Ski trip with ND teen

[TripleRocks]

We are a family of 4, wanting to go on a ski holiday - none of us have ever been before. DH and I are 40s, DC will be 16 and 13.

DC16 is ND and highly anxious so needs flexibility, non ski activities/downtime as an option, 3 bedroom accommodation. We need to be able to take things at a slower pace, not have too many demands to be in certain places at certain times, and to be able to avoid too many crowds and take each day as it comes.

Youngest DC is a thrill seeker with lots of get up and go, so we need flexibility to be doing different things and then reconvene to do things together.

Has anyone made a holiday work in such circumstances and do you have any tips or recommendations for me?

We are within easy distance of MK so have the option of doing some ski lessons before we go (next Winter). Tia

Firstly I’d try out some lessons before getting a holiday booked!

I can say from experience that depending when you go, it can get busy. Especially around lifts / meal times etc. Will your ND teen be able to follow instructions if they’re in panic and are halfway down? I know it’s probably hard to predict but if you’d be concerned about them coping if they had an issue mid run, that might influence me not to go (for their safety and others!). If you think they’d be able to power through that sort of thing and enjoy the lessons, then there’s loads of other things to do normally - restaurants, spas, shopping etc. What sort of budget / travel are you thinking would work best? Are planes okay?

I think it could definitely work but the main barrier I see is lessons. If your 16-year-old has never skied then lessons are essential but they do involve being somewhere for a particular time, a very precise time (!), and you will probably need private ones for ease/lack of crowds/ frustration management. Your younger one can go for whole-day lessons, that will be them taken care of.

I am not normally a fan of snow dome lessons but I think in this case it is probably wise before booking. As much to check for any insurmountable physical and sensory issues, and any neophobia, as anything else. Not all ND people have sensory/ neophobia issues obviously, but if your son does, then skiing can be challenging for various reasons - main one being discomfort from the gear, and inevitable frustration that comes from learning.

For very quiet resorts I would go in a late March week (sod school) and make sure all the French/italian holidays are done with, and choose a large resort like Avoriaz with lots to do off the slopes.Or somewhere in Italy just bevause I prefer it for private lessons and also food! It can be very quiet if you know where to go.

Austria. The whole country is super well connected compared to Italy and France. Many resorts have train stations and busses run super frequent, so it's easy to get around. Plus, several towns (Ischgl and St Johan come to mind) have really good spa/water parks for days away from the slopes.

Thanks everyone for your helpful feedback. We have booked a quieter week at the start of January and specifically picked somewhere with plenty of non ski/wellness activities and 3 bed accommodation. We will do lessons at MK over the Summer and then decide on what to do re lessons on the trip, with the loose plan that we may book different sessions/times for different family members. First day of holiday after a busy day of travel will not be best to be available at a very strict time as that will need to be a quiet day for eldest whereas youngest will be raring to go! We are all super excited including eldest and really glad we took the plunge.

Yes, frequently (although my ND teen learned as a young child).
lessons are an absolute essential for the first week for all of you. Usually I’d say kids and adults learn better apart but I would put your energetic one in a group (suspect he’ll progress much faster) and the remaining 3 of you have private lessons that you can structure round your ND teen. Agree that MK is a good idea but you won’t get very proficient doing short snow dome sessions — it’s well worth doing but not the same.
if he has any food anxieties or rigid behaviours I’d plan this out carefully where deciding when and where to eat (this is a huge thing for us).
snowdome lessons will be good to get used to the boots and try to arrive early into resort so he gets fitted the night before you go out and ski (or have a relaxed first day).
I know lots of families who ski with ASD kids and within parameters it works really well. Good luck!

We ski most years one younger teen is AuDHD and older one has adhd. Although good skiers now we still book a private instructor for day 2 normally for two hours for the 4 of us.,it’s a great way to be shown around the resort and perfect way to learn and improve technique. It was also the best way to teach our youngest. She wears a sunflower landard through the airport but security is still very challenging for her with extremely high anxiety we try to travel with plenty of time and find quieter places to sit. Last time the airport was heaving but we were allowed to sit in the assistance area which was much quieter. She also accepts that the first 24hrs of new accommodation, transfers and hiring skil equipment is exhausting and overwhelming. So we try to have a quieter shorter first ski day with haribo in her pocket and lemonade on the slopes. We self cater and I take out a bag of dry food from home so we have some familiar foods pasta, tin beans, the noodles she likes, biscuits etc. then she’s happy with pizza, pasta or chips for the week with salad and french bread. Your not allowed to take fresh food but I’ve never had a problem stuffing dried or 2-3 tins into bags. I’m gluten free so I always take a few things from home, We love a ski holiday it’s perfect for a ND family as it’s the same routine every day once we get past the first 24hrs, plus lots fresh air and exercise it’s our main holiday of the year and my eldest still likes to come but with be 20 next year so I’m not sure for how much longer sadly. I hope you have a good time.

I’d agree with the other poster on lessons the energetic one may prefer a group lesson and the ASD one a private instructor with yourselves. We’ve done that too, I already knew how to ski but DH & I still benefited a lot from the private guy when his main remit was to teach our youngest who was 11-12. It maybe more expensive but having an instructor just for your family will pay dividends in the speed and quality of learning.