Today I have seven hacks that I have figured out the hard way in life for traveling with autistic and ADHD kiddos. Let's go and cover them all, and I hope it gets you out and about. Welcome to the Autism Diagnosis to Confident Mom podcast with Kira from Kira Brown Coaching. I'm a mom of Neurospicy Kids and a life coach. I'm here to share real tips and support to help you feel confident as a parent. Today, let's just jump right in to those seven traveling hacks that I have found over years of traveling with my kiddos. Number one, plan for downtime. This means allow extra time in your travel itinerary, planned days or afternoons or mornings or whatever without plans. Um have flexible scheduling. Maybe something doesn't go on today, but we can do it tomorrow, or vice versa, or we have plans, but we can cancel those plans. Just keep it flexible. And when you're traveling, we always love to get out of the park and play for a little bit along the way. It seems like it takes longer to get there, but if um if you let your children know ahead of time, hey, we're stopping for 10 minutes or we're stopping for 20 minutes, I'm setting a timer that tends to make it a little bit easier when we're done. But that break makes the travel so much more enjoyable. They can regulate their bodies, they can get those wiggles out, um they can get away from people and noises, just different things. So remember to plan for downtime on your trip. Don't pack it so full and tight that everything is a problem. Um number two, don't be afraid to not stay at friends or family houses. Um, your kiddos need a break. When they are in the light of company, they are on 100% of the time. They may be masking and they might do it well until they don't do it well. And then where do you go when you have a meltdown? Where do you go when it starts becoming overwhelming? Where do you go? So don't be afraid. Tend not stay at family housing or with family. It is okay to have your own place to go to, to calm down, to re-regulate, to give them a break, and to give you a break because it is a lot of um anxiety when you're hanging out in public with these neurodivergent kiddos. So don't be afraid to stay somewhere else. On that topic, don't be afraid to try out an Airbnb or a verbo. Get a house to stay in, let them have their own bedroom to sleep in if that's what they're used to sleeping in. Um, you can bring their own foods that they're used to eating for breakfast, or you can prepare their foods that they'll eat, even if you're gonna go out, you can still throw their chicken nuggets in the oven or microwave and feed them, and then when they don't eat at the restaurant, it's not that big of a deal, or you um have a place to store your leftovers and have them re-eat them or whatever, but don't be afraid to try an Airbnb or a verbo. Um, it gives you space to spread out, um, to stay on routine a little bit easier. Everybody's not on top of each other, they can go somewhere to get some quiet time or to stim without bothering other people. One thing that we often look at when we travel is what is the yard like? Is it fenced in? Does it have a trampoline or a swing set in it? Or something that my kids are gonna find enjoyable. Um there's one when we go to a fair every year that we love to book because it has a sensory swing in the backyard. That is amazing when you're traveling to find something like that. So um, yes, try an Airbnb or a verbo. Number four, audiobooks can be your best friend. Find a book that everybody can enjoy. You might find something on their special interest if you're really worried about them not listening to it. But it's not only entertaining for everyone and makes the time go faster, they can also regulate your neurodiversion child. That cadence and rhythm of the voice being read is repetitive and calming and soothing, and so it's a win-win. It can entertain, but it can also regulate those kiddos while they're in the car or sitting in the hotel room or whatever. So, number five, remember that screen time is not taboo. There is nothing wrong with screen time. Um, it might come in really handy during visiting hours. Maybe you're going to grandma's house and you want a chance to visit. Let them play on a tablet. Um maybe you're going to a wedding and they're you know they're gonna be overwhelmed with all of the people. Let them play on a tablet and be in their own little world. It's okay. It's okay to give them that out. Um, you can get what you want and they can get what they need. Um, some neurodivergent kids regul re-regulate with a screen. The calm knowing whether they're re-watching shows that they already know or playing a game that they've already played, they're comfortable with it. That can be regulating sometimes. Um, use it during travel andor during wait times. Maybe we're waiting to eat at a restaurant, and there no matter where we go, there's going to be a wait time. We all know that these kiddos are not the best at waiting, and so we can use that as a trick in our pocket while we're waiting, they get to play on a tablet or something. Um, plus, it gives you a break from always being on. I know that having these kiddos that have sensory needs and different things, um, we have to be on. We have to watch and be vigilant and know how they're doing and what's gonna trigger them and what's not gonna trigger them, and we're trying, you're always on, always on. But if you can let them have a screen, let's say, while you're at the wedding or waiting in line or whatever, you can take a sigh, a deep breath, and be like, they're okay for right now. I can just enjoy myself, I can visit with my mom, I can whatever. It gives you a break as well. Um, and the one thing that I would know going into this is the data on the screen time with your kiddo. I know for my kiddo that getting up and watching TV first thing in the morning makes some honre ears throughout the day. But if I give screen time after lunch as a downtime, it doesn't seem to do the same thing. Do certain things they watch tend to dysregulate them. Do certain games, whatever. Know the data on your screen, don't just give them free reign to a new screen, but know the data and how it affects them so that you can use it to your advantage. Number six front load, front load, front load. Front loading is simply letting them know in advance what is going to happen before you go somewhere. Explain it in detail. Before you leave on the trip, how many days are you gonna be gone? Where are you going? Who are you going to see? What are what are the expectations during traveling? What are all of the things? Explain, explain, explain. If something is going to change plans, let them know ASAP so that they can process that for them. So let them know in advance what is going on. And yes, you may get a million questions, but a million questions, I promise, is easier than a huge meltdown in a public setting where you can't go home and regulate. So front load, front load, front load is my advice to you. And last but not least, have an exit plan everywhere you go. Everywhere you go. If you're going to dinner, have an exit plan in case you need to leave early. If you are going to families' houses, have an exit plan in case you need to leave early. If you're going to a museum, if you're going to the park, wherever it is, have a pre-planned exit plan. And you can even have a safety word or phrase that you can come up and say to your spouse or your kids can come up and say to you that say, Hey, I need to leave. Um, so that you don't have to be like, hey, so-and-so's not doing well, we need to leave in front of everybody. You can just come up and say, the birds outside are beautiful. Maybe that's, and then your spouse knows, oh, we need to implement this exit plan. And this exit plan might be as simple as we take two vehicles to go visit, or one of you is going to take the car back to the hotel and the other one is going to take an Uber. One of you is going to take the struggling child while the other one lets the other children stay longer and finish the activity. Whatever it is, just have an exit plan. There's nothing more calming, in my opinion, than knowing that there's a way out if this goes south. Because we all know that we don't know when things are gonna go south. We can predict a lot of times, and sometimes they go great, and sometimes it doesn't, and we never know. So if it's pre-planned on how to do it, it's easier to implement, it's easier to follow through on. So I hope you get out this summer. I hope you enjoy your time out and about um visiting family, doing vacation things, just even getting kids to the free museum in town, whatever your travel plans are. Enjoy your time out and about, and we'll see you next time. Thanks so much for listening to Autism Diagnosis to Confident Mom. If this episode helped you feel a little more seen or supported, please take a moment to like, follow, or subscribe to the podcast. And if you know another parent who needs to hear this, share it with them too. We're all in this together. You're doing better than you think, mama. You've got this.