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? 🤔

My friend went there last year and I completely forgot. He's not a lego fan as such but I'll defo show him and see what he thinks!

We go yearly. He eats chips and bread. We take snacks/food we know he will eat with us.

I couldn't find anything for August. I've never fancied a cruise but it could be a good option for him really!

I'm just asking for the future as I said in another post.

Only mcdonalds ones. Never managed them anywhere else.

We did a villa with a pool in Gozo (off Malta).

The capital Ir-Rabbat (Victoria as was). Has a McDonalds.

I found I could easily source safe foods from the supermarkets (aka beige food and cereal).

Most restaurants serve pizza/omelets (safe for us) as an option.

The fort in the capital is spectacular and the sea is incredible (v popular for snokeling and diving/water sports.

Easy to get a ferry to Malta and explore Valletta and the Grand Habour (we also have stayed in Valletta and there is an M&S there where we also sourced food from).

Lots to see/do in either Gozo or Malta. Would recommend.

Sorry just noted about driving.

Valletta in Malta would be better than Gozo in this case. As per pp there is McDonalds and an M&S.

DS loved all the Knights Templar history.

My almost 18 year old has ASD and ARFID. He likes flying so we go 2 or 3 times a year. He suffers badly with eczema and the sun and sea water helps it so much.

His favourite place is the coast near malaga, we have done all three at different stages but he loves Benalmadena best. We havent done all inclusive there as we normally do aparthotels, but ive heard good things about the First Choice Holiday Village which is all inclusive and has loads of activities for kids.

I pack lots of his safe foods in our luggage.

We fly from East Midlands, its much smaller so he is happy as ot too busy. We tried Birmingham once but it was a nightmare. We are in Leicestershire so its close to us.

We use ear defenders and he has a sunflower lanyard.

We take his ipad on the plane. I download some of his movies from Disney+. Lots of snacks!

I dont book seats when I book the flights, normally with Ryanair. Instead I ring up their special assistance and they book us together for no charge. I try and get as close to the back of the plane as I can. My son has a peanut allergy so I have to ring and tell them about that at the same time.

We are off again in April. The weather will be warmer then but after easter holidays so not too busy.

Good luck finding something OP.

My partner ys autistic and has the same requirements. Malta is a winner

Its nice to know so many people successfully travel! I'm hopeful for a good experience!

Thank you for the tips!

I think a reasonable number of the bigger resorts will have McDonalds, I'm thinking Benidorm or Albufeira, you probably have more choice than you expect if you sticker to bigger resorts.

I don't know how concerned you are about the plane journey itself, I don't have any experience of travel with autistic children, but is it plausible you could get him on the plane to fly somewhere and struggle to get him to repeat the experience to come home? For that reason alone I am wondering if it's a better idea to pick somewhere that is mainland Europe, so you could come home by train if that scenario arises. Although I have no idea if a train journey is actually any better than a plane trip for him, but you can walk around at least. I actually think the suggestion of trying a weekend in Brussels/Amsterdam by plane first to see how he copes is a good one. I say these because they are on a Eurostar route and you can be back in London in a max 4 hours. You don't have to stay in the city, but you probably can't go too rural if you need access to McDonalds.

DD had Arfid
Self catering was the only options for us. Often we would feed her before we went out and then we would eat whatever or wherever we wanted and she could have bread or ice cream or whatever and we didn't have to find a restaurant serving one of her "safe" foods.

The other tip I meant to add!

My DS loves flying now, and what worked for us was visiting lots of theme parks. He loves rollercoasters so sees it as a giant rollercoaster and it helps with the sensation of take off/landing. If you are in Manchester, Alton Towers isnt too far away.

Hi, not read the full thread but I'm ex cabin crew and ds has severe autism ARFID too.

There are mock cabins in the UK or planes you can visit on the ground so he can see what the inside of plane is like. If you are near Manchester I can give you some good places but you'd have to look for others near an airport you would use.

When you book contact the airline and ask for special assistance. They should offer one person guaranteed to sit next to him free of charge and seats which are suitable (near a toilet, near the door, at a bulkhead) as a min.

Request a suitable room for your needs eg away from the entertainment if he doesn't like noise, on a ground floor maybe if using a buggy or wheelchair etc

Special Assistance can also arrange for him to board first or last depending on what is best for him. They should also allow a mobility buggy, wheelchair etc to be carried in the hold for free and extra luggage allowance if he needs nappies or other items specifically related to disability.

Take food with you in your hold luggage you know he will eat. For us it was breadsticks, haribo and cereal bars. So you've always got something for worst case scenario.

We always take visual supports and I make one specifically for the flight. I google the inside of the plane and ask the airline to provide pics too.

Take a sunflower lanyard. I personally hate them but they are recognised at most UK airports.

Take lots of distraction items ipad etc loaded with apps or programmes that don't require Internet connection. For both flight and inthe airport. Powerbanks too (there are specs which aren't allowed so double check).

Speak to your paediatrician about medication. We've been told piriton helps by our paediatrician at one point but now have other medication prescribed for before the flight.

Make sure your insurance fully covers you (are his immunisations upto date? Most policies will be void if not- check the fine print). They won't likely cover if he refuses but it's best to have.

Albasoil (not sure on spelling), karvol if you can get it and sweets to help with blocked ears.

If he's communicative or verbal can he say what might worry him about flying?

Go for a short flight and transfer if possible. A family friendly hotel so people are less likely to complain.

Best of luck.

Me and DD have just come back from Torremolinos (Malaga), it was the first time she had been on a plane, we were leaving her dad at home because he couldn't get time off work and she gets quite anxious about new things so we picked the location very carefully.

• Flew from East Midlands which is a small and easy to traverse airport.
• flight was less than 3 hrs long
• temperature there was 18-20 degrees so warm but not uncomfortably hot
• Torremolinos is a 10 min taxi ride from the airport
• the hotel was right across the road from the beach, had an all you can eat buffet for Breakfast and Dinner
• within 15 min walk was a Burger King and a McDonalds so I knew I would have emergency back up options if none of the other food options were accepted.
• Hotel had an outside and indoor pool, we used the indoor pool because it was too cold for the outside one
• some good tourist attractions within easy access, DD absolutely loved Crocodile Park, it's very small and quiet, only an hour or so of activity but we were actually there longer because we sat down next to the crocodile enclosure so she could just watch them for ages while we ate a packed lunch, they had a zoo keeper talk where the guy was really enthusiastic and energetic and got in with the crocodiles and interacted with them, it was fantastic.
• I paid extra for flights at the right time of the day rather than going for the first ones that came up. We got a 10.30am flight out so left the house at 7.30am and arrived at the hotel just after check in time, then we got a 1.30pm flight home so we checked out at 10am and arrived home in time for dinner.

I first took my 13 year old DS with ASD abroad 3 years ago, we have been to Ibiza and Albufeira and going to Menorca this year. The first year the flight going out he was good but not great on the flight back as it was delayed. We did the airport tour twice before booking our holiday. My DS does get very anxious but he has done very well in general abroad. We book somewhere too which has a McDonald's but he hasn't liked the chicken nuggets, we end up finding a nice restaurant with a kids menu and he tends to eat their nuggets. If you go to a travel agent they will tend not to recommend anywhere and just say everywhere is busy in the summer, we are going to Menorca this year as it was recommended. Salou has McDonald's and is a short flight, I know many kids with asd who have been there. I agree keep it to a short flight. I have another DS to consider which is one of the reasons we started going abroad and I waited until my DS was 11 before trying it! Hope this helps a bit!

We did the short tour on concorde today and he was very good and relaxed (knew we weren't going anywhere) then we watched the airplanes landing and taking off for a bit and tried to guess where they were going. All positive so far! And will keep up things like this till summer. Some great tips from here.

That's a good idea. If you never go you will never know! I am so glad we took the plunge and did it, has opened the world up for my DS. We put a couple of bottles of Robinsons orange juice in the hold luggage as this is the only juice my DS will drink and it is hard to get abroad.

For anyone still around...we have just got back from...DISNEYLAND! Manchester airport was great, the flight was really nice and easy, the hotel was fab he LOVED the characters and parades and we even went on a number of rides! Disney is so inclusive for additional needs, and he accepted French mcdonalds which i was worried about the most! Thanks again for all the tips and advice and the encouragement to just try. I had a fab time making memories with him and he's realised that some things he was worried about was a bit irrational. Really proud of him!

That's great news, glad you had such a fantastic trip! You can never go wrong with a bit of Disney magic.

Super happy for you and him OP. DD16 has ASD ADHD and I have traveled with her consistently so over time it does get easier. Every little nudge forward they make is joyful.

Oops I didn't check the date on the OP. Consider this a contribution to any others who use this thread for advice for their own situation. Really glad to hear it worked @woodwaj !

I have a child with autism and ARFID.

We did not attempt an overseas holiday until child was 14. But one of their "safe" foods is pasta (plain with no sauce), and we went to italy. The child has since also successfully holidayed in Greece and in Holland

Don't go to a hotel, do self-catering. The stress of dealing with non-family-members every meal if you can't self-cater is just not worth it.

You can't rely on McDonald's food being the same in another country as it is in the uk, they adapt their recipes to local tastes.

You can bring processed foods that are in sealed commercial packaging from the uk into EU countries so long as they don't contain meat or dairy products. You can't take actual meat, dairy or fruit&veg but you will be able to buy those locally. We took various items of permitted arfid-safe foods with us.

The food situation is SO hard isnt it. People just think fussy means they'll eat any beige food. McDonald's was a risk and it paid off for us luckily

When we have been abroad with my DD with ARFID we take a case full of familiar foods and always stay somewhere self catering. Will be only eat McDonalds or does he eat anything home made? I feel your pain, it is not straightforward and often feels more stressful than being at home would.

Brilliant!! So pleased for you and DS. Lovely to get such an amazing update.

Hopefully it’s a catalyst for you both in terms of experiences and opportunities moving forward