The Intersection of Travel and Disability
Everyone knows you don’t share weaknesses on Survivor. What if you have a difference that changes the way you interact with the games? Eva has never viewed her autism as a roadblock to success – here’s what happened when she spoke up about her disability.
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In light of Autism Awareness month, Josh Heinz of Visit Greater Palm Springs shares his family background, what travel looks like as an autism family, and how the travel industry and greater community can make a difference.
My wife’s name is Linda. We are a blended family. She had three children in her previous marriage. Gillian, 25; Christopher, who is on the profound/severe/level 3 side of the spectrum, 23; and Jimmy, 20.
My son from my first marriage is Harrison, who is also 25. Like Christopher, he’s on the profound/severe/level 3 side of the spectrum.
It was our boys with autism who brought my wife and me together. Harrison and Christopher were in elementary school together. Linda is a music teacher. I am a musician. So, we had music and autism in common. We started dating, she joined my band, and eventually we got married. Together we’ve been doing our local benefit, the Concert for Autism, for 17 years and working on number 18 now.
We have our one son together. His name is Jack. He is 11. He is on the high functioning/level 1 side of the spectrum. Jack should be able to have a job, get married, and start a family someday—if that’s what he chooses.
Harrison has little ability to communicate. Most of his speech is mimicking or repeating what you say, but he understands a lot more than he can express.
Harrison will sometimes have meltdowns and behaviors. Occasionally this will include pinching or going after someone’s throat. But most of the time he just wants to watch cartoons or stem on dirt, rocks, water, bowls of rice, etc.. Harrison is in a group home in Arizona, near his mother. He has a program he goes to every weekday and the head of that program says he does well – as long as his routine isn’t interrupted. Harrison is not able to travel for leisure or recreation.
Christopher has a little bit more communication skills. He can answer simple questions. But does not handle multiple questions quickly very well. He does not like the word ‘No’ at all. He is highly anxious. This anxiety can result in very bad meltdowns when things happen unexpectedly or unpredictably. These can include hitting, screaming, or breaking things. He spends a lot of time on his computer watching Disney. He is in a group home in Moreno Valley, about an hour west of where we live. They tried putting him in a day program, but he had a meltdown the first day and they have yet to allow him back in.
Christopher actually loves outings, but only with his biological father. His father can take him to amusement parks, swimming, movies, out to eat, etc. usually without incident, although every once in a while, he will strike people that get too close to him. His father left California in 2018 and moved to a small Texas town, saying the cost of living was better there. This devastated Christopher. He went from seeing his father almost every-other weekend, to now seeing him only two or three times a year. The change has made his meltdowns more intense. They usually end up with him crying and calling out for his dad.
Until recently, our only family vacations were driving to Texas to see my wife’s family. To make it work, Christopher would stay with his dad. We would have to rent a car that I would drive with only Christopher in it. The rest of the family would travel in our van with Linda. We would drive from here to El Paso, TX all in one day – with stops about a 12-hour drive. Christopher’s dad would meet us in El Paso and take him for the week while we went to visit family in the eastern part of Texas. We’d repeat the same system for our return trip. We’d rent a car in El Paso for me to drive Christopher back. Bathroom breaks were planned around quieter rest stops and we always went to the bathroom in shifts. Everyone else in the van would go in, and then Christopher and I. We would never eat in a restaurant. Any meals were done through the drive-thru.
Last year we were fortunate enough to go on two vacations. We visited family in the D.C. area over the summer and returned to the area in winter. We were able to stop on the way back to see my wife’s family in Texas.
This was Jack’s first time flying, and he did great. We discovered that the Pittsburgh airport has a Sensory Room as a space for regulating away from the noise. We need more places like this – airports, malls, arenas, stadiums, theaters – to create sensory rooms where those on the spectrum and with sensory needs can go to regroup. It was worth it for us to fly into Pittsburgh instead of D.C. to avoid the hustle and bustle of the bigger airport.
The number one thing we need is simply more understanding and empathy.
Because Jack is high functioning on the spectrum, there aren’t many things we find we need when we travel or go to restaurants or events. The number one thing we need is simply more understanding and empathy. Jack can say or do things that are a little bit different. He will interrupt you while you are in conversation with someone about a completely different topic. Sometimes he can get up in your personal space, without realizing that it might be uncomfortable to the other person. Sometimes his volume is a little louder than others or too loud at inappropriate times. Occasionally, when eating, he’ll just eat with his hands instead of using a fork. For example, picking up a fried egg with his hands – resulting in the yellow egg running down his hands. These things go against established social norms and can result in hurtful words and behavior from some people. With more awareness and kindness, we hope people can learn to respond with compassion instead.
Each year, the TravelAbility Summit brings together travel professionals, entrepreneurs, and disability advocates to explore emerging trends, challenges, and solutions in making travel more accessible for all. Last year’s summit included a panel of hotel leaders who discussed their experiences and perspectives on accessibility in hotels, emphasizing its importance and the industry’s challenges in implementing inclusive practices.
Check out the panel’s key takeaways below and click the YouTube link to rewatch the session. Looking to learn more? Don’t miss the 2025 TravelAbility Summit, happening at the beautiful Sunriver Resort in Central Oregon, October 13-15, 2025. This is a unique opportunity to engage with key players from the hospitality industry, travel sector, and disability space—all focused on making travel more accessible for everyone.
Learn more and register today at travelability.net.
Watch the full video here.
Jennifer Allen, TravelAbility Editor and founder of Wonders Within Reach, takes on the world’s only fully accessible campground—camping with three kids, including one in a wheelchair.
What if there were an accessible campground, deep in the forest, with fully accessible sleeping arrangements, accessible bathrooms, only accessible paths and trails, and… well, fully accessible everything from adventures like fishing and boating to essentials like sleeping and eating? An accessible camping wilderness dream…
But accessible camping is not a dream: John Dillon Park is a real place. It has all those things. This one-of-a-kind, FREE, wheelchair friendly park, built in the heart of the Adirondacks, is centered on accessibility and inclusion.
For our family, John Dillon Park was a game-changer. We’ve stayed at a few accessible campgrounds before. However, even with accessible campsites, the rest of the campground and recreation areas were too hard to navigate. Loose gravel roads; narrow, bumpy mini-golf courses; grassy playgrounds of only slides and high monkey bars make accessible camping pads irrelevant.
People with disabilities often have a hard time finding wheelchair accessible outdoor experiences. National forests don’t grow with the Americans with Disabilities Act in mind. Park systems and recreation areas are made for adventurers – forgetting that wheelchair users are adventurers, too.
When we arrived at John Dillon Park, I was a little bit worried about the quarter mile trail from the parking lot to the accessible cabins with all of our camping gear. We didn’t need any adaptive gear for this trip, thanks to the accessibility of the facilities, but we still had a minivan full of sleeping bags, kid-o-bunks, medical supplies, and food. After we signed in as a park visitor, a volunteer offered to help us deliver our things, but, of course, I wanted to try by myself, first.
The parking lot was loose gravel, but the trail was tightly packed fine gravel that was easy to roll on. The incline percentages are included on the park map so that you can choose the route that’s best for you. We loaded our things into two all-terrain wagons and hit the trail. My eight year old had no problem getting his manual chair down the trail. My eleven year old and I pulled the wagons and the youngest took care of her backpack.
The trail led us to a pair of lean-tos. A lean-to is like a three-walled cabin, offering shelter from the elements while allowing you to be fully in the wilderness. The lean to had a wide wooden ramp, making it easy to enter and exit. It had one murphy-style wooden bed that pulled down from the wall, and plenty of space for additional cots or floor sleepers.
Our lean-to had an accessible outhouse with an elevated composting toilet with grab bars. A hand sanitizer pump hangs on the wall. These bathrooms are typically semi-private, but no one was staying in our neighboring lean-to, so we had it to ourselves.
We had a food locker to keep our food safe from bears and an accessible campfire with cooking grates. We had an accessible picnic table too.
After setting up our bedding, the kids took off while I worked on dinner. This was actually one of my favorite parts. My crew is old enough to thrive on independent outdoor play, but we rarely have an inclusive outdoor opportunity where all three can navigate the terrain. They explored the woods and went on the mini-adventure of every child’s dream – Tom Sawyer style with no adults. (Maybe that’s a poor comparison. My three are also better at understanding boundaries and staying out of dark caves.)
Dinner was enjoyed at our accessible picnic table – no transfer required. Then we wandered down to the accessible fishing dock to watch the sunset over the lake.
We didn’t make it on an accessible boat trip this visit, but we’ve enjoyed their pontoon before. It’s important not to schedule at high tide if you’re worried about the incline of the boat ramp.
In the dark of the early dawn the next morning, my son was too scared of daddy-long-leggers to use our accessible restroom, so we made the trek back to the indoor ranger station at the parking lot for his enema. This welcome center has electricity and running water and is open 24 hours. The outdoor sink also makes a great kitchen for cleaning dishes before packing up for home.
An adventure like this can feel overwhelming to families like mine, but I can’t imagine a better place to start.
The staff here is incredible. If there’s anything you can’t do on your own in a wheelchair, don’t hesitate to ask for help. They will go out of their way to help you.
If camping isn’t your thing, I still highly recommend it for all of the other outdoor recreation opportunities like hiking, fishing, boating, picnicking, or whatever style of outdoor retreat suits you. You can claim a day pass and enjoy the rare treat of barrier-free nature.
Whether you’re spending the day or a weekend – the facilities and amenities are always completely free for you to use.
Find the original article here.
Amway Grand Plaza was recognized as a 2024 Accessible Travel Award Winner by Wonders Within Reach. Here’s what Jennifer, mom of an eight year old wheelchair user, had to say about their stay.
It was promising from the start when we saw a wheelchair accessible slow-down button for the rotating doors, adjacent to the standard automatic sliding doors. When you scan your key card at your room door, the door opens automatically, making it easy to roll in. There’s an automatic door button on the inside making it just as easy to exit as it is to enter. This is only the second time we’ve ever encountered automatic interior doors.
As one of the best accessible hotels we’ve stayed in, the Amway Grand Plaza impressed us with its wide bathroom doors, roll-under sinks, and perfectly placed grab bars. The roll in shower had the perfect set up for us, with the chair and moveable handle on the same end of the shower. Low bed height made for easy transfers.
The chair lift at the pool rotated to reach the hot tub. Valet parking is only $4 more than using the garage across the street, but if you do opt for the parking garage there’s a skywalk so you don’t have to worry about crossing traffic.
The seamless details make for an easy, barrier-free stay.
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