Choosing to spend your vacation in the way you like

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Dear friends,
My name is Hend Hassan. I am a researcher in the field of tourism and a mother of a lovely autistic child. This made me very interested in the autistic people matters and rights.
I am doing a research about how to help autistic people spend tourist vacations in the way that they would enjoy. I believe that every autistic person has the right to choose the tourist place where he wants to spend his vacation, where he wants to stay there, what places he wants to visit, what activities he wants to practice, what food he wants to eat and what things he want to avoid.
I need your help in this research to show everybody that every autistic person has the right to state his choices and these choices have to be respected.
In this research, I have designed a survey that includes some questions. These questions are supposed to be answered by the autistic tourist to help the travel company plan his tourism vacation according to what he likes. The survey also asks about some information that would help in providing the autistic tourist with all the services and assistance that he would need during his vacation.
Please , read the questions [/u]included in the survey attached below and tell me your opinion. Also write any suggestions that you think would be useful to make the survey better.
From your opinion and suggestions , I will try to write some tips or a strategy to show the travel companies how to plan vacations for autistic tourists according to the choices of each tourist and in the way that would satisfy him.
I assure you that your personal information will remain confidential.
I really appreciate your help in this research. Thanks in advance.
Sincerely yours’
Hend Hassan

[ b]The survey[/b]

- Name:------------------------------------------- - Age:-----------------------------

1- Have you ever travelled by airplane before?
Yes ( ) No ( )

2- Which of these places do you like to visit?
The beach ( ) Historical places ( ) Museums( ) Art galleries ( ) Aquariums ( ) Shopping areas ( ) Theme parks ( ) Natural sites ( ) Aqua-parks ( )

3- Do you like to do any of the following?
Riding horses ( ) Snow skiing ( ) Sand skiing ( ) Others (please state) ----------

4- Where do you prefer to stay during your vacation?
Big resort ( ) Small resort ( ) Hotel ( ) Motel ( ) Condo ( )

5- Do you like cruises?
Yes ( ) No ( )

6- How do you prefer to go from a place to another?
By car ( ) By bus ( )

7- Which of these actions please you?
Rocking ( ) Bouncing ( ) Swinging ( ) Playing with water ( ) Flicking objects ( ) Chewing things( ) Rubbing hands on textures( ) Walking on tip-toes( ) Flapping ( ) Being wrapped with heavy blanket ( ) Other things (please state) ------------------------

8- Which of these do you like doing?
Drawing ( ) Coloring ( ) Music ( ) Crafts ( ) Others (please state) --------

9- Which sport do you like to play?
--------------------------------------

10- Where do you prefer to eat during your vacation?
In a restaurant ( ) In your own hotel room ( )

11- Are you allergic to any of the following?
Nuts ( ) Milk ( ) Gluten ( ) Eggs ( )
Casein ( ) others (please state) -----------------------

12- How do you like your food to be?
Only puree ( ) Only solid ( ) Semi-solid ( )
Any form ( ) other form (please state) ------------------------------------

13- Which of these do you prefer doing?
Having your meals prepared by the hotel ( ) Preparing your meals in your room ( )

14- Can you talk?
Yes ( ) No ( )

15- Which of these help you understand more?
Sign language ( ) Real objects ( ) Photographs ( )
Written words ( ) Drawings ( ) Videos ( )

16- Which of these you can use?
Computers ( ) Tablets ( ) Cell phones ( ) Others (please state) ---------------

17- Have you ever used any of the following?
Ear plugs ( ) Head phones ( ) Sun glasses ( )

18- Which of these bother you?
Crowd ( ) Bright light ( ) High sound ( ) Strong smells ( ) Swinging ( )
High places ( ) Car rides ( ) Feeling some textures ( ) None ( )

19- If your answer is “None”, then which of these please you more?
Crowds ( ) Bright light ( ) High sound ( ) Strong smells ( ) Swinging ( ) High places ( ) Car rides ( ) Feeling some textures ( )

20- Do you have any of these?
Seizures ( ) Gastro-intestinal problems ( ) Others (please state) -----------------

21- What medications do you take?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

22- What are the doses of your medications?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

23- Do you sleep a little or woke up in the middle of the night?
Yes ( ) No ( )

Quite frankly, I find some of the survey questions not helpful. IMHO, the questions shouldn't be so intimate that there's a huge need for them to be answered privately.

So here's my take on things, as a high-functioning Aspie:

I'm an artist who travels in search of landscapes, nature, and weather (winter snow, fog, or a light misting autumn rain are ideal). As a photographer, I like to visit quiet places in the country or other remote settings, such as the Hocking Hills of Ohio (bet you've never heard of it), Kelleys Island (small dot of land in the middle of Lake Erie), the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, the Badlands of South Dakota.

I enjoy staying at small bed & breakfast places in scenic areas that are so pretty all you need to do is climb out of bed, throw on some clothes, and take magnificent sunrise photos before breakfast. You do need to be traveling at a nice leisurely pace to stay at a bed & breakfast, because the owners may want to talk to you until mid-morning. So when I need to get an early start or put lots of miles on the car on a given day, that's when I'll stay at a big-name hotel. I prefer a hotel in a suburban area rather than a noisy city. I look up hotels in advance on TripAdvisor to make sure it's a quality place ... clean, safe, good customer service.

Along with photography, I enjoy activities like birdwatching or horseback riding on vacation. Eating out in small local restaurants filled with the surrounding cultural atmosphere and regional dishes is preferred. An example: Cowboy Corner in the tiny little town of Interior, South Dakota. The place is so remote that actual real live cowboys and Native Americans go there. And it's so small they only offer one meal on the menu each day, changing the meal according to the day of the week. Awesomely adventurous!

I travel alone, and of course expect to be treated with respect as a single woman. Those who treat me well I like to reward with repeat business when I can.

~~ the phoenix

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Thank you so much for your reply. It has been really helpful. I really appreciate it