FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT
Strategies to enhance every vacation
Successful family travel starts with introducing the concept of travel far in advance of the vacation. Find picture books with your children’ s favourite characters in travel situations, watch videos that preview every aspect of the upcoming trip and incorporate role-playing of appropriate behaviour.
Start with mini experiences, such as Wings for Autism, a program offered by the Autism Association of Western Australia in collaboration with Perth Airport, which provides a dress rehearsal of the airport experience from arrival up until boarding.
You can also stay at a friend’ s house or local hotel before a long hotel stay, set up a tent in the backyard before a camping trip or take a commuter train ride before a longer journey to discover where any sensory triggers may lie. Label trips to museums or garage sales as‘ tours’, because a successful local experience can create a positive frame of reference for actual tours taken at vacation sites.
Certification programs
Thanks to a growing number of certifying organisations, travel professionals and suppliers are becoming more knowledgeable and empathetic about the needs of those on the spectrum. Foremost is the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards( IBCCES; ibcces. org), which trains travel professionals as Certified Autism Travel Professionals.
Finding the right venue
In the case of indoor attractions, accommodations can include making photos and schedules available to visitors in advance to provide predictability, and posting maps, arrows and signs throughout the facility.
AVOID MELTDOWNS
Use this guide to create a child-centric vacation:
• Vet two or three destination options and then let the child decide.
• Avoid overstimulation by pacing the trip to the child’ s abilities.
• Carry a go-to bag with noise-cancelling headphones, snacks, etc.
• Include activities focused on a child’ s special interest or passion.
• Arrange the vacation with a Certified Autism Travel Professional( Autismtravel. com / travel-agents).
Certified parks and other outdoor attractions may provide sensory guides that list what sensory materials, such as sand and rubber, might be encountered; whether family restrooms, lifts and ramps are offered; where quiet and shady places are available; and highlight the existence of potentially risky features such as ponds that pose a danger for individuals who may be drawn to water or tend to wander.
At theme parks, along with providing quiet areas to decompress, and sensory guides and signage alerting visitors to potentially unpleasant lights and unusual smells, accommodations can mean creating procedures so those on the spectrum can avoid long waiting lines, and encouraging the use of a stroller as a wheelchair to accommodate children who can’ t stand for long periods of time.
With these destinations and strategies in place, take the advice of Michelle Zeihr, the mother of two girls, one of whom is on the spectrum with ASD and ADHD:“ Don’ t be afraid to go. The more you travel with [ your children with invisible disabilities ], the easier it gets. Remember, where there’ s a will, there’ s a way.”
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20 | NOV / DEC 2023 COSTCO CONNECTION