Anyone who can ride in a car can travel somewhere. If your child is new to travelling, start small and close to home, building the individual components of a longer trip.
Steps to Get Your Child Ready
Stay Overnight in a Hotel
If your child has never stayed overnight in a hotel, a great place to start is a reasonably priced local hotel with an awesome pool. An extended stay property that has a suite style set-up with a separate bedroom feels like a normal home, and is the easiest entree into hotel life.
Autistic children are frequently anxious about anything that changes their routine. Explain to your child that you’re going to stay at a hotel, and be ready to show pictures of the building, a typical room, the pool. Make sure to pack some familiar items, preferred snacks and favorite toys so that your home away from home really feels like home.
The sooner that your child can see for himself or herself that the hotel will work out, the better your experience will be. There are many reasons to join a hotel’s loyalty program, but for families dealing with sensory issues, nothing tops a hotel app that allows you to choose your exact room, complete check-in before arrival, and unlock the room with your phone.
After your child is settled into the room, head back to the lobby to request a set of keys from the front desk, and do a little exploring. If you arrive in the afternoon, the breakfast buffet area will be empty. Take a walk through with your child and explain how it will work the next morning.
Do a Test Run on the Bus
Going on an airplane flight has a lot of steps. Going to the airport, checking bags, getting through security, boarding the plane, sitting calmly with seatbelt fastened, getting off the plane. Unless your child can handle the actual plane ride, the rest doesn’t matter.
A Greyhound bus ride is a great way to see how your child might do on a real plane flight. There are a lot of similarities between the interior of a plane and bus — rows of front facing seats with fold down trays, power chargers and wifi at the seat, overhead luggage storage, a tiny bathroom at the back. The windows are bigger, and there’s a little more legroom, but the overall experience is similar enough. You’ll quickly see whether your child can handle sitting in one place for an extended period of time, whether he or she gets claustrophobic, is prone to motion sickness, or in a perfect world, falls asleep!
Have your child prepare a backpack with noise cancelling headphones, some snacks and a few toys to stay busy during the ride. Make sure that the toys are large enough to be picked up easily if they get dropped!
Getting through Airport Security
The TSA checkpoint is the most stressful part of the airport experience for almost all travelers. This is especially true for a child who has problems with waiting and has trouble processing and then following unfamiliar instructions.
The TSA Pre-Check program give you access to an expedited security screening with shorter lines. You are not required to remove shoes and belts, laptops, phones, and liquids can remain in carry on bags. Noise cancelling headphones go into the bin with other carry on items. Children aged up to17 are included in your membership at no charge.
The Global Entry program includes TSA Pre-check, and additionally gives you expedited service at US Immigration when you’re returning from international destinations, including Canada, Mexico and the Carribean. It does not offer expedited entry into foreign countries.
All federal office buildings and most state and local courthouses have electronic security systems similar to those used at airports. If you and your child would like to practice putting stuff in the bin and walking through a metal detector, mid afternoon at your county courthouse is an ideal time to give it a try!
Wings for Autism
Wings for Autism is a program designed by the Arc and supported by United Airlines, to help people with autism prepare for airline travel.
Events are typically held at airports, allowing participants to practice the entire process of air travel, from checking in at the ticket counter to boarding a plane.
During the event, families have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the airport environment, interact with airline and TSA personnel, and experience the boarding process in a controlled, supportive setting.
Click here to find a Wings for Autism event near you.
Checklists and social stories help children know what to expect on an adventure, reducing sensory overload and the meltdowns that accompany it.
The best social stories are engaging enough that your child will want to review it multiple times. United Airlines has a wonderfully detailed social story with photos on their website. Coloring books, like this one on Amazon, are another good way to engage your child in preparing for travel.
If you would like to create a personalized social story for your child, you can download free templates here.
Social Stories