Travel, Routine, and Autism

As I look back on 2017 one of the things we have been talking about doing all year is traveling. As a family, we tend to come up with a million reasons and excuses as to why we shouldn’t travel. We try to convince ourselves that we don’t have the time or the money. Then there’s that whole autism thing which seems to make everything in life just a little different for us.

It can be daunting thinking about tackling a “fun” family vacation with a child on the autism spectrum. Especially since vacations are unpredictable, which happens to be the exact opposite of what the experts tell you. Routine, routine, routine. We have heard it time and time again. Routine is important for children with autism.

We have also learned this through experience – Belle does extremely well when she has a routine. It is important to her to know what to expect and slight changes in her schedule can send her to meltdown mode. Since Belle has difficulties with communication it is challenging when introducing new plans into our routine.

This is something that could make traveling a little more complicated for us, but even though it may be complicated it is still possible. It is extremely important to me that Belle has the opportunity to experience life outside of our community. She has such a love for nature and the outdoors that she should be able to see more of the beautiful places the world has to offer.

My goal for 2018 is for my family to travel often and gain new experiences for Belle.  Through our experiences I hope to then provide helpful tips and tricks for traveling with a child with autism. As much as I would love to do so now I am lacking the experience in that myself.

Maybe in our travels we will also find a place that calms her sweet soul. A place that we can travel to often where it is simply part of our family’s routine.