Traveling With Disabilities

Did you know that getting out in nature actually can prevent or treat a wide range of health problems? I didn't know this, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Being in nature is relaxing, helps reduce things like anxiety or stress, and overall raises your vibration. With this being said, what's a better way to get out in nature than disconnect from your everyday life and taking a vacation to one of the many beautiful destinations the world has to offer. Each year, about 1.4 billion people travel around the world for work, to visit family, or to explore the vast landscape that they have never been to before, but how do you travel with disabilities?

In this blog, I am going to talk about my travel experience, the challenges of traveling with a disability, how to solve those problems, and a traveling with disabilities checklist.

My Traveling Experience

When I was younger I used to get massive migraines; the ones that spread all over your head, make your head pound with the smallest noises, bring tears to your eyes, and leaves you laying in the darkest room you can find for hours. I got these migraines when I was in the sun for too long, got overheated with different activities, and even when we would fly on a plane due to the change in elevation. So, basically, if I didn't take frequent brakes, stay in the shade as much as possible, and stay out of the sky, then I would get a massive migraine.

This made traveling a little interesting, but not impossible. Until I was older and the migraines went away, my family would drive to every destination we wanted to go to each summer. My parents would stay up late packing for whatever trip we were going on, go to bed, wake up super early in the morning, loaded our suitcases in the minivan, got my sister and me in the car, and drove 28+ hours driving straight through with my mom and dad taking turns driving while the other one slept. The things parents do for their children. We did this for many years by driving back and forth to visit family in Virginia, going to Disney World, and heading west to California to go to Disney Land.

Once I got older my parents revisited the flying idea when they surprised me with a family trip to Jamaica for my 16th birthday. At first, I didn't even know we were going to Jamaica, my parents told me that we were going to spend my birthday with our family in Virginia. They set up the trip, my sister knew about the trip, my teachers at school knew, and even the fortune cookies I got with my meals at Panda Express kept saying that I was going on a vacation, talked about a beach, and said I would be going to this place soon. I have no clue how I didn't figure it out sooner. My parents even asked me if I wanted to take my snorkeling mask and I said "yes" not giving it a second thought that there are no places to snorkel in Virginia. We flew from Denver to Texas and the whole time we were on the flight I thought we were going to Virginia until we landed, got off the plane, and was halfway to our next flight when my mom stopped and said "we are not going to spend your birthday in Virginia," there was a moment of silence as I looked at her. Then she continued in an excited voice;" we are going to Jamaica!"  My jaw dropped as I felt the feeling of happiness, excitement, and surprised flooding through my body. We continued walking through the airport and boarded our flight.

With both of the flights to and from Jamaica, I had no problems with migraines.

Challenges with Traveling with a Disability

Luckily for my family, all the times that we have traveled everything went smoothly and we always had a fun time; with only one instance that we had to take my sister to the hospital due to some kidney problems. With some research though, I was able to find you guy a list of some of the most common challenges that you might encounter when traveling with a disability.

• Getting assistance from public places if you need it
• Finding places that are handicap friendly
• Finding activities to do with disabilities
• Not having enough of the medication that the person with disabilities take
• Not having your own doctors there to help you in health emergencies 

These are just a few of the many challenges that you may encounter when traveling with disabilities or someone with a disability.

How to Solve these Challenges

When you travel, your focus should be on having fun; not worrying about trying to solve problems while on vacation.  The fact is though, that challenges will come up maybe not every time, but they will show up sooner or later. With that being said there are a few different ways you can solve these problems.

• Call or find a customer service person for the airport, hotel, or the places you go for different activities.
• Find an alternative activity when you cant do the same activity as everyone else

During our trip to Jamaica, we did an activity where we were going to hike up a waterfall, but when our guide had us line up and hold hands to go up the waterfall was too challenging for me. I would get pulled forward as the line of people went up the steep hill and then I would be pulled backward by people trying to get up the rocks. It was just a stressful situation and wasn't very fun for me, so my mom grabbed me out of line and played on the beach while my dad and sister continued up the waterfall. As my mom and I walked along the beach we came across a paved walkway that went up right alongside the waterfall to where we could see the people hiking the waterfall and still be able to enjoy the activity in a safer way.

• Ask your doctor if you can get refills on your pills early ( if you take any) so you have enough for the length of time you are on vacation.
• Have a doctor's note and phone number on hand

Traveling with Disabilities Checklist

Call Ahead

When planning a trip that involves traveling with someone who has disabilities, it is a good idea to call the airport, hotel, and any other places that you will be visiting for different activities while on your trip, so they can have time to accommodate the person with the disability and provide them with assistance if needed.

Be Specific and Clear

When talking to a place either on the phone or in-person be specific and clear when explaining the disability and what you need while on your trip, so they can help you properly.

Make an appointment with your doctor 

Before going on a trip it is a good idea to make an appointment to check and see if they think it is a good idea to travel. During this appointment, you can get a doctor's note stating the condition,medications, potential complications, special needs, and other pertinent information along with a phone number to get a hold of your doctor while you travel. 

Bring Extra Medications

When packing for a trip it is a good idea to make sure you have enough meds to last the length of your trip. If you don't have enough, ask your doctor if you can fill your perception early, so you can pick it up before your trip.

Get Places Early

For me, I rather be someplace early and wait than being late then ending up having to rush around and have unnecessary stress. Plus with a disability, it is nice to be able to go at your own paise because it is safer, you can watch your surrounding better, find where you are going easier, and you can just focus on having fun.

For extra resources on how to make traveling with disability stress-free, simple, and enjoyable check out this website.

Traveling can be a lot of fun for the whole family with the right resources, planning, and knowing that you will be taken care of where ever your adventure takes you.