Vacationing With a Wanderer Demands Planning

One mother took a picture of her son every morning so if he got lost she could show people what he was wearing that day

March 23, 2012 RSS Feed Print

FRIDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- Traveling with a child who is prone to "autism wandering" poses more than the usual challenges of taking a family vacation.

Leslie Welch, of Raleigh, N.C., and her family visited Disney World when her son Josh, who has autism, was 5. They managed the outing with the aid of a well-detailed, daily security routine.

"We used a backpack leash even though it was way too small for him," Welch recalled. "I took his picture on my phone every morning [so if he got lost] I could show people what he was wearing that day."

She dressed him "in really bright clothes so he would stand out in a crowd" and made laminated ID cards because he's nonverbal. "I punched them with a hole puncher and tied them to his shoelaces," she recalled.

"I call it an achievement vacation," she said.

More information

AWAARE (Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response and Education) offers a wealth of resources on wandering.