Not Quite the Brochure

Booking a holiday … or planning an Overseas expedition ? 

Part 1 of 2. An honest and (hopefully) humorous look at what it’s really like preparing for a family holiday abroad with my SEN children. 

Where ‘relaxing break’ meets detailed planning, sensory considerations, expecting the unexpected moments and the kind of behind the scenes effort that rarely makes it into the photos. 

I knew booking a holiday had now changed when I found myself googling the nearest Aldi to the hotel in case I needed an emergency supply of Instant noodles. 

Because when you’re parenting a child with Autism, ADHD or additional needs, holidays aren’t just about sunshine and relaxation. They’re about routines, sensory needs, safe spaces, contingency plans and carrying enough snacks to survive a small apocalypse. 

So if you’ve ever spent 3 hours researching a hotel only to reject it because the pool looked ‘a bit shouty’, then this blog is for you. 

So, let’s start this thing! Phase 1 

Laptops open.

Travel Agent website loaded. 

We can go ANYWHERE. 

BUZZER … WRONG. 

You see, booking a holiday as a parent of a child with Autism, ADHD additional needs isn’t just a case of picking somewhere sunny and clicking BOOK NOW. 

Oh no. 

Before we’ve looked at a single hotel, we’ve got approximately 47 questions that need answering. 

Ahem .. Let’s begin.

• How many hours can our children be trapped inside a flying metal tube before they become Tasmanian Devils with access to an emergency call button? 

• Where is hot enough to enjoy, but not so hot that everyone regrets every life choice by lunchtime and a sensory heat meltdown is pending?  

• How far away is the hotel from the Airport? Will they cope on a transfer coach with multiple drop offs and the mystery scents of 50 different sweaty travelling companions? 

  
  

Every additional drop off now reduces our chances of arriving as a functioning family! 

• Do we take the Grandparents? Or as they’re more commonly known on a SEND family holiday, our unpaid respite care team who haven’t yet realised they’ve signed up for a job rather than a holiday. 

• Ok, flight times … Every flight time has consequences. Too early and they’re overtired. Too late and they’re overstimulated. Somewhere in the middle lies a magical departure time. Has anyone found it? 

Eventually after days of negotiating, calculating maximum safe flight duration, we’ve actually chosen a destination. 

Excellent 

We’re making progress. 

Now all we need is a hotel. How hard can that be, right? 

BUZZER …. WRONG again 

Because whilst most people are looking for Sea views, swim up bars, and somewhere to get a decent cocktail, SEND parents are asking the really important questions … 

• How close is the room to the pool? 

• Will a balcony be a luxury viewing area or a source of anxiety?

  
  

• All inclusive food buffet with a variety of local foods with a different theme every night .. ok great, are the chicken nuggets the same shape and colour as the ones we have at home? 

• Is there a kettle in the room to make the Instant noodles which will inevitably still be being made? 

• Before you know it, you know the hotel floor plan better than the employees and have marked every exit/ escape possibility. 

And then it happens. 

It’s booked! 

The flight is booked, the hotel is booked and the Grandparents have reluctantly agreed to join the staff.

By the end you’ve paid an extra £250 more for private transfers, allocated seats, hotel room locations. Not because you’re fancy, because you’ve saved potentially 47 meltdowns. 

It’s done. 

Time to relax. 

BUZZER … WRONG 

Because now you’ve entered Phase 2 ..  the 6 month preparation phase. 

You know, the bit where you have to somehow prepare your child for a major change in routine without talking about it so much that they become anxious about the major change in routine. 

You chat to the Grandparents trying to keep the excitement going whilst secretly wondering if you’ve made a great mistake. 

The unpaid carers, I mean Grandparents, then mention that they would want a ‘night off’ to have a meal on their own. Excuse me! Absolutely not .. Additional leave declined! Joking of course (through gritted teeth) 

You remember to organise a Sunflower Lanyard for the airport. 

Excellent .. You are so organised. 

Then you discover your destination doesn’t recognise the scheme, they have their own version. 

What is this …. Another form. 

F…LIP SAKE! 

Part 2 - Sun sea and sensory overload.