away on holiday were so great that they would only go on short trips . Many did their best to avoid peak travel times and other situations in which their child might become overstimulated.
A large majority only ever took their holidays in the UK, rather than going abroad. Some said they chose not to go away on holiday at all, and took day trips instead to avoid overnight stays. Many told us that having an autistic child had a significant effect on when, where and how they took family holidays. One parent commented,"I need a holiday myself by the time I get back from having my son full-time on my own."
Another said their latest holiday was so"traumatic [that it] made us cancel a future holiday and put us off trying to go again."Overall, our research found several common reasons why parents found it difficult to take their autistic children away on a family holiday. We were surprised to learn that the biggest factor was the reactions of other holidaymakers to their child's behavior.