Hotels Are Finally Catering to Neurodivergent Travelers
Some 78% of families affected by autism say they entirely avoid traveling because the industry does so little to meet their needs. Hotels are starting to find solutions.
On a family trip to Walt Disney Co.’s. Orlando theme parks, Nicole Thibault’s 2.5-year-old son began experiencing meltdowns—and not in the standard toddler sense. Everything he had previously loved became deeply distressing, from his favorite characters to familiar foods setting off tantrums that could stretch for more than 30 minutes. Something felt amiss, Thibault recalls of the weeks before her son was diagnosed with autism. Determined to continue showing her son the world—sans meltdowns—her next step was to solicit travel tips from experienced parents of neurodivergent kids. One after another, the responses poured in, variants on the same idea: “We don’t go anywhere. It’s just too hard.”
