Splish, Splash, Squawk! Finding Joy in a Sensory-Friendly Vacation

I cannot remember a time that I wasn’t creating. Art, pottery, writing have always been an integral part of my life. I majored in fine art, minored in graphic design. My career began in an advertising agency, wearing many creative hats and culminated with a Vice President, Marketing position in the skincare industry. I continued to write and illustrate stories for my children. When my youngest of 3 sons was diagnosed at age 2 with autism, I resigned from my job to spend my days working with Tyler. My first book, “Squirmy Wormy, How I learned to Help Myself” was written for him to help him understand his autism and was published months later. I began pursuing illustrating children’s books and my home-based Lime Crab Cottage studio is now home to over 120 illustrated books for authors around the world, as well as 3 more authored books.

We discovered Myrtle Beach while on a trip from NJ (24 years ago) looking at colleges in the South, and although we’ve since relocated to NC, then VA, we have spent vacation time at Myrtle Beach every single year since that first trip. Even though we lived at the beach in NJ most of our lives, Myrtle Beach provided us with long beaches, warm water and all the peaceful relaxation and/or activity our family needed. 

From my personal experience, any new place for someone with autism and/or sensory processing issues can be challenging. Typically, a vacation destination has all the activities (sights and sounds) which is what makes it fun and entertaining. But not for some.  A sensory-friendly vacation affords those with challenges to do all the activities with their family, but in an “abridged” version that suits their individual needs.

Our first vacation to Myrtle Beach with our Tyler was by airplane. And it was the year that the entire NY power grid went down, and we had a whole day of delay in the airport. We had a backpack filled with things to occupy him, including headphones to drown out some of the noise.  I had all the fears of extreme meltdown on the plane, which didn’t happen.  We arrived safely, rented a car, got to our condo and all was well.

But we’ve had our share of challenges/meltdowns on our 20+ years of vacations with Tyler (many described in this book) and through trial and error, have discovered all the joys of our Myrtle Beach vacations, replacing any angst/concerns… we’ve finely structured a sensory-friendly vacation that works for us.  

Knowing that our family has vacation time together, through finely structuring our days to Tyler’s specific wants/needs makes all the difference to our special needs family. We don’t have all the fear, worry and even sadness that comes with both the anticipation of a vacation or worse, a vacation that has gone very badly.  Our time at the beach is anticipated all year long, and those joys are not always easy to come by with the anxiety of autism or sensory overload.

As an autism-Mom, I try my best to advocate for those with challenges whenever I have the opportunity.  When I was approached by Myrtle Beach to work with them in an effort to help other families, it was a given that I wanted to be involved. The fact that it was about Myrtle Beach (“THE” Myrtle Beach as Tyler calls it), a place we coveted for 20+ years, well, I was all in.

This book helps address the challenges of a vacation in two ways… first, it’s a sweet story that follows Maris our beloved pirate parrot through different places you may visit, to help familiarize and prepare a child for a pending vacation, and secondly, it gives parents useful strategies that may make each of the venues more sensory-friendly and stress-free.

My intent for the illustrations were to be both colorful/whimsical to lure in the young audience while also depicting real places one may experience on vacation.  Many of the illustrations are so close to my heart, evoking memories of past vacations enjoying the beach, waterslides, dinner shows, aquarium, dinner buffets, hotels, condos, etc.  The cover illustration (the boy playing with sand between his fingers in the surf) was literally drawn from a photo of Tyler when he was young, and that same sit-in-the-surf sensory time, he has enjoyed until this day, as an adult.

I’m a very visual person, so no matter what type of project I’m working on, images are popping in my mind’s eye.  I first contemplated how to take the necessary strategies for parents, and then weave it into a story that a child would want to hear again and again, with a main character that was fun (even over the top). I designed Maris (main character) first, then developed a matrix of vacation venues, cross-referenced with potential sensory challenges, then strategies, then genders and ethnicities to be sure it was an all-inclusive book. Next came the actual writing of the story with a compelling narrative arc, and finally the illustrations.

As with my other books, if I can help even one family through the often times, heart-wrenching autism journey, and offer a strategy that worked for us to bring all the joys to a child with challenges, then I will have fulfilled my mission.

I would tell the family, that based upon my experience that their concerns are real, but not limiting.  What has worked for us is to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN.  Prepare well ahead of the vacation, i.e., what places do you want to visit, food restrictions, restaurants, safety concerns, etc.  Is it best to be in a hotel where a waterslide is onsite, or a quieter home-like setting like a condo?  Is sitting in a restaurant a viable option, or preparing your own meals and/or takeout more conducive to successful mealtime where you may need a kitchen?  Are their sensory hours for venues?  Can your child swim, or do you require a life jacket?  Seek out local playgrounds, quiet spaces when a break is needed.  Bring comfort items.  For larger families, consider dividing into smaller groups to go to attractions.  Forget all preconceived notions of what the vacation should be or needs to look like.  Design the vacation that works for your family, however different it may look.

Our family has taken the EXACT same 3-night (most Tyler can tolerate) Myrtle Beach vacation for 10+ years, as we've figured out what works for us all.  Same condo, same restaurants, same dinner show, same exact food, same schedule… it’s our version of what brings all the joys!  It leaves Tyler in a total state of pure enjoyment as he knows what to anticipate, and we couldn’t love all the laughter and peace any more than we do.

Lastly, seek out advice and/or materials from your local Autism Society who often has social stories, checklists, etc. for vacation planning.

I hope my book will replace some fears with confidence to at least try to explore new experiences or possibly first vacation. It may not go exactly as planned, or without a challenge, but in my experience of our hit or miss over the years, we now have a tried-and-true little vacation that brings us smiles all year long.