Going on holiday when your Child has Aspergers

It's getting harder as my son gets older, to go on holiday.Last time we went it was last minute and he told us to give him two weeks notice next time. This time he had known about it for two or three months.We still had a difficult couple of weeks in the run up to going away. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't talk and he wouldn't sleep.

Much of it is anxiety about the unknown.We have been to this particular resort before which helped but there are still the unknown to be dealt with such as airport security ( which entails taking off ear defenders), flight delays and typical unexpected things that arise.

By the time we were ready to go he was actually quite excited as we were staying at a Premier Inn at Newcastle airport. He knows the set up at Premier Inns and had already investigated the menu and decided on his evening meal.

At the sign of us getting ready he sat in the car,travel pillow at the ready waiting to go!

He had a lovely evening with the biggest ever hamburger and chips and was relaxed and happy because his whole 'little' family was together.

We have the airport down to a fine art now.We only take hand luggage which cuts down on waiting time as we don't have to check in. We were through security in a jiffy and once our gate was called we were straight onto the plane.Another advantage of booking our airline direct as it's rare for them to be seriously delayed.

Flying is fine,my son enjoys the excitement of looking out the window and ordering snacks and drinks and the ipad is great for reading books we've downloaded.When we arrived in Majorca it was 8.00pm and we were straight off the plane to the hire car office and soon on our way.

The first night we stayed in an apartment. As it was late we went to a local restaurant and despite not having eaten all day our son couldn't decide what to eat.We find it best just not to order for him as it's a waste of money so we ordered pork escallopes,pork and chicken.Of course as soon as he saw the chicken he wanted some so twin sister generously shared hers and we all gave him some chips!
Next morning before setting off for our resort we sat on the beach.My son distanced himself from everyone but gradually he began to comment on the wild life as we saw two Mallorcan cormorants, ducking and diving in the sea.

As the week progressed we began to notice a relaxation.He didn't wear his ear defenders at all on holiday, he didn't mention the computer,he asked to go swimming several times and he didn't complain at any of his meals.He even walked through the Pine forests with us to Port Andrax.

He enjoyed the games room with his siblings and even joined us at two barbecues with people he'd never met and survived them! All in all he did incredibly well.

I'm sure the sunny weather helps his moods and the fact he has his whole family round for security, but if you ask him about the best bit of his holiday,he'll still tell you it was coming home!