Tourism industry needs to be sensitive towards the families of children suffering from autism

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Going on a holiday with family doesn’t always prove to be a relaxing experience. From traffic jams to long queues at airports and stress can spoil the fun of holidays. Despite this, most of us yearn to go on vacations for a change of atmosphere and a break from the everyday routine.

However, adapting to changes in environment and routine can prove to be extremely difficult for children with autism. And our research indicates that this could make family holidays a very dreadful experience for them.

We spoke to some British parents who said that taking children with autism on holiday is so challenging that they only plan short trips. According to 35 percent of these parents, they prefer to stay out of the house for at most one to two nights.

Most parents avoid traveling during the holiday season or other circumstances in which their child may feel more uncomfortable. More than 80 per cent of parents said they always choose a holiday destination in the UK rather than going abroad. Some parents said that to avoid staying out at night, they plan only day leave.

Many parents told us that having a child with autism plays a big role in determining when, where and what kind of holidays they take. One parent said, “When I return from taking my son out, I feel the need to go on vacation myself.” Another parent said their recent holiday experience was so bad they canceled their next trip and decided never to go out again in the future.

Feedback from other holidaymakers

Our research revealed several reasons why parents of children with autism hesitate to take them on holidays. We were surprised to learn that the biggest reason for this reluctance was the reactions of other holidaymakers to their children’s behaviour.

Children with autism tend to get restless when faced with new and unusual situations, which is very common during the holidays. And when such children’s restlessness increases, they appear distressed and engage in provocative behavior, such as fidgeting in the seat, clapping, tossing toys or running around.

Relatives of 295 children with autism participated in our research. Some of these parents said that their children’s nervous behavior “didn’t go down well” with other passengers. Not only this, these parents feel that they will be seen as parents who have no control over their own children.

Nearly half of the parents surveyed said it was difficult to communicate with other passengers when traveling with a child with autism. Many of these parents complained about the lack of sensitivity on the part of other passengers towards the condition of their children. He told that some passengers stare at his child, while some don’t even miss scolding him.

preferring to stay away from exciting activities

Parents involved in the research said that the most stressful part of the holidays is going to events or exciting activities with children with autism. Many of these parents admitted that they are better off not participating in these activities and staying in the vicinity of the place where they are staying.

But this also raises the question of how to keep the siblings of such children from getting bored and entertain them on holidays. Some children with autism may be hypersensitive to loud noises, bright lights and strong smells, while their siblings may be attracted to such places.

One mother said, “Holidays are for the whole family, but all of my time is spent calming and caring for my daughter who has autism. My young children and family members are not getting the holiday experience they deserve.”

The parents said that the tourism industry has done a lot to solve the difficulties faced by people with mobility problems, but special initiatives are needed from its side for children with disabilities suffering from autism. These include creating quiet spaces at airports, providing noise-canceling headphones on planes, providing early entry to parks, and providing heavy blankets and black blindfolds in hotels.

(Brian Garrod, Swansea University, Alan Jepson, University of Hertfordshire and Rafaela Stadler, MCI Management Center Innsbruck)

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