10 Things Parents of Children With Autism Wish the Hotel/Travel Industry Knew

As summer wraps up and the numbers of children with Autism grow, the amount of people who travel with children with autism increases. To address this issue, I have provided the following ideas that parents of children with Autism wish the hotel/travel industry knew.

1) Put some of the rooms with 2 beds on the outside edge of the hotel. This enables families to lower the risk of disturbing other guests.

2) Add a second lock to the door, as high as possible. Many of our children are unbelievably creative when it comes to escaping.

3) Add a lock, as high as possible on the outside of bathroom door. Our children are a huge risk when it comes to danger, including drowning. They also may not feel pain and could turn on the shower at an unsafe temperature. My child also loves to dump anything out that is in a bottle. When he was little he was also notorious for flushing anything and everything he could find. Adding that extra lock may cost you a few dollars, but in the long run it will save you a ton.

4) Securely attach all pictures, mirrors, and decorations to the wall. Even here in Southern California the home of the earthquake, it never ceases to amaze me how many hotels, restaurants and dressing rooms do not secure their mirrors. Our children sometimes are like mini earthquakes. Please help protect your investments and our pride and joys.

5) Offer more than one kid friendly channel in your selection. There is nothing more annoying then only having one kid channel even if your child does not have Autism. The Cartoon Network does not count as child friendly after 4 pm.

6) Provide Autism and disability training for your staff. Have a place that a disability can be noted in your hotel/airline computer. Especially in case one of our escape artists makes it out, your staff will know what may happen and which room to contact immediately. Also, have your computer software have the ability to input our cell phone number in case our children escape when we are not in the room or at the airport.

7) Have a very strict policy about not allowing the pool door to be propped open. Children with Autism have a huge risk of drowning as many are highly attracted to water.

8) Offer access to portable refrigerators and microwaves even if it is at a small service charge.

9) Have a list of local restaurants that offer allergy friendly food choices. If you have a restaurant or room service insure that they serve chicken breasts, 100%beef hamburger patties, and French fries that are gluten (wheat, rye, oats and barley) and casein (milk) free. Offer steamed veggies that have nothing on them. 1 in 150 people have celiac disease and have to be gluten free; there are many additional people who have milk allergies. Making these small changes will help millions of people not just those with Autism.

10) To airports and other places that have security check points, please have a guest assistance area that we can through security without the huge lines if we tell you we have a child with Autism. This will make body scanning the child with Autism easier and quicker. Our children often do not do well with lines, strangers, noise, people touching them, taking on and off their shoes. If a family gets chosen for a secondary check, have someone available to help families during this time.

If you the readers have other ideas, please let me know and I will add them to the list.

Until next time PITAup and do something to change the life of a child with Autism, the life you change maybe your own!!!

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