EER124: Tips for Family Travel with Disabilities

Family travel with disabilities may offer some unique challenges, but it still has the same rewards. Our guest on Epic Education Radio this week knows all about it.

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Family Travel with Disabilities

Meet Bron. Together with her partner, Andrew, they show their three kids the world. They've been to Sri Lanka, Borneo, Mongolia and more. Oh, and their son Cooper uses a wheelchair. Does that slow them down? Not really. "I think we almost choose places that aren't wheelchair accessible just to prove to ourselves that we can do it and are up for the challenge," Bron tells me. 

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Bron's three kids attend local schools, but she pulls them out for adventure whenever she can. Her oldest son, Cooper, was born with a brain injury. For many parents, this dampens the idea of long-term family travel, but Bron found ways to make it work.

 

Travel Origins

Bron was first bitten by the travel bug at 15 when she was an exchange student in Germany. Then later at 20 years old, she went to the US, to Lake Taho and taught kids to ski. "I had never seen snow," she says laughing, "never skied before in my life!” She was trained as a teacher, though, and so quickly learned the basics and how to relay that info to kids. 

Wheelchair Travel in Places That Aren't Wheelchair Friendly

Their first trip with Cooper was to Singapore when he was young. The trip was for therapy for Cooper, and there were other families there who had kids with the same condition, so their induction into family travel with disabilities started on the right foot.

Routines, Resistance, & Insurance for Family Travel with Disabilities

Family travel with mobility issues can pos specific challenges to your journey. Bron speaks frankly about some of them, and about some of their routines when flying with a wheelchair.

She also talks about the importance of travel insurance. Unfortunately, they had to find out the hard way that "crappy cheap family travel insurance doesn’t work.” More on that story in the show.

Despite the challenges, family travel has opened up their lives to new experiences, she says. Listen in as we talk about travel habits, planning, destinations, and other aspects of their story as a family traveling with a wheelchair.

IN THIS EPISODE: Tips for Family Travel with Disabilities

02:36 Intro / Origins 07:31 Early challenges & deciding on family travel with disabilities 10:05 Resistance to family travel with disabilities 14:03 Pre-travel routines 16:52 Habits on the road 20:23 Special considerations for wheelchairs and air travel with disabilities  27:27 Travel gear 32:07 Resources 34:02 Money, Finances & Planning  35:53 Destinations they've enjoys as a traveling family with a wheelchair

 

ABOUT: Tips for Family Travel with Disabilities

Names: Bronwyn Leeks, her partner, Andrew, and their three kids, Cooper (12), Pepper (9) and Woody (6) Hold passports from: Australia Type of travel: Live in Melbourne & travel during (and beyond) school holidays. Family travel with disabilities A few places they've been: China, Mongolia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and more. 

 

GEAR: Tips for Family Travel with Disabilities

2 Osprey Porter 46L Backpacks  Macbook Air iPad Air 2 iPad Mini 2 Travel Journals Lego (using these boxes) Canon 70D Camera Keen Shoes

 

LINKS & RESOURCES: Tips for Family Travel with Disabilities

Mathletics Reading Eggs Epic (online library) Khan Academy AirAsia Skyscanner Jackets from Kathmandu The Food Ranger on Youtube

 

FIND THEM ON

Smiths Holiday Road | Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means, at no extra cost to you,  we might receive a small commission if you make a purchase or book using those links. My opinions are my own and I only recommend places/services that I believe will genuinely help your travel.

Full-on family travel fundamentals. Epic Education Radio is interviews, stories and advice for people who decide to make travel a priority in their family's life...and for those who want to. Tune in each week to hear stories and advice from new traveling families, and hear how they've handled various family travel-related issues like education, socialization, working, budgeting, accommodation, road-parenting, safety, technology and more. We talk gear, websites, apps and other resources for traveling & nomadic families, and answer questions from those who would like to do something similar.