Ready to Butlins?

For the first time in 3.5 years, we went off on holiday! Nothing exotic or expensive, just a short 5-day staycation to the bracing British seaside at Butlins Bognor. I got it in the deals last year for pennies and couldn't resist!

I must admit I was a little bit anxious about how Noah might find the complete change in routine and sleeping somewhere different, so I tried to prep for every possibility. Weighted blanket? Check! Projecting lullaby hippo? Affectionately known as Harriet) Check! Buggy to carry him back to the chalet? Check! The stuffed elephant he's had since he was born/ Check!.. the list goes on. It seemed to do the trick though because out of 4 nights, there was only one where he couldn't relax enough to drift off. Result!

I booked us into all the shows and activities that Noah was old or tall enough for, and that I thought he would enjoy, and we were off. He completely surprised me with how chilled out he was. No tantrums, no meltdowns, occasionally he got a little bit overtired but we were filling his days with non-stop activities, so who can blame him!

The facilities for swimming at Butlins are incredible. Knowing we had been going to sensory swim every week for almost a year, I was eager to find out how he coped in a huge and loud pool with loads of flumes and slides, compared to the quiet and calm hydrotherapy pool he was used to. I'm pleased to say he loved it! We took him down the rapids which he enjoyed but wanted to hold on to us the whole way round, which meant we weren't so rapid! We also took him down the family flume. I thought we were going to have a few problems as we stood in the queue waiting our turn, he seemed to get more and more anxious as we neared the top, but we persevered, climbed into the raft and held him tightly between us. Noah's face lit up as the lifeguard pushed us off the starting point and started to glide down. He was grinning from ear to ear and giggling! It was amazing to see.

He also got his first experience of a wave machine, I think the sensory satisfaction of the waves crashing over his body was incredibly relaxing for him.

On the whole, I found Butlins to be really autism-friendly. Not only was there enough variety of things to do depending on interest and needs, but if you take yourself along to the leisure office they will provide you with a wrist band that highlights you to the staff, who will jump you up queues for rides, or be mindful of the fact an adult may have to assist on a child's only ride, and generally treat you with a little more care and consideration throughout your stay. We went out of term time, so it wasn't hugely busy and as a result, we didn't really need to use our wristbands to avoid any long queues.

We enjoyed it so much that we're taking him back again next year! It's taken him about a week to get back into his preschool routine since we've been home, but you can see the difference it made to him. It can be daunting trying to take children with additional needs away on holiday, there are a lot of unknown variables that we can't control, and far too much experience of what it's like when things go wrong, but if you can convince yourself to try, Butlins is a great start.

We all deserve a break!