By Renee Martinez, Founder of Raising Boys World
Do you love to travel? Do you travel with your kids? Traveling with children requires planning and patience. If you’re the parent of a child with physical disabilities, you may wonder how possible it is to plan a trip that can be enjoyed by children of varying physical needs. The benefits of travel apply to children with special needs too.
Start your travel plans by researching which destinations will be more accommodating to meet the needs of your child. Some vacation spots are more accommodating than others. A child’s needs may vary from sign language interpreters to enjoy a show, to ramps and physical assistance to get around or on and off of rides.After choosing the general vicinity you want to visit, start with researching the services available. You may also want to find reviews or contact other parents for first-hand experience.
Consider bringing an extended family member or babysitter to help out with one child when you need an extra set of hands. For example, you may want to have one child (or children) cared for while the other child (or children) explores with parents. Bringing help gives you more options. Perhaps the outing of the day is for the child with special needs and the siblings just want another day on the beach. Oftentimes, professional services are available for extra help when traveling.
Here are a few very helpful websites to get you started:
Internet Special Education Resources
Travel Experiences with Disabled
Special needs kids who travel learn an array of valuable skills that will serve them well throughout life. Including problem solving skills, navigating unfamiliar territory and interpersonal communication. Traveling connects kids to the world. In turn, parents will see their child in different environments that will help them understand their child’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as provide insight into new interests. Lastly, it’s important for the greater community see that children with disabilities are not sheltered.
Travel should be fun and interesting. Putting a trip together with a need for special accommodations for physically or developmentally disabled people requires a fair amount of planning in order to make your trip enjoyable – but in the end, you’ll be glad you did.
About the Author: Renee Martinez is the mother of 4 boys, the founder of RaisingBoysWorld.com, www.socialmediabizsummit.com, and the president of RubyMarCom (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company. Her business blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media related for her active audience.
Renee is an adjunct professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY where she teaches social media marketing in the business school. Find Renee on Twitter at @reneemmartinez.
Photo by Philippe Leroyer, found on Flickr
