Travelling with AS toddler

Post Reply New Topic

Hello,

I'm very glad to be on this site. I especially like that everyone is treated with respect. Last time I've got a lot of precious information and advices.
Thank you guys!

Now I have a question about a daughter of our close friends. The child 3 y.o. with lots of AS symptoms hates to stay in a strange place. Last time parents had to come home the next day just because the child was so upset all the time, cried and wanted to go home despite everything.

Now they are going much farther for a week, including an airplane (first time!) and a 8-hrs trip in a car. It's going to be hard to come home as soon as the child feels uncomfortable.

Do you have any advices for Mom how to decrease the child's stress when flying and staying in a hotel? They have 3 weeks before the vacation. Mom has started talking about the airplanes, blue sea with the fish, etc. with the pictures, but it seems to have a little impact on the kid. She just turns a page and talks about other things she is interested in right now.
What else can we do? What has helped you?

Thanks a lot!! !

What about pretending she is going on holiday to another room in the house and working with her what (small) things she can take to make it like home? Practice it a few times, and then take all those things on holiday and set it up for the real thing. Just a thought.

Does he have anything he is strongly attached to? Take all his toys etc with you so that he at least feels a bit at home.

Be ready to give your child lollies on the plane to avoid ear discomfort. Do it before take off and before landing...

Don't wait for the crying to start before you hand them out.

Does she have sensory issues? For the plane, I would make sure you had a lunchbox packed with a variety of food to choose from, and another lunchbox with 6-7 cheap new toys in it, and particularly some squeeze balls or other interesting things to squeeze and fiddle with. You can also get them sucking on a bottle to help with the ear pressure.

what about a general schedule of what she'll be doing on the trip.........my daughter gets anxious when she doesn't know things-ie; where we're going, when we'll get there, what we'll be doing, when we'll be leaving.

i know it's a vacation and all, but maybe they have some ideas of what they'll be doing - for example: on thursday, we'll be going to the beach & we'll pack a picnic lunch. Later in the afternoon, around 3 or 4 pm, we'll pack up our things and return to our hotel. we'll clean ourselves up, and then go out for supper.

We tell the people when we check in that our son has AS amd planes make him nervous. We explain he kicks and its better for him to be in the bulkhead seats without anyone in front. He definitely does better in this space because it is less distracting. We take his carseat so he has a familiar place to sit-sleep. You are also quicker off the plane because it is always just behind first class. The one time they couldn't give us the bulkhead seats they blocked the row off in front of us to accomodate him. I also let the TSA screeners know when we pass through the metal detectors because he usually melts down before we can pass through completely as a family, put on our shoes, collect bags, and search for the gate.

Make sure she understands the security procedure.

I remember throwing a temper tantrum when the screener took my doll. I was only screaming because I didn't know what she was going to do with the doll. The really funny thing is that I never liked the doll (or any doll for that matter). I was basically just forced to carry it because girls should have dolls not trucks

No naps before the trip it makes it easer for her to sleep during the trip.
bring warm drinks such as warmed milk or coco and some juices,
bring the child's fav blanket and other familiar common everyday things to help make her feel secure and at home,
bring some children's books and things that you can interact with the child with as a distraction from the constant changes,
if you have waited blankets and cloths now is the time to use them, the child will not likely want to remain seeted for long durations and so these things may help.
bring uncommon and unusual treats and foods you know the child will enjoy, keep her full of mostly things made of fiber, no sweets, use dried fruit and nut snacks or breads, it will help her sleep.
when traveling try at first placing the child in a place of good view, who knows, the child may actually like knowing whats happening and seeing things as a distraction.
careful of the toys you may bring, others may not be as appreciative of the sounds they make during the long trip.
earphones and music are a good thing to help dull the sounds around her as well, keep it playing when and as she sleeps and in this way many sudden sounds others make may not bother her as much.
when ever you get a chance to stop, let the child run a little so she can see and feel the new things and changes, this could help her feel more secure, remember life is so new to a child that age, most everything is always new, and this also will help her stretch her legs.
and remember, even if the child is potty trained she will hardly be able to go off on her own or the bathroom may always seem in use, so bring plenty of diapers and wipes and a bag to put the soiled ones in.

They could practice eating in restaurants and how to behave in them so that she'll know what to expect in those places. Also, it's useful to know in advance if the restaurants play loud music that might disturb her.

Having pictures of things that she'll experience might be useful, especially if they put it in a special travel book.... They could replace those generic pictures with pictures of her doing those things so she'll be able to talk about those things at another time.

They can also do at least one thing each day that caters to her wants and desires- something they can use as positive re-inforcement or even something that would just completely tire her out so that when it's time for bed she'll fall asleep easily.

And of course having the favourite blankie or toy is essential.

Tools that we use for traveling with my under 3 guy:
- Ziplock bags of "throwaway" toys so when the kid pitches it across the plane/car you have another silly toy. Think small dollar store objects.
- Map showing where we are and where we are going and highlighter lines showing our progress (OK, this is 50% me, but the kid likes it.)
- Stick to the "home" schedule as much as possible. (ha!)
- Keep breakfast the same (yogurt, cheerios) so that the day starts by feeling "normal"
- Minimize odd clothing. Sorry that my kid is at your wedding/retirement party/whatever wearing cotton and not a baby-suit. (Girl clothes can get especially awful.)
- Practice eating out
- Plan to eat at "home base" as much as practicable.
- Practice eating in the car/on the road.
- Bring a heavy blanket, even if it is hot, even if your kid doesn't usually use a weighted blanket. (Dad's jacket works in a pinch.)
- Bring your own carseat.
- Reward good behaviour with whatever she likes (ok, it's total bribery, but it works for some kids)
- Explain in advance
- Explain as they go. (We go over the schedule over and over for each day and half day and hour. Helps him get from one thing to the next.)

Thank you everybody for all your answers. All of them are so valuable!
For example, we didn't think about the security problems at the airport and about kicking the front seats at all.
So, we will use your strategies!

Thank you!