, this is one of those topics that experts can’t really help with and really what most parents are looking for in this regard, can only come from other parents who have tried it.

With two children on opposite ends of the age and learning disability spectrum, I know how challenging finding activities to satisfy my family can be. Just thinking about being in a car, train or plane with my younger, more active, and extremely sensory stimulated child in particular can be rather overwhelming.

What astonished me as I dug through the internet looking for information on appropriate vacation ideas for children with special needs was the fact that there were some. That vacation resorts and parks, etc., and their staff would make the effort to be accommodating.

So often, families with children with special needs are met with barriers in the form of people who couldn’t be bothered, who would see such families as a burden rather than as a family who has just as much right (and need) to be there as families with neurotypical children.

Vacations for Special Needs Families Tips

So here are a few tips to help you find and plan the right vacation idea for your special needs family:

Vacation for Special Needs Kids Tip #1

Get connected with support organization(s) for your particular disease or disability. They will have resources on resorts, parks or other vacation destinations that will be friendly to kids with that particular disease or disability. They may also have information on bursaries or grants that will help subsidize or entirely pay for such vacations. Metrokids.com’s SpecialKids Guide has a listing of support organizations.

Vacation for Special Needs Kids Tip #2

Special needs-kids-only camps, such as Dragonfly Forest in Philadelphia, provide disability/ability-appropriate activities so that parents can also take a break from the stress of caregiving. Full camp or day camp schedules are often available. The SpecialKids Guide mentioned above has camp listings, as well.

Vacation for Special Needs Kids Tip #3

If you plan to fly, talk to the airline and airport long before you actually plan to fly out. Not only do you need to know how your child’s special needs are going to be cared for, the flight attendants and your child also need to know. Especially where there are sensory issues, particularly associated with autism, arrange for a tour or simulation of the flight, perhaps several of them for your child BEFORE travel day.

Vacation for Special Needs Kids Tip #4

Advocate for your child. Some resorts, cruises and hotels feature programs for special needs, including special diet, mobility, sensory and allergy accommodations. In most cases, it is wise to make your needs known at least four to six weeks in advance. (1)

You can read about a special needs family’s experience with Disney resorts here. Read about vacation ideas here.

Vacation for Special Needs Kids Tip #5

Call ahead to find out about accommodations for mobility issues such as fat tire wheelchairs at beaches that can be used in the sand, kneeling buses, available-to-rent mobility carts and accessible vans, and recumbent bicycles.

Additional Vacation with Special Needs Resources

Barbara Streett’s two articles Top Travel Destinations for Kids with Special Needs and Travel Tips are also must reads for planning a successful family vacation with special needs kids.

Other useful sites include:

AbilityTrip.com

TravelinWheels.com

Disabled-World.com

WheelchairTraveling.com

Sources:

1. 5 Special Needs Vacation Ideas. Groene, Janet. MetroKids.com. Web. May 23, 2013.
http://www.metrokids.com/MetroKids/June-2011/5-Special-Needs-Vacation-Ideas

2. Top Travel Destination for Kids with Special Needs. Streett, Barbara. AbilityPath.org. Web. May 23, 2013.
http://www.abilitypath.org/health-daily-care/daily-care/playing/articles/travel-guide-disney-special-needs-disability.html

3. Travel Tips. Streett, Barbara. AbilityPath.org. Web. May 23, 2013.
http://www.abilitypath.org/love-laugh--live/stress-relationships/coping/articles/travel-tips.html

4. Children with Special Needs Visit Walt Disney World. MousePlanet.com. Web. May 23, 2013.
http://www.mouseplanet.com/akrock/ak041006ak.htm

Reviewed May 22, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

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