Vacations are a time to get away from the daily grind and have a change of scenery. A vacation is a time to try new foods and tour new sites. A vacation is a time to relax and recharge.

For a child with Autism who has, as one of his core deficits, an extreme insistence on sameness, a new hotel room, new rental car, new food, and new sites is anything but relaxing. These changes in routine often trigger very challenging behaviors in children with Autism.

To help your child maintain appropriate behavior during all the new and changing activities of a vacation, try the following:

1) Make a visual schedule of the day's activities to prepare your child for what to expect.

2) Bring a comfort item (stuffed animal) and/or highly preferred item such as an iPad. On the visual scheduled made in #1, write that at the end of the day, or after each activity if necessary, the child will earn access to the preferred item.