Traveling with people with autism…an adventure “out of the routine” fraught with challenges

In one of the quiet waiting lounges at the airport, a mother sits explaining the flight plan to her child, using printed pictures of the plane, the seats, and the boarding door.

The child memorizes the sequence of pictures and also memorizes the details of the daily routine in his home: “We go to the airport… we wait… we get on the plane… we sit… we arrive.”

This scene has become more prominent in recent years as awareness grows about the needs of children with autism while traveling, and as the discussion expands about how to make the travel experience smoother for them and their families.

Although travel may represent a fun adventure for most children, for children with autism it may raise a series of sensory and emotional challenges, starting with the noise of airport lounges and ending with sudden crowding and a change in the usual routine.

However, many experiences show that proper preparation can make a trip more predictable, more comfortable and more enjoyable.

Two officials at the Dubai Autism Center stressed the importance of planning in advance and adopting thoughtful strategies to make the travel experience smoother for children with autism and their families.

In detail, the mother of the child, Maria Ashkanani, Bushra Lari, said that traveling with her 12-year-old daughter is one of the most prominent challenges she faces, given her daughter’s need for advance preparation and a clear routine that helps her accept change.

She explained: “I make sure to inform my daughter of travel plans well in advance, as it is not possible to inform her only a day or two before the trip, because the home represents her area of ​​safety and comfort, and leaving it, even for a short period, causes her stress and anxiety that require psychological preparation in advance.”

She added that one of the most important requirements for traveling with her daughter is to create a detailed daily plan that includes activities from the beginning of the day until the end, and to adhere to it as much as possible, noting that any sudden change in the schedule may lead to an increase in her level of stress and the occurrence of bouts of crying and screaming, and therefore additional points are included in the plan to avoid setbacks when there is a need to modify the program.

Regarding food, Maria’s mother explained that she relies on a very limited list of foods, which forces her to carry her own meals, including some liquids during travel, pointing out that her daughter does not ask for food on her own, and the meals must be presented to her directly so that she can eat what suits her.

She said that crowded places cause Maria obvious stress, which prompts her to cling to them all the time, because she feels safe with them, in addition to her refusal to use the bathrooms outside her usual environment, which requires accompanying her and encouraging her to use them.

She also stressed the need to constantly monitor her daughter during the trip, for fear of her staying away or entering places that are difficult to reach, explaining that Maria, despite her ability to speak, tends to remain silent during travel, which requires additional support to help her communicate with others.

Maria’s mother believes that travel, despite its difficulties, gives her and her daughter beautiful moments and opportunities to get closer, noting that she learns something new from every trip that helps her understand her needs better, and makes future travel experiences smoother and more comfortable.

As for the mother of the child Khalifa Al Falasi, Moza Khalifa Al Hameli, she said that her journey with her son was full of challenges, especially during travel, explaining that the experience at the beginning was difficult and unclear to the family, but they were able to gradually overcome these difficulties thanks to continuous cooperation and support.

She added that the Dubai Autism Center provided the family with a set of important instructions, which had a significant impact on improving the travel experience with Khalifa, the most prominent of which was preparing a clear schedule for the trip that included the travel stations and their dates, which gave him a feeling of security and the ability to anticipate what would happen later.

She noted that applying the guidelines made her son travel easily and comfortably, as he followed the schedule assigned to him with commitment and confidence, which turned trips into a calmer and more enjoyable experience for the family.

She said: “We feel proud of what we have achieved with Khalifa, and grateful to everyone who provided us with support and guidance,” noting that “awareness and cooperation are the basis of success in empowering our children and containing their needs.”

In turn, the Director General of the Dubai Autism Center and a member of its Board of Directors, Mohammed Al Emadi, confirmed that supporting families during travel has become part of the institutions’ responsibilities towards society.

He explained that “travel is not only a recreational activity, but rather an educational and social opportunity that should be available to everyone without exception.”

He said that the Dubai Autism Center is keen to enhance awareness among families and service agencies to adopt supportive practices that make the travel experience more comprehensive and less challenging through the “Autism-Friendly Environment” program. This comes from the UAE’s vision and national agenda aimed at enhancing the quality of life and empowering people of determination, and in line with the goals of the “Year of Community 2025.”

He added, “Preparing travel environments from airports to tourist destinations is a natural extension of national efforts that raise the value of community participation. Every step taken toward simplifying travel procedures, training employees, or allocating quiet paths is a step toward a society in which every individual feels safe and belongs.”

From a scientific standpoint, the Center’s Executive Director of Programs and Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA-D), Dr. Nicholas Orland, explained the most prominent challenges that an autistic child may face, as he “faces a completely new sensory environment that includes loud noises, unfamiliar security procedures, and long waiting lines, in addition to changing routines, and rapid transitions between stages of the journey,” explaining that “these factors may lead to high levels of anxiety, difficulty in sensory regulation, and emotional behaviors may appear as a result of excessive stimulation.”

He pointed out that some children are affected by the strong light of the halls, while others are stressed by unexpected smells or touch during security inspection, stressing that “pre-understanding these stimuli helps the family build a realistic and effective support plan.”

He recommended relying on “pre-preparation,” which he described as “the cornerstone of any successful travel experience.”

He said: “It is necessary for the child to know what will happen, especially through visual means (such as pictorial schedules and stories of the sequence of events) that help him anticipate the steps of the trip. When the child sees the picture of the airport, then the picture of the plane, then the hotel, the course of the day becomes understandable instead of being a series of annoying surprises.”

He stressed that training the child at home through a simple simulation of waiting or inspecting bags helps ease the first confrontation at the airport, noting that “anticipation reduces anxiety to a large extent and gives the child a feeling of security.”

Among the precautionary preparations that must be taken before traveling, Orland stressed the importance of bringing a sensory bag.

He said: “The family of an autistic child should not leave their home without a sensory bag, as it is not just a set of toys, but rather a support system, as it includes noise-canceling headphones, pressure tools, soothing toys, and other familiar sensory materials,” explaining that all of these items help the child restore sensory balance at any moment he is exposed to an excessive stimulus, and added that having these tools on hand can change the course of the entire moment, especially on the plane or during a long wait.

He also referred to the standards that the Dubai Autism Center is working on in the “Autism-Friendly Environment” program, indicating the basic elements of a prepared travel environment, which are quiet paths with little noise, simplified and quick registration and boarding procedures, low-stimulation rooms in hotels, in addition to clear visual guidance panels, and employees trained in supportive communication and understanding sensory behaviors.

He said: “When the environment is considerate, stress becomes less and flexibility becomes greater, because a supportive environment is necessary to ensure a successful experience for all parties on the trip.”

It is noteworthy that autism is one of the most common developmental disorders, and it appears specifically during the first three years of a child’s life, and accompanies the sufferer throughout the stages of his life. Autism affects the individual’s communicative and social abilities, which leads to his isolation from those around him.

• For Maria, the house represents a zone of safety and comfort, and leaving it causes her stress and anxiety that require advance psychological preparation.

• The travel experience was new for Khalifa, but the continuous cooperation and support helped him and his family overcome the difficulties.