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About Parks & Getaways

Helping Families Travel With More Confidence

Parks & Getaways is a travel resource for families traveling with Autism.

Travel can involve a lot of planning. Airports, hotels, theme parks, cruises, unfamiliar environments, changes in routine, sensory needs, communication, safety, and accessibility can all become part of the conversation when planning a trip.

Parks & Getaways was created to make that planning easier.

Here you'll find practical travel information, destination guides, accessibility resources, planning tools, and strategies you can use before and during your trip. The goal isn't to tell families there is one "right" way to travel. It's to help you understand your options, think through your traveler's individual needs, and make informed decisions for your family.

Whether you're preparing for your first flight, researching accessibility at a theme park, choosing a hotel, planning a cruise, or simply wondering where to begin, Parks & Getaways is here to help.

Hi, I'm Sarah

I'm a mom, author, former travel advisor, Certified Accessible Travel Advocate, and professional who has spent more than 25 years working in the Autism and developmental disability field.

My career has included working with children, adults, and families across schools, state government, and nonprofit organizations. I've developed programs, trained professionals and families, worked extensively in Autism safety, and spent years helping create supports that recognize that every person with Autism has different strengths, needs, and experiences.

Travel became another place where I saw that individualized approach was needed.

During my years as a travel advisor, I helped families plan vacations while also learning the travel industry from the inside. I saw how much information families have to sort through and how difficult it can be to find practical information about traveling with Autism all in one place.

Parks & Getaways brings those two parts of my experience together: more than 25 years in the Autism field and hands-on experience planning travel.

What You'll Find Here

Parks & Getaways is being built as a practical library of information families can return to throughout the travel-planning process.

You'll find resources covering air travel and airports, hotels and vacation rentals, theme parks and attractions, cruising, travel safety, sensory considerations, communication and visual supports, food allergy travel, and destination-specific planning.

You'll also find downloadable resources and planning tools designed to help turn all that information into an actual plan for your trip.

And because accessibility varies considerably from one airport, airline, hotel, cruise line, attraction, and destination to another, I want to help families know what questions to ask and what to research, rather than simply labeling a destination "Autism-friendly."

Why Parks & Getaways?

Because families shouldn't have to piece together their entire travel plan from dozens of websites, social media posts, and conflicting recommendations.

My goal is to take what I've learned professionally, personally, and through years of working in travel and turn it into information you can actually use. Not every strategy will be right for every traveler. Take what works for your family, adapt what you need, and leave behind what you don't.

Travel your way, with confidence.