Tips for Traveling with an Autistic Child

An autism mom and travel advisor shares tips and solutions to make traveling with autistic children a little easier.

My family has been very blessed over the years with all the travel opportunities we’ve had. From the unforgettable sandy beaches of Hawaii, to the gentle cherry blossoms blooming in Japan, we have seen a lot.

However, when my oldest son was diagnosed with autism, I thought our dreams of exploring were over. With hours of occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and Applied Behavior Analysis therapy, it seemed next to impossible to travel beyond our local area.

The inclusivity of traveling

It wasn’t until my son and I had been in therapy for a while, and I did a trip to Turkey solo, that I decided travel was still a possibility. There are so many benefits to traveling the world with your child with autism. . Traveling opens up the world, along with many other benefits, which should be enjoyed by all, not only those who are neurotypical. My child is neurodivergent, but that doesn’t mean we can’t travel the world. Travel is for everyone!

Traveling and the lessons it teaches

One thing I discussed with my son’s speech therapist was the benefit of creating flexibility and socialization through travel. Traveling presents a lot of challenges and opportunities to learn to become flexible, and to sit in uncomfortable situations.It can turn out to be a positive thing. This helps with self-advocacy, improving communication, and learning to form friendships.

Exploring communication

While we were visiting Japan, we took our son to a playground. My son was faced with the decision to parallel play with the Japanese children or to attempt to engage and play with them. My son chose the latter.

He doesn’t speak Japanese, but he found a way to play with the other children by using hand gestures. It was amazing to see this little boy who struggled daily with using his words, self-advocating and identifying emotions, throwing caution to the wind and playing with strangers.

His speech therapist helped us find other strategies to encourage communication skills. At Walt Disney World, I purchased starter pins for our son to trade with Disney cast members. The rule was, our son had to go up to a cast member without help from us and ask for a pin he wanted to trade.

The opportunity to learn to communicate with new people was huge for my son. It took him out of his comfort zone and helped him learn how to form friendships.

Exploring new interests

Traveling has allowed my son to have different educational opportunities and experience the world in a different way. My son was obsessed with volcanoes, so we went to Volcanoes National Park. He was only five years old when we visited, but he remembers hiking through the Thurston Lava Tube.

He also mentions the impressive view of Kīlauea Caldera often. We also visited Punaluʻu Beach and saw a few Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles resting on the shore. This vacation alone fueled my son’s continued interest in volcanoes, and sparked his interest in sea turtles and other forms of sea life.

My son, and even his neurotypical younger brother, have learned to enjoy different foods during our travels. If you know anything about a child with autism, sometimes their diets are not varied or diverse.

During our travels, my son has learned to eat what was available to him. He’s tried so many foods and is now open to eating so many different things.

Spreading awareness, shore to shore

Vacationing with my son has, at least in my mind, helped spread autism awareness. When he displays behaviors, has a meltdown, or expresses an avoidance, he is showing the world he is neurodivergent. That isn’t a bad thing.

Getting him out there, encouraging him to explore and learn, shows others that autism is a fact of life for a lot of people. It normalizes seeing behaviors like this, because it’s a form of communication. To be able to show even a tiny sliver of our lives with a child with autism helps to normalize autism.

When bonds get stronger

I have discovered that the number one benefit for traveling the world with your autistic child though, is family bonding. We spend so much time with therapy, school, and after school activities. At night, we crash from exhaustion.

Our normal life gives little time to connect and bond as a family. On vacation, you are removing yourself from daily life and inserting yourself into fun! You are spending time with your family and learning more about them beyond the surface things.

Therapy has shown me how to better communicate with my son and what his favorite color is. Travel has shown me what really thrills him during a vacation and what doesn’t.

I’ve found, time and again, the entire experience of traveling with my autistic son to be very rewarding. That is why I continue to go out and explore every chance we get.