Autism-friendly Travel Is Finally Here
Three Levels of Certification
Our three progressive levels of certification build on one another to provide increasing support for autistic travelers and their families, from sharing individual needs in advance, to helping travelers know what to expect with detailed guides, to training staff to provide informed support.
Communicating with your Travel Provider
If you need very specific information from your travel provider about their facilities and services, we have the Autism Concierge.
If you need to tell your provider about your loved one’s needs and challenges in advance, we have the Autism Passport.
Just find the certified travel provider in our directory, click on ‘Autism Concierge’ and it will open a dialog box for you to ask your question(s).
Practice Vacations
Travel means experiencing innumerable unfamiliar challenges. To prepare your family – before you set off on vacation – we work with certified airports, airlines and hotels to give you and your loved ones a chance to practice navigating airports, boarding airplanes and staying in hotels.
It’s so much better to know before you go!
Using the Autism Passport
The Autism Passport gives autistic travelers and their families a way to share individual needs and preferences with a certified travel provider before their trip.
Every ADC-certified provider accepts the Autism Passport, helping ensure important information can be shared before you leave home.
Finding autism-friendly airlines, resorts and hotels has always been somewhere between difficult and impossible. Pet-friendly and even family-friendly options may be easy to find, but autism-friendly travel can be much harder to identify.
Now Autism Double-Checked is changing this by giving every component of the travel industry the opportunity to step up and ready themselves for autistic guests. ADC offers three progressive levels of certification, with each level building on the one before it. Level 1 begins with acceptance of the Autism Passport, Level 2 adds detailed guides to help travelers know what to expect, and our highest level, Level 3, adds autism training for staff.
At every level, participation demonstrates an active commitment to creating more informed, welcoming and supportive travel experiences for autistic travelers and their families.
This puts them way out in front of airlines and destinations that are still unwittingly turning a blind eye to the needs of neurodiverse travelers.
For Additional Info
Please feel free to contact us anytime if you need any additional information or assistance — we’ll be happy to help and provide all the details you require.
Autism Double-Checked
We looked. We looked for “autism-friendly hotels in Boston”. We found nothing. We then looked for autism-friendly hotels in Los Angeles. Nothing. Atlanta? Denver? Phoenix? Seattle? Nothing, nothing, nothing and, you guessed it, – nothing.
We researched. We asked leading academics in the field of autism. We asked parents and caregivers in the autism community. What will it take to better equip the travel industry to serve the autism community?
We got our answers.
For successful vacations, families need two fundamental things:
The most important need we heard from travelers and families was encountering staff who understand autism and are prepared to provide thoughtful, respectful support. While awareness of autism has grown, understanding the issues that may arise during travel and how best to respond is something staff may need to learn.
Our highest level of certification, Level 3 – Autism Double-Checked, adds autism training for staff, including practical, job-specific information to help them better support autistic travelers.
Check out our certification program!
The second key need we heard was having detailed information in advance. Just as every autistic traveler is unique, every travel experience is different, and knowing what to expect can make it easier to prepare.
At Level 2 – Autism Ready, providers add a detailed guide to help autistic travelers and their families know what to expect before their trip. Depending on the type of travel provider, this may be a Visitor Guide or Passenger Guide.
"We have all the answers we need and are ready to turn our plans into a smooth, enjoyable, and successful vacation experience."
- JD from Texas
What Are People Saying?
“We recently participated in the Autism Flies program in Providence. It was excellent. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Our little one had so much fun! I’m sure he will be more relaxed when we actually take a flight. Thank you for having this program!”
Donna
Parent of an autistic traveler"I received a thank you note from a family for how engaging our [ADC-trained] team was to them. They have booked three times since and always write a great Tripadvisor review."
Jeff Webb
General Manager, Margaritaville Island Hotel Pigeon Forge"We never would have taken that flight with [son's name] without all the opportunities we had to practice through Autism Flies. He did AMAZING!"
Kristen Catino
Connecticut parent"At JSX, it’s a requirement for all employees to take this training. As a mother of a child on the spectrum, you can only hope that every airline educates their crew members to take this course."
Marcell Jones
General Manager at JSX’s Burbank station“The program gave her exactly that: a safe space to learn, explore, and understand what flying would be like.” “Each time, she grew more confident, more curious, and more ready.”
Jessica
Very proud mom"Travel is for you, too. You don’t have to sit trips out just because your child has different needs. With the right prep and support, amazing memories are totally possible."
Rachel Morelli
Certified Autism Travel Advisor, Travelmation“Breeze was built on the premise that air travel should be affordable and accessible for all types of communities. In partnering with Autism Double-Checked, our hope is that we can inspire and empower this very special community to go out and experience the wonder of air travel while making memories that will last a lifetime."
David Neeleman
Breeze Airways Founder and CEOWe have the answers!
Autism Double-Checked (ADC) is committed to making travel more accessible, welcoming and inclusive for autistic travelers and their families. We work with airlines, airports, hotels, resorts and other travel providers to help them better understand and respond to the needs of the autism community.
Our three progressive levels of certification give travel providers a clear path toward greater autism readiness. Level 1 begins with acceptance of the Autism Passport, Level 2 adds detailed guides to help travelers know what to expect, and our highest level, Level 3, adds autism training for staff. Each step represents a greater commitment to creating informed, supportive and welcoming travel experiences.
By working across the travel industry, ADC is helping address barriers that can make travel challenging for autistic individuals and their families. Through education, practical resources and industry collaboration, our goal is to help create a travel world where autistic travelers are better understood, supported and welcomed.
