School is out for the summer, and for many of us that means a vacation, whether it be a Caribbean cruise, camping in the mountains, a trip to an Iowa family reunion, or an exciting adventure abroad. 

Unfortunately, many people on the autism spectrum, especially children, struggle with travel for a wide range of reasons. In particular, changes can be difficult, and vacations involve a different location, different lodging arrangements, different activities, and even different food compared to a person’s everyday life. Attempting a vacation without accommodating the autistic person’s need for routine and consistency will often end up being a miserable experience for everyone involved. 

Here are some tips on how to make vacations less stressful (and more enjoyable) for everyone in the family.

1. Consider having your child help plan the vacation. Depending on your child’s age and ability to understand, allowing them input in selecting the vacation destination and some of the activities could alleviate their anxiety and maybe even turn the vacation into something that they look forward to. For many autistic children, having the ability to visit a place or do activities related to a special interest can override the anxiety and discomfort associated with the disruption in routine. 
2. Accommodate dietary needs and preferences. For many people on the spectrum, their sensory issues severely restrict diet. A vacation, with all its other disruptions, is not a good time to introduce new foods in the diet if the child already has a limited palate. Bring along plenty of food that your child can eat, try to stick to familiar chain restaurants, and if visiting a new restaurant try to ensure that it is like other restaurants your child is already familiar with. 
3. Bring stim toys and comfort objects. Regardless of your child’s age, if having a familiar stuffed animal with them helps alleviate their anxiety, have them bring it along. If they need a stim toy to self-regulate, that’s okay too. The important thing is to ensure a happy vacation for everyone in the family, not to worry about whether it looks age appropriate to the outside world.
4. Create a strict schedule, and try to stick to it. This might be difficult to do, but for many autistic people, unscheduled and unexpected activities cause a great deal of stress and might lead to a meltdown. Planning out every day, discussing the scheduled activities with your child in advance, and then sticking to the schedule can go a long way towards making the vacation enjoyable for your child.
5. Use social stories to explain the vacation to your child in advance. Social stories can be in printed, digital, or video format. Social stories can be generic, or they can be about a specific travel location or experience.  There is even an app to help you easily create your own social stories if you want to create one customized to your own upcoming vacation. 
6. Schedule enough “down time.” Your child might need time spent back in the hotel room watching their favorite movie or playing with their favorite toy to destress from all the new activities. Scheduling “down time” or even “down days” can go a long way towards preventing meltdowns. 
7. Consider a low-key vacation. Instead of a three week road trip across the continental US, maybe rent a cabin in the woods for a week. A vacation where everyone stays in the same location for one week will be much less stressful for your child (and everyone else) than a vacation that involves driving for hours each day and a different hotel room every night. 

If an enjoyable vacation is not possible for your child, even with these accommodations, consider leaving them with someone you trust and taking respite time for yourselves as parents. This is obviously not an option for everyone, but if you have family members, close trusted friends, or even state-funded professional respite care that can take care of your child in their own home or familiar surroundings while you and some other family members go on vacation, that might be the best solution for everyone. Vacations are all about relaxing, taking a break from your everyday life, and having fun. If you are a special needs parent, it is important to take time for yourself to prevent burnout. It is not good for anyone to drag your child along for an experience they will find deeply distressing. This solution, while imperfect, can go a long way towards keeping everyone in the family happy and healthy.