Special Needs and Vacations...!!!

For most of us, vacation is the means of relaxing and taking a break from regular routine. Many of us even want to spend time with our near and dear ones or explore this beautiful world or build more memories to our spectacular lives. But, vacationing with children with special needs might be a difficult task. It could be due to myriad of reasons from disruption (change) of their routine, shift of culture, language or food, no mental preparation of where the child is going or why is he going somewhere to being a sensory overload for the kid. Just like every adult, all children with same difficulty have varied skill set and deficits. Depending on the difficulties of the child, there could be several other reasons that can trouble or bother the family while they are vacationing.

Following are the tips that might help you in doing more things that can provide great comfort to you, the family and most importantly to your child with special needs:

1.      Pre – Preparation

“What if, you are at home getting the white wash done from the labour, some of your freshly washed clothes are still in the bucket and rest are hanging at the veranda wall, all the material of your house is lying out in the room that is freshly completed, you are in the most shabby look and immediately there are some high profile guests at home. Imagine what will be your condition and how panicked you would be because organizing things at home could be so difficult within that particular moment, without prior information and hence preparation.”

Do you realise that this is the same difficulty our children with special needs face when they are unprepared about what is going to happen. Providing structured information to your child will definitely help in anticipation and planing in a concrete form. Using “Wh” questions help constructing the thoughts and information e.g., “Where are we going?; Who are we going with? ; When are we going? When will we be back?; “How are we going? What can I do there?; If I get stuck, who can help me?” Similar areas can be highlighted through a social story using visuals for enhances memory.

2.      Pictorial Description

Whenever possible, include pictures of things that are of importance to the child. E.g., How are they going to travel (bus, car, plane, train etc)?, picture of the place of stay (e.g., hotel, cottage, friend’s house etc), kind of food that he gets there, some places that you will visit (include some pictures that your child may be excited about).

3.      Packing

Let your child pack his bag by himself, or assist you in doing it; his involvement in the packing process would be helpful – choosing the clothes he would like to take with him, his favourite book, toy etc. Let him choose gifts that he would wish to give it to a close family member or friend outstation. Comfort is important - Help your child pack the things of his comfort e.g., personal blanket, pillow, or anything (make sure you take it – that will help your child during his tough time outdoors).

4.      Sensory Comfort

Your child could be tuned to sensory defensive mode or he could be seeking sensory stimulation, and journey in car or bus or train could be a sensory overload for your child. Help your child packing his belongings during his travel that can ease him.

·         It gets difficult for child who is Sensory Defensive to manage during loud noises while taking off or landing of the plane or the noises of the train or the loud honking of the bus or car. You can use headphones for blocking sound, hear favourite music through earplugs etc. If your child is defensive towards visual clutter or light, please use visual blockers like eye masks or sunglasses.

·         For children who are seeking sensory stiumulation, favourite music or favourite books or tactile fiddlies like string of beads etc., can help during the discomfort.

·         When children are sensorily overstimulated, it is always better to make your child sit in your lap, giving tight hugs or gently squeezing him with a cushion at the thigh area is calming. Keeping something heavy in laps like a heavy bag or purse or 2 liters water bottle can help as well.

NOTE: Marking the day on calendar on the date of vacationing and the day of return helps building the event in memory in a structured form.