Travelling with autism/food issues

[woodwaj]

My DS is 10 and autistic. He is full of fears (flying, eating, theme parks etc) he has agreed he would be willing to try a holiday this year August time. We'd like a short flight, some sun and a pool. Making it tricky is the only thing I'll be able to get him to eat abroad is mcdonalds. I dont drive so it'll need to be close by. Does anyone have any advice travelling with SEN Children. Do you think a travel agent would be able to help me be this specific? 🤔

I would (personally) love to try Disney Paris. He is very anti rides though and wasn't sure if there was enough to keep him occupied if he decided not to go on much. And would it be manic in August?

I’m astonished you’re even considering Disneyland for a second tbh

This will be hell on earth for your son

@woodwaj I do travel a lot but often end up eating only bread / pastries etc for a week. Not ideal but navigating my diet away from home not easy so i go back to safe foods.

I'm much better now thanks to cognitive behavioural therapy so eg used to only eat one brand white bread, now I'll eat nearly any bread though no seeds nuts in it. Sounds ridiculous but at least I always know there'll be some kind of bread!!! I do eat crisps too which you can always buy anywhere

Thank you for all your comments. I didn't think it would gain much attention to be honest. Any tips and tricks are much appreciated.

Whatever we decide he will be involved in the booking process etc as well.

Probably if he doesn't like rides it would be a non starter. Mine is a massive sensory seeker.

Their set up for children with autism is amazing though and we queued for absolutely nothing.

We always go self catering and get food that DD will eat from the supermarket. Eating out just isn’t possible. Which is very limiting, but at least we get a holiday.

I've been travelling abroad with my ASD son since he was 5. He loves flying! We go AI so he can choose what to eat from the buffet. Often, it's just plain pasta, pizza and hot dogs all week long (plus ice cream of course) - it doesn't bother me, he has enough to eat and will sometimes even have a slice of cucumber "for me".
In addition to being extremely fussy, he's also got a nut allergy which limits him even further, but like I said we've always found something for him to eat.

I am personally a fussy eater so I defo understand. But nowhere to the degree of arfid/my son. I find he will eat one safe food until he's absolutely sick of it, he will switch to another safe one and repeat and we have about 4 food options. Mcdonalds nuggets have always been the constant though even though I know they could be "different" abroad and he might reject them on day one.
I'm glad you are at the point where you are able to travel and do what you want and it doesn't 100% affect your life 24/7 that's what I want for him!

And absolutely agree with this, Disney have a great system for disabled (including autistic) kids. No queuing, lots of bland food if they will eat it, and there is lots to do that is not rides. Mine is sensory seeking though so loved the rides. There are lots of gentle non ride type rides (eg it’s a small world).

I find a villa holiday over a hotel much easier, quieter and better for keeping to existing routines. If you book somewhere in a resort town with a McDonalds and reasonable size supermarket that should cover most food bases. Take lots of his usual snacks.

Alternatively a small all inclusive can be good as their buffets serve lots of UK familiar, beige foods. But a noisy, buffet style restaurant, along with a shared pool and potentially a room where you can hear the evening entertainment, might be difficult for your DS.

Location wise, Majorca or mainland Spain would be a reasonably short flight. You can ask for assistance at airports I think, for your DS. And prepare him really well for the flight, busy airport, timescales of everything etc. Get a private transfer to the hotel/villa rather than a bus load of other people. He may find a week is too long to be away from home so could you do 4 or 5 nights?

https://www.tui.co.uk/discover/neuro-inclusive-holidays

https://www.jet2holidays.com/assisted-travel

That's really good to know. I've not wrote it off but it's not the top of the list yet (maybe one day for my benefit 😁)

DC1 (nearly 11) is autistic and we go abroad most years (she actually finds a several-hour car journey more tricky than a flight of the same length). I agree with PP about all inclusive, you don't need to find a whole meal, you can just pick an assortment and go back for alternatives. We had a week of sausages for breakfast and chips and plain spaghetti for every other meal, supplemented by copious amounts of ice cream.

Things that help us:
-sunflower lanyard and special assistance

• tablet loaded with favourite episodes
• a book now she can read independently
• a sticker book, crayons and drawing paper
• I take a surprise toy for each flight to break out if we're getting a bit restless, sometimes save this til baggage reclaim if flight is going smoothly
• the last time we booked lounge access before the flight and this was a game changer in terms of pre flight stress levels
• we get a taxi to the hotel rather than the coach transfer
• I pack a bottle of the only squash she will drink in our case so don't have to worry about drinks not tasting right

Some airlines (TUI does) will give you additional luggage allowance for things like weighted blankets if you call them. Ditto for transfers - a friend of mine was given a free taxi transfer when she'd called to arrange assistance for her daughter (I think that was jet2 - we've never had this though!) so it's worth calling the airlines after booking. I'd avoid Mallorca tbh as Palma airport has always been chaotic for us and the transfer to hotels can be very long. Reus for Salou is much smaller and a much shorter transfer. If you want a McDonald's nearby probably best to stick to big towns, look them up on Google maps as you go through possibilities, you can also pop to nearby shops for sweets/crisps/juice etc to keep in your room.

@Hurdlin those links are handy thanks.

He is quite good with noise but we do have ear defenders. I expect they'd be used more on holiday. He is also very good at just saying when he's not happy and we could just go back to the room/apartment etc

Happy to go for a shorter amount of time to just try it out too.

Ah and you can get sunflower lanyard cards in different language which can be helpful if you don't speak the local language of where you go and they don't know the sunflower lanyard scheme

Brilliant advice thank you.

I've been told over and over fed is best and to get out of the mindset of making sure it's "meal" but realistically a full meal at home is rare so I should relax on it myself. It is what it is for the sake of a few days. He certain won't go hungry

Hi I go through Manchester airport with my now adult sen DC (Autism/Arfid/Mutism/Anxiety) they are really good. My child does not normally leave the house.
Special ear defenders to go through the scanners, a chair away from others whilst even in the special assistance lane. Once had a whole departure lounge to ourselves after an incident going through security.
We go to Tenerife & generally stay in the san Eugenio/Adeje/Fanabe areas
3 different McDonald's all within walking distance.
Others places that sell chicken & chips that opened from 9am (mine would only eat the chips though)
Mercadona underneath the shopping centre where we could get a choice of ice creams & suitable snacks.
We stay in apartments as my DC is not social at all & can eat at very odd times, also with the Arfid they can't eat food others may have touched so a buffet is a no go

I was literally going to say benelmedina. It's a shortish flight and very easy to navigate/not too far from airport and yes McDonald's.

Airports will offer assistance it varies but generally involves skipping the queues and option of first or last boarding. You also pick your seating in advance to ensure you are together.

As a child I definitely fit a similar criteria until therapy as an adult.

All inclusive is the safest option, I spent 1 holiday as a late teen eating chips, bread and pancakes.

I'd also suggest Spain as a location, there are areas less 'busy' and heavy on the 18-30s scene and it has a lot of similar foods to Britain. There's even English restaurants to choose from. And they will definitely have McDonald's.

Would driving to gran w be easier than flying?

We always go self catering both home and abroad, so we can buy food at the local supermarket and cater to autistic DS (11) needs.

Have you consider a Lego holiday in Denmark? Fly direct to Billund and visit Legoland and Lego House. They are amazing with autistic children, full recognition of sunflower lanyard and give you a queue skip pass for your family.

My ASD ARFID DC loves Disney cruises, they're departing from Southampton this summer. The servers are brilliant with bringing safe food, and not putting any pressure on, there's unlimited ice cream, and the kids clubs open all the time so they can go when it's quieter. Lots of other children with ear defenders on board so they wouldn't feel out of place.

I didnt say I was? I said I'd like to. I know what my son is and isn't capable of and will make everything as easy and stress free as possible whilst trying to offer him some new experiences I know he will enjoy. I appreciate the concern but he won't be pushed more than what I know he is capable of and if it doesn't work, we won't do it again.

You asked And would it be manic in August? which indicates to me you were considering it

All inclusive could work. Actually I'd suggest looking at review photos and see if he can feel reassured there's food he will eat.

Does he eat chips?

Benalmadena is actually the only place abroad he has actually flown to! (He's too young to remember but he did have a great time!)

We then went to Cornwall and i think the small loud plane was the start of the fear!