Going Places - Viewpoint

Sun and Sand for Everyone

Writer Lisa Kadane explores how autism-certified resorts and destinations are revolutionizing “all-inclusive” travel.

I knew having kids would change the way my husband and I traveled. In the early years, we figured we’d likely choose theme parks over Thailand treks, and all-inclusive resorts instead of backpacker hostels in Cambodia. But raising a child with autism has kept us firmly on a sun-and-sand travel trajectory and made us even more intentional about where we go and how we get there.

By playing to our teenage son’s preference for swimming, and avoiding his triggers — long airplane rides that necessitate a lavatory visit, because noisy — we have splashed in Ixtapa’s waves, hiked to jungle waterfalls in Belize and kayaked on one of Puerto Rico’s bioluminescent bays. Before each trip, I tempered Bennett’s anxiety over the unknown by preparing him with a visual story that showed pictures of stops on the itinerary.

Standards (IBCCES) in 2019, with some hotel, attraction and city parks staff trained in how to recognize and respond to travelers with sensory, learning and communication differences. We went horseback riding at a ranch where they tethered Bennett’s horse to the guide’s to support his motor challenges, enabling him to participate. We also visited an aquarium with a quiet room where he could watch sharks and rays in peace rather than in a crush of people.

Until recently, accessible travel has meant accommodations for physical and sensory disabilities: wheelchair access, braille signage, assistive listening devices. But as autism awareness grows in the mainstream (one in 36 children in the U.S. lives with the neurodevelopmental condition), inclusion in the travel sphere is expanding to mean individuals with cognitive differences, too.

Since that trip to Mesa, we’ve sought out other autism-friendly sun destinations and resorts. We walked the famous boardwalk at Myrtle Beach and kayaked past cypress trees in the South Carolina bayou. We clambered up sand dunes in Death Valley National Park, which loans out sensory kits with polarized sunglasses and noise-canceling headphones to visitors who may need help coping with the park’s climate extremes.

Most recently, we spent a week at an autism-certified resort in Jamaica where Bennett, now 16, enjoyed an endless buffet with gluten-free options and snorkeled in waters teeming with tropical fish. A “Beaches Buddy” trained to work with kids on the spectrum took him to shoot hoops and lap the waterslides. Having several hours of respite from parenting was a vacation-first for us.

Neurodiverse travelers aren’t quite spoiled for choice just yet, but they soon will be: In Florida, the Palm Beaches just launched an accessibility program, and in California, Greater Palm Springs became IBCCES autism-certified in 2022. These city-wide initiatives add to the many palm-studded hotels and resorts in the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico that are already supporting all guests. Who knows? Maybe someday a family backpacking trip to the beaches and bungalows of Southeast Asia won’t be just a dream.