6 tips to make travel fun for kids with autism

Using strategies based in ABA therapy can take you far and wide

The prospect of traveling with a child on the autism spectrum can be intimidating and even overwhelming. But it’s just like everything else in life: practice makes perfect. The more you, your kiddo and family travel together, the more you’ll learn about what works and doesn’t work. With each adventure, you can refine your vacation practices – and get to the fun faster! 

The ABA therapy team here at The Behavior Exchange loves to hear about our clients having fun on well-deserved vacations, so we’ve compiled a short list of travel tips that can help ensure your family travel plans are destined for success.

Travel Tip #1 Let your child know what's going to happen on vacation.

Children with autism often do best with new experiences when they’re told (and shown) ahead of time what to expect. Making sure they know what will happen gives them time to prepare which can reduce their stress and anxiety. A great ABA therapy strategy is to use visual cues to help your child become more comfortable with travel plans. One example of a visual cue is a social story. Social stories can be created or found online for different experiences involving travel and vacations. They are stories with simple pictures and words that describe social situations a child will encounter while traveling and how they should react. Another example of a visual cue is a calendar with pictures and words your child can countdown to and prepare for  the vacation. You can even take a dry run to the airport to practice or role-play the experience, which is another ABA therapy technique.

Travel Tip #2 Choose a destination that caters to children with autism and their families.

More and more, vacation spots are offering accommodations geared to children with autism and their families. Choosing a hotel or destination vacation like a resort, with an educated staff and specially designed programs that meet the needs of your family, can make all the difference and help take the pressure off of you. This Travel + Leisure article written by a mother of a child with autism provides a short list of her top trip recommendations. You might be surprised to learn her favorite trips with her son on the spectrum include an autism-certified, all-inclusive resort in Jamaica, a popular cruise line, and a California city associated along the Sequoia National Park that is also a certified autism destination. If you’re looking for more choices for beach fun, check out this resource.

Travel Tip #3 Pack for the comfort and sensory needs of your kiddo.

Familiar and favorite items of your child can provide much-needed comfort and security when they’re experiencing new places and situations. Maybe it’s a favorite toy, stuffed animal, or blanket that can work to calm your child or make them feel safe instead of overwhelmed. In addition, be sure to pack things that will engage your child during long drives or plane rides. Fidget toys, coloring books, electronics, sensory toys, and even TV shows and podcasts can help keep kiddos relax in stressful situations. One of our therapists here at The Behavior Exchange recommends the “Super Simple Imagination Time With Caitie!” podcast. Her daughter loves to listen to the podcast in the morning while the rest of the family gets ready for the day. Speaking of listening, don’t forget to pack noise-reduction headphones for your child if they’re sensitive to loud noises and sounds. 

Travel Tip #4 Add daily downtime to your child's routine on vacation.

Family vacations can be filled with activities that keep you moving more dawn ’til dusk. Children with autism can experience sensory overload not only from all the activities, but also from the constant transitioning from one thing to the next. To avoid meltdowns, be sure to schedule a time for your child everyday to get away from the hustle and bustle and just chill with you in the hotel room or residence where you’re staying. It gives you time to rest and regroup as well. Make downtime a part of your vacation routine, along with other routines your child has at home that you can do while traveling, like a bedtime routine for example. Children with autism like routines because they provide predictability which reduces their stress and anxiety.

Travel Tip #5 Praise and reward your child's positive behavior.

A critical strategy in ABA therapy is positive reinforcement, where we praise and reward children for behaviors that we want them to repeat over and over again. Parents can easily practice positive reinforcement with their child while on vacation to encourage positive behaviors that can help make the travel experience of everyone in the family a better one. Acknowledge the positive behavior of your child at the airport, in the car, checking in at the hotel, waiting for a flight, and any situation that will make them feel more at ease and build their confidence.

Travel Tip #6 Don't be afraid to ask for support.

Communication is an important element to any successful family vacation, especially when you’re traveling with a child who has autism. Autism is referred to as a “hidden disability,” because it’s not easily seen. People who work at the airport, for the TSA, or for an airline, hotel, or restaurant may not know your child has autism. You have to tell them and let them know if your child will need special support and understanding. Many airlines have implemented programs for neurodiverse travelers of all ages. Some airports offer multi-sensory and quiet rooms for kids with autism. Even the TSA have passenger support specialists who are trained to assist and communicate with special needs travelers through their security screening process. If your child needs support or special assistance while traveling, be their voice and advocate.

Your ABA therapist can provide support, too! Before your trip, we can help prepare your child and make the change to their routine easier for them and you. We can also provide insights on positive reinforcement that is most effective for your child, and much more. All you have to do is ask.

If you’re looking for excellent ABA therapy services that have earned the highest accreditation possible, (twice!), contact The Behavior Exchange. Our team of autism and ABA therapy experts can help make your autism journey fun and life-changing. Make plans to contact us today. We work with awesome families throughout North Texas!

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Ashvina attended University of Bombay and graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce. She got her Montessori Diploma in 1985 and taught ever since. Ashvina came to TBE in January of 2016 as Admin Assistant. During the years she got the opportunity to learn and work in different departments such as HR, Finance, Office Manager and Executive Assistant. Last summer TBE bought billing in house and her current focus area is Revenue Cycle Management. She is detail oriented and enjoys working with people. Ashvina volunteers to deliver meals to seniors and local shelters on the weekend. She loves to spend time with her family and grandkids. Ashvina loves her job because she enjoys hearing different points of view, and she feels her contributions help fuel the direction of our company.

Working with children comes naturally to Angela. Her mom was a special education teacher for 30 years and often had Angela join her for Take Your Child to Work Day. And in high school, Angela spent every summer as the nanny for a little boy with an autism spectrum disorder. It was this experience where her passion for working with children with autism started to blossom.

From there, she went on to graduate from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences. She learned about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in a non-normative development class and from that moment knew that ABA would be her life’s work.

Angela moved to the DFW area shortly after and began working at The Behavior Exchange as a therapist. She worked on her Master’s in Behavior Analysis at the same time. A year after graduating, she earned certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Now, as a Clinical Director at The Behavior Exchange, she brings a life-long passion to her work, holding a special place in her heart for children with limited language skills and working closely with families to develop healthy sleep habits.

Danielle’s passion for working with families is deeply personal and from the heart. Her younger brother has an autism spectrum disorder, and through their journey as a family, she found her purpose in life as an advocate for individuals with special needs.

After graduating from the University of North Texas with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, Danielle began volunteering at The Behavior Exchange. She saw passionate therapists, meaningful change for clients, and families with hope for the future. After a summer of volunteering, she officially joined the team as Director of Admissions and found her home with The Behavior Exchange family.

With her extensive experience working as a client advocate with insurance providers, Danielle perseveres to help individuals of all ages and abilities receive the services they need to reach their full potential. She feels truly honored by each and every family who entrusts The Behavior Exchange to be part of their journey and is committed to the organization’s core values, mission, and goal of being a beacon of hope for the community.

Adam has always had a passion for helping individuals of all ages thrive and reach their full potential. He’s also an enthusiastic musician, songwriter, leader, and devoted family man, who has been helping children and team members grow with The Behavior Exchange since 2010.

Prior to joining the team at The Behavior Exchange, Adam was a mortgage loan consultant and grad student, pursuing his master’s degree in Education at the University of North Texas. He graduated in 2013 and also earned a graduate academic certificate in Autism Intervention. The following year, after years as a Behavior Therapist and seeing first-hand the power of ABA and the meaningful impact it can have on children and their families, Adam became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. He then commenced from the Stagen Leadership Academy after completing the Integral Leadership Program (ILP), a 52-week practice-based program designed to develop executives serious about transforming themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

Adam is truly grateful to be a part of a dynamic, inspiring and compassionate team, and he’s dedicated to bettering the lives of all children and their families through the delivery of the highest quality of ABA services, while supporting the amazing team at The Behavior Exchange.

Soraya is from South Africa and moved to Texas in 1996. She graduated from The University of Texas and pursued a career, at that time, in Education. Soraya taught at a Montessori school for a few years and then took on a leadership role.

During her time in the education system, Soraya realized her passion was to assist children with special needs. So she joined The Behavior Exchange as a therapist, transitioned into a supervisory role in 2017, and a year and a half later, was promoted to Clinical Operations Manager.

She quickly learned the ins and outs of ABA operations and scheduling and successfully collaborates across departments to ensure The Behavior Exchange continues to provide quality services to clients and their families. She’s thankful to be part of such an amazing organization and excited to see what the future holds.

You could say Walter’s career started when he spent hours as a young child drawing superheroes and coloring maps. This passion, along with extraordinary swimming skills, landed him a full swimming scholarship at Texas Christian University, where he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Graphics.

During the next 13 years, his design and art direction skills, conceptual-thinking abilities, and marketing-savvy know-how were honed at a few prestigious advertising and marketing agencies around the Dallas area. In the mid 2000s, he helped his wife Tammy Cline-Soza (founder and CEO of The Behavior Exchange) create a unique and concise brand for her new business. From logos and websites to uniforms, brand voice and visuals, Walter has been the main creative force for all things The Behavior Exchange.

Aside from giving birth to The Behavior Exchange brand, Walter is helping Tammy raise two amazing, beautiful children, River and Sierra. In his spare time (the two minutes he’s got per week), you can find Walter illustrating iconic landmarks of Dallas and Texas or looking around for this next open-water swim. Once he gets back in shape.

After 20 years of building The Behavior Exchange, literally from the ground up,
Tammy couldn’t be more proud of the team, culture, and organization that it has become.

As a family helping families, The Behavior Exchanges looks for opportunities that will make the biggest impact and produce life-changing outcomes – for clients, families, and even for team members. Tammy believes that if a team, a family, a community takes care of each other, the possibilities are endless and the relationships built along the way can make life more enriching and challenges easier to navigate. You could say her goal has been to build a kind of utopia full of support, love, and expertise that brings the best services possible to the community and ensures more families have access to those services.

Tammy and her family have dedicated their lives to the mission of The Behavior Exchange and continue to grow, learn, cultivate, challenge, support, and create better models for success. To that end, she is committed to her own leadership development and actively participates in advanced training, mentoring, and deep self-exploration on how to live out her purpose to love and support her family and help others reach their full potential. She takes her position very seriously and tries to serve as a channel for what the universe wants to come to fruition.

She also loves travel, gardening, being creative, MUSIC!, tennis, yoga, meditation, journaling, reading, being in nature, adventures, and more than anything, spending time with her husband Walter and their two beautiful children, River and Sierra.