Holiday guide for children and young people with SEND

School’s out, different routines and round-the-clock care. Parents of children with special needs are faced with their biggest challenge of the year when it comes to the six long weeks of summer.

Sometimes the best plans are the most simple; a bus ride, a walk to the park or playing in the garden. Whatever you choose, the holidays must take in the needs of the whole family. Don’t be too ambitious; it will be exhausting for everyone. Some general preparation will make all the difference:

Holiday activities for children with SEND

Look on this website, check out play schemes, and investigate local groups on the National Autistic Society and Mencap websites. These offer opportunities to try out new activities like climbing or roller-skating with families in the same position, or to book your SEND child into supported sessions. Speak to friends and other parents; join forces for days out and set up play dates. Get ideas from forums like Mumsnet on special needs and the Special Needs Jungle website.

Evenings spent on the internet is time well spent.

Create a calendar

Plot a weekly calendar, maybe shopping on Mondays, swimming on Wednesdays.

Then set out a daily task list with regular activities and set mealtimes, this will put routines in place. Include some quiet time, creative time and even time for schoolwork. Prepare your child for these changes and stick to routines as much as possible. Liaise with school so that similar timetables with the same strategies and visual supports are used at home. Put it on the wall, talk about it and make it familiar for all the family.

Taking children with SEND away for a holiday

Some parents put holidays away in the ‘too difficult to do’ box, but there are plenty of centres in the UK and abroad that are set up for families with a disabled or special needs child. These centres consider the whole family and can cater for specific needs of your child, both physical and sensory. Consider travel times (and traffic jams); remember, a holiday nearby is still a holiday.

If you’re going somewhere new, help others to understand your child’s needs, call ahead and speak to the centre or a rep.

If you are flying, check out the Good Schools Guide to the UK's airports which will tell you what assistance and facilities are available at the airport:

Good Schools guide to flying with SEND children (opens link in new window).

Everybody needs a support network, talk to family and friends, plan ahead and enlist their help, even in small ways, like loading the car.

It’s important to look after yourself too, so use your calendar to manage your own time and stress. Accept that you can’t do it all and look at ways you can give yourself regular breaks.

Look at the Inspire Family Break grant that can be used to fund a short break holiday. If eligible, families can receive a payment and organise support themselves.

Look close to home too; can the grandparents babysit occasionally? Or can friends invite siblings for a sleepover once in a while? If stress levels do start to rise, try speaking to another parent who understands.

Once you have decided on a destination, make more specific arrangements and prepare your child in advance for the changes to come.

To avoid increased anxiety about a novel and unfamiliar experience, start by thoroughly preparing your child for what to expect. Show them interior pictures of the hotel or villa you will be staying in from websites, and use Google Street View to virtually walk around the resort. It can be helpful to compile a booklet with pictures of the destination and planned activities, which you can keep going over in the weeks before the holiday. You can find travellers’ own pictures on Trip Advisor, which may be better if you child’s understanding is very literal and they may become upset if things do not look the same as in the glossy brochure pictures.

Scour the internet for pictures of unfamiliar activities. Lesley Willis told her son, who has autism and Tourette’s, that they could go out on paddleboards from the hotel’s beach. 'This sent him into a panic, because he had never heard of this,' she says. 'So I found some images online to show him and he calmed down, and I was glad we had dealt with this before the holiday.'

If your child cannot cope with queueing or all the clamour of check-in and security, you can book special assistance which will speed you through these areas. You need to pre-book this with your airline or tour operator 48 hours in advance. 'I struggled for years trying to manage my son, who has learning difficulties, in the enormous check-in and security queues at Gatwick airport, thinking that special assistance was only for people using wheelchairs,' says Louise MacInvoy. 'Last year I realised this could also be used by people with all types of special needs, and what a difference – we were ushered to the front of the check-in queue, and then through a side door into a fast-track security lane.'

Check your local airport’s website to see what they will offer. Edinburgh Airport has published a social story to prepare your child for a flight, and offers a quiet space waiting room for those who struggle with sensory overload. Gatwick Airport has its own sensory room and a visual timetable to negotiate check in or landing. The special assistance team provides lanyards to alert staff to hidden disabilities.

Ask for drinks on the plane to give your child during the ascent and descent, as drinking can help to ‘pop’ ears blocked by air pressure changes.

If your child is unreliable around continence, and won’t understand that there are times during the flight when they cannot get out of their seat to use the toilet, think about using Pull-Ups or small adult incontinence products for the flight.

If your child has certain TV programmes they return to frequently and find comforting, download these onto a tablet from the iPlayer before the journey.

If your child hates the sensory feeling of sand and sun cream, or likes the protection of a shelter, take a pop-up sun protection tent to the beach.

For younger children who are constantly roaming, a blow-up paddling pool will fit easily in your luggage. You can then inflate and fill it with water, toys, and child, and it will help to keep your child entertained on your spot of the beach. At the end of the day the water will be beautifully warmed by the sun, and you can use it to wash off sand before the journey home.

When children require constant vigilance, resentment can build up about who is doing the lion’s share. 'Set up a timetable,' advises MacInvoy. 'My partner and I have strict half-hour alternating slots, when one is on duty and the other gets to read or sunbathe uninterrupted.'

Many attractions such as Disneyland have special passes for children with disabilities, which allow you to go to the head of the queue. Be sure to take proof of your child’s disability with you (such as a letter evidencing that the child receives disability benefits) even when this seems physically obvious. Resorts have cracked down following some unscrupulous people abusing the system.

Lunch venues are always packed to the gills, noisy, and it can take an age to get served – so taking a packed lunch and finding a quiet corner is a better bet.

Check the venues’ websites ahead of time so you can plot where the accessible toilets and other facilities you might need are. Disneyland has superb details on what each ride does so you can work out in advance which will be suitable for your child.

Temper expectations is the watchword. 'It used to be my favourite aspect of a holiday, wandering along in the evenings, peering at menus and deciding where to eat, and then lingering over the meal,' says Sarah Lewis, whose 14 year-old son Jack is autistic. 'But we’ve had to come to accept that’s just not possible with Jack. We have to go in the first place we see, chow down, and get out. But on a couple of nights during the holiday my husband and I take it in turns to go out alone with the other children while one stays in with Jack, so we get some of that experience.'

If your child wets the bed, a waterproof sheet in the suitcase will be a lifesaver. 'It’s self-catering for me every time, and the first requirement is that it has a washing machine. I take a mattress protector, which prevents you being presented with a bill for a ruined mattress,' says Aileen Fisher.

Other parents use Pull-Ups for the duration of the holiday, and for children who are too big for these, you can buy small adult sized products from Boots.

Next Holiday resorts for children with SEND

Last updated: 13/05/2024

Useful links

Good Schools guide to SEND holidays

Good Schools Guide