Airplane travel

Maps are very helpful to use for information containing travel over longer distances where there are extended time periods to be managed. Understanding the difference between travelling into Singapore from Sydney versus flying into Los Angeles is a significant amount of time to cope with when you have difficulty sitting still for long periods of time. Some families travel back and forth between Australia and Asian countries each year to go visit family and can be out of the country for a few weeks to months at a time. They may engage with other educational, sport or health services whilst they are there. Sometimes families separate and the loved one may only have a parent travelling whilst they remain at home. Being in different parts of a country or different countries in the world is much easier now with greater familiarity with online services such as Zoom or FaceTime. Sharing photographs from trips away and what happened on a daily basis can also help promote discussion about what happened whilst someone was away.

Time taken to get back into routines for sleeping habits need to be allowed. Food options will be different and tastes or brands available will also be very different. Family expectations of those that they don’t see frequently can put additional stressors on parents / individuals because of a lack of ability to see the normal pathway / progression of skills made, yet in other instances the positive feedback on progress can be visible when in other circumstances for parents it isn’t.

Documenting the needs for specific supports when travelling is essential.