Surviving Holidays as a SEN Family

When you picture a family holiday, you probably imagine lazy days by the pool, long beach walks, and plenty of laughter. I’ll be honest - I went into our summer break with that picture in my head too. We weren't even travelling far this year or doing anything extravagant - we'd simply booked into a Parkdean Resort about 1.5 hours away from home. But I still wanted it to feel carefree, to have us all enjoying each other’s company, and to come back with happy memories.

The thing is, when you’re parenting a child with additional needs, holidays don’t always look like the picture you’ve been holding onto. They can feel more like hard work than relaxation - a change in routine, a new environment, and endless triggers that test everyone’s patience.

So the truth is that our holiday started off rocky. There were meltdowns, arguments, pushing and shoving between the twins, and moments where I genuinely wondered whether we’d made a mistake by going at all. I felt drained before we’d even unpacked properly. This wasn’t the calm, happy break I had hoped for - and that disappointment weighed heavily on me.

But here’s what I came to realise as the week went on: with time, things settle. The children settle. I settle. Once the newness of the environment wore off, and once we all adjusted to the rhythm of caravan life, things became a bit easier. The meltdowns didn’t magically disappear, but they became less intense, and I was able to handle them with a little more calm and grace.

There were still plenty of challenges - long car rides that stretched Devan’s patience, waiting for dessert that tested his self-control, and moments of excitement that spilled over into chaos (like the time both kids bolted off in a crowded area and we couldn't find them).

And yet, alongside the hard moments were some really beautiful ones. We swam together in the pool, wandered through farm stalls, went fruit picking, and enjoyed some really lovely meals. There were giggles, silly sibling moments, and even a few calmer evenings where bedtime wasn’t a battle. Those little wins might not sound like much to others, but for us, they were huge.

That’s the reality of a SEN family holiday: it’s a mix of exhaustion and joy, of stress and laughter. It’s learning to let go of the Instagram-perfect image and embracing the holiday you do have - messy, unpredictable, but filled with moments of connection.

I won’t pretend it’s easy. There were times I cried from sheer overwhelm. But when I look back, I see the bigger picture: the memories we made, the time we spent together, and the way we pushed through the hard bits to find the good.

If you’re a SEN parent facing a holiday, here’s what I want you to know: it won’t be perfect. There will be tears and tantrums, probably from both you and your child. But there will also be joy - in the small wins, in the smiles, in the moments you didn’t plan but will remember. And those memories? They’re worth it.