Guest Post: 3 Tips for Travelling with Your Child with Autism

Here are 3 tips for travelling with Autistic children from Tara at Tara’s View of the World. Tara’s son has Autism.

1. Plan Ahead

Preparation is the key to enjoying your time away.

Travelling can be stressful for everyone but for a child with Autism it can be a nightmare. The lack of familiarity and all the changes in schedule and daily activities can send a kid with Autism right over the edge into a full meltdown. Make sure that there is somewhere for your child to go to calm down.  Bring the things your child uses to self-calm, such as their weighted blanket or fidgets, along with a few snacks in a bag with you everywhere.

When you are planning your trip try to choose accommodations and activities that will appeal to your child. If he or she is excited about where you are going and what you are doing it will help to lessen the stress of all those transitions and new experiences.

Try to accommodate your child’s sensory needs as much as possible. If your child is especially sensitive to sound and you are planning a day at an amusement park bring ear defenders or headphones to help them block out some of the noise. Children with Autism are easily overstimulated but with a little planning you can help ease that pain for your child.

Make sure you take all the necessary medications and special dietary items needed. Be sure the things you need are available where you are going!

2. Prepare Your Child

Warn you child of the upcoming adventure and talk about it often to get them used to the idea. Most kids with Autism are not huge fans of big surprises so preparing them is vital. If your child gets overly anxious and obsessive about trips you could use social stories and visuals of the trip to help. For example you can do a social story about flying on an airplane and show them pictures of your destination. Fear of the unknown can be huge for a child with Autism so the more they know the more secure they will feel.

If you are travelling with friends or heading out to visit relatives be sure to prepare them for your child as well. Helping them to understand Autism and your child will help everything run a little more smoothly.

3. Prepare Yourself

Go with realistic expectations. Don’t expect too much of your child OR of yourself. Being flexible can save everyone a lot of stress.  Keep it simple and have fun!

**Disclaimer:  Tara is a Mom, fellow blogger and friend, she has been invited to write a guest post on my blog. All the thoughts are her own and have not been influenced in any other way.  Thanks for the tips! Please see the full Terms of use.