WKYC Good Company
CLEVELAND, Oh. (WKYC)-With summer right around the corner, vacation is probably on everyone’s minds. Alli Frazier, CEO of Frazier Behavioral Health, joins Joe to discuss family vacations with a neurodiverse family member and the best tips to keep everyone happy while enjoying the trip.
When you have a neurodiverse family member vacations might look a little different in regards to planning. The change in their schedule is more than enough to cause some neurodiverse individuals to become overwhelmed not to mention the new sensory environments that will be experiencing. To prepare accordingly Alli has some suggestions. “If you’re flying, Hopkins has some programs where you can expose your child to the airport before you fly,” Alli states, “Sometimes actually allowing you into the airplane.” If you’re unable to go into the airport itself, Alli suggests putting together social stories, or simply just driving to the airport without going in to help them understand where they’ll be going and why. She highly recommends having tons of games to play that are airplane-friendly, movies they can watch in the airport and during the flights, and noise-canceling headphones. If you’re hitting the road instead, Alli recommends planning lots of car-friendly activities to keep them entertained.
If you’re planning to stick around this summer instead, Cleveland has a lot to offer. The lake and beaches are great options as well as the zoos and museums. Even something as simple as having a picnic in the backyard and making smores can make a staycation something for your kids to remember.
If possible for you and your family, Alli also recommends planning on the off-season so the planes and destinations might be less crowded. Her best suggestion for beach vacations? “If you’re able to find a house with a private pool that takes away a lot of social interaction.”
Need help preparing your neurodiverse family member for vacation? Frazier Behavioral Healths behavior analysts work a lot with children in the community and with planning families on a variety of different things including vacations.
To request a consult or connect with the experts at FBH, give them a call at 216-446-2944.
You’ll find them at 5885 Landerbrook Drive, Suite 310, Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
To watch the full segment on WKYC’s website please click here.