Kate Bradshaw

Eli German, center, a 10-year-old boy with autism, shows a hotel card as he takes the elevator to the seventh floor at the Hilton Hotel in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. German and his family of five have stayed in the hotel free of charge through Concord’s Practice Stay program, which serves traveling families with a loved one diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

By Kate Bradshaw

This story was first published in The Mercury News Jan. 9, 2024.

Traveling with kids can be tricky. Traveling with kids with autism can be downright daunting. And with roughly 1 in 36 children on the autism spectrum in 2020, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and rates rising significantly — a 318% increase since 2000 — the travel industry is taking notice.

Hotels in Concord began offering free “practice stays” for families with autistic children in December. San Francisco International Airport provides check-in and boarding “rehearsals.” San José’s airport gives sunflower lanyards to visitors who might need additional help from TSA or airline staff. And hotels around the world are changing practices to accommodate guests with autism and other sensory sensitivities and registering as autism-friendly destinations.

It makes sense, says Meredith Tekin, president of IBCCES, a Florida-based credentialing group for professionals who work with neurodivergent people. According to an IBCCES and Autism Travel survey, 77 percent of families grappling with autism are hesitant to travel or visit new locations, 87 percent don’t take family vacations, and 93 percent said they would travel more, if there were autism-friendly options available.

Autism-friendly travel not only helps the neurodivergent community, Tekin says, it’s good for the travel industry, boosting visitor numbers, bookings and business overall.

“People want to go to places that are inclusive,” she says.

Full story here.