Before having children, Nicole Thibault and her husband intended to make travel a priority in their lives. Children, they agreed, would not stop them from exploring. Until their first child was diagnosed with autism.
“Every noise, every sound, every scent, big crowds; [they all] seemed to upset him so much,” Thibault recalled. By the time the couple had their third child, they had curtailed taking many trips. Destinations and popular modes of transportation — like flying — simply didn’t accommodate their son and his sensory needs. She talked to other families with children on the spectrum, and they were not encouraging. “They told me that they just stopped going anywhere,” she said.
A survey of families with neurodivergent children conducted by the International Board of Credentialing and Education Standards (IBCCES) found that 87% do not take vacations. Overwhelmingly, it’s because they are not satisfied with the travel options for their families.
About one in every 36 children is diagnosed on the autism spectrum in the U.S., according to estimates from the CDC, representing a 300% increase from 20 years ago. There are more than 20 million families with autistic individuals around the world and an estimated 53 million Americans with disabilities. These populations have long been underserved when it comes to travel, the IBCCES reports.
Special-needs travel is becoming the fastest-growing segment of the trillion-dollar travel industry. Increasingly, destinations and attractions are adding features and training staff to ensure their offerings are accessible to all types of travelers. And as a result, travel advisors are better prepared to serve those families.
Bottom Line: Travel Is Stressful
Imagine a typical family-friendly destination, such as a theme park. You hear fireworks, parades, the roar of a coaster zipping along a track and carnival barkers in the fairway. You smell popcorn, cotton candy and sizzling hotdogs. You see whirling lights, throngs of people and spinning rides. For neurodivergent children, all that input can cause sensory overload. Sounds that neurotypical people routinely ignore may be so loud to neurodivergent children that they cause pain.
When the environment doesn’t wreak havoc, other guests may. Autistic children may be non-speaking and communicate using specialized devices or with sounds, such as chirps and grunts. They also may stim, which can be anything from flapping their arms and hands or humming to rocking, clapping or headbanging. The stimming serves to make them feel comfortable, but it can elicit cruel reactions from other families.
Hollie Robinson Peete, a celebrity activist and the parent of an autistic adult, has recounted how other people have made trips unpleasant for her and her family.
“Some of the hardest moments I can remember have been when we’ve gone on vacations,” she said in an interview with Fodor’s Travel. “If R.J. would have a moment, make noise, clap or stim, people would stare or call him names, and I would get so tired of having to educate people.”
Thibault recalled similar experiences when simply not having her son’s preferred foods available for meals would trigger a meltdown. That’s why, over 10 years ago, she launched her own company, Magical Storybook Travels, based outside Rochester, New York, specializing in travel for families of neurodivergent children.
“We practiced making small trips with our family,” she said. “The more I learned, the more I wanted to share it with other people.”
Resources for Travel Advisors
Thibault is a certified Family Travel Specialist and has gotten her Autism Travel Professional certification (CATP) from IBCCES. The certification includes four continuing education hours of training and must be renewed every two years. Certified travel professionals are listed in a resource on the IBCCES website.
“I recommend the CATP training and certification,” Thibault said. “It makes clients feel confident you can help them.”
The IBCCES also has a list of certified destinations — called Certified Autism Centers and Advanced Certified Autism Centers — including entire cities. Those centers have trained at least 80% of their staff and can include educational, recreational and healthcare facilities. For example, Beaches resorts, Sesame Place (both Philadelphia and San Diego locations) and SeaWorld Orlando are all Certified Autism Centers.
Certified Autism Destinations means the majority of tourism-related organizations have completed autism and sensory disorder sensitivity and awareness training and completed an onsite review with IBCCES. High Point, North Carolina, is an example of a certified destination.
An Autism Certified City (ACC), according to IBCCES, means that all areas of a city, including health care, education, local government, hospitality, leisure, manufacturing and corporate members, are trained and certified to deliver their product or service to autistic guests, staff or residents.
Mesa, Arizona, is the first ACC in the world. More than 500 city employees have completed training, along with 60 businesses and organizations representing more than 4,000 employees and community members. That includes attractions — such as the Odysea Aquarium and the Arizona Museum of Natural History — and hotels, including Delta Hotels by Marriott, Sheraton Mesa Hotel at Wrigleyville West and Hyatt Place Phoenix/Mesa.
“My favorite place is Mesa,” Thibault said. “There is so much to do. There’s hiking and kayaking and 60 businesses and attractions you can choose from.”
Families who seek Thibault’s help with trips often want to visit hotels, theme parks and destinations that are not autism certified.
“This is when you have to do your research,” Thibault advised. “Every location is different, so you need to call them to find out about their accommodations, their processes for providing special services, even what’s available for meals and snacks.”
She also suggests joining Facebook groups for different destinations to find first-hand accounts or to get direct answers from destination spokespeople, other travel advisors and families.
“Watch YouTube videos of the destination or attraction when you can,” Thibault said. “You want to prepare your clients for everything: the sights, the sounds and anything else they may encounter.”
In her business, Thibault offers social story videos to familiarize families with everything from the hotel rooms and pools to kids’ areas, restaurants and other attractions. Her own children are featured in some of the social stories.
“The social stories help eliminate anxiety,” Thibault said. “When a traveler and their family can shake that weight off, it makes the next steps easier.”
Taking the Next Step
So, what does this mean for travel advisors? Here are a few ways to be prepared for helping neurodivergent families enjoy their trips to the fullest.
Qualify Clients Thoroughly
During your first meeting with a potential client, ask about sensory processing issues, motor skills and the need for specialty devices. Ask how their neurodivergent child communicates: Do they speak? Do they require an assistive communication device? Do they use other kinds of communication? Does the child prefer high- or low-sensory input?
Some children may love very physical, boisterous activities, while others may want quieter activities like hiking. Ask about food allergies, food preferences, aversions and “safe foods.” The more you know about the family’s needs and preferences, the better you can match travel destinations and accommodations.
Get Certified
The IBCCES offers training and certification for Autism Travel Professionals including breakdowns of the target market and sales tactics. Certified travel professionals are included in an online directory.
Research, Research, Research
Not every desired location is a certified autism destination. Some theme parks, for example, have special passes to help families avoid waiting in line or to help them find quieter spaces in the park. Ask the destination what services they provide, such as wheelchairs and noise-canceling headphones. Check out YouTube videos about the destination or the attraction to get a sense of the sights and sounds. Incorporate pictures and videos into social stories for families to view in advance of their trips.
Prepare Clients for Travel
Social stories are a great way to prepare families, but so are rehearsals. The Arc, a nationwide nonprofit that advocates for people with disabilities, created its free Wings for Autism program to provide airline and airport staff and families an opportunity to do an airport “rehearsal” to prepare families for flying. Look for local chapters of The Arc near a client and find out when the next rehearsal is scheduled.
Apply for Disability Access
Register with TSA Cares to request the accommodations your clients need in advance of a flight. Some families may be able to skip security lines for a faster, quieter security check-in.
Originally appeared in the Winter 2023 issue of The Compass magazine.
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