When everyone else is headed back to school, our family is usually looking for something fun to do to celebrate the new school year, while doing whatever we can to not sit inside reading textbooks. Last year we did a family escape room for the first day of school. This year, we're going camping.
We love September camping. The trees are starting to change colours. It's usually not too hot, not too cold, with a crisp breeze. And most of all, the bugs are a lot less annoying. This year we're going up north, far away from the city, so we can have some much-needed silence and dark skies. I don't know if it's a neurodiverse thing or just an us-thing, but my kids and I really need that silence and darkness. I feel like there's a constant buzz in the air in the city. It's so refreshing to have a break from that and I think it's the best way to start the school year.
We have gone camping with our kids since they were very young. They were all two or younger their first time -- my youngest was 10 months old. They're very comfortable camping and sleeping in a tent. That said, we do have to plan ahead when camping with neurodiverse kids (and parents).
Focus on familiarity
Camping involves a lot of new experiences, so one of the best things you can do for neurodiverse kids is to keep as many things "normal" as you can. When the most important things feel a little bit normal, it's easier to cope with the million new things that are happening alongside, whereas if the most important things feel chaotic and unpredictable, it can be hard to deal with any other new experience even if it's only one or two.
Whenever we go camping, we talk a lot about camp beforehand. The library is a great resource for younger kids to get read aloud books for bedtime. Pete the Cat Goes Camping is a great one that we read a lot, and there are many other good ones out there. Older kids can help out with the packing and prep work. Anything that gives the kids an idea of what their days will look like, what their sleeping arrangement will look like, and what their meals will look like -- this will help them feel more stable and safe in their new environment and give them something to look forward to. Kids are also great at telling you what they're not looking forward to -- use that input! Maybe part of the plan can be modified so that everyone likes it. Maybe they have fears or worries surrounding a certain part of the plan; with more time to process the plan and discuss their worries, the trip can go a lot smoother than if that plan was just sprung on them suddenly.
Another thing we do is revisit old campsites. Whenever we camp at a campsite we like, we always make note of the campsite so that we can book the same one again next time. If we like the campground in general but the specific site we're at has some issues, we do a walk around to see if any of the other sites would be better for our family, and make note of those. We always prefer to go to campgrounds we've already been to, because it's one less unexpected thing if we already know what the bathrooms are like, where the trails are, what kind of activities we can do, etc. The kids like to see how the campsite changes through different seasons as well. It almost becomes like a home away from home. This year we're visiting a campsite that's right beside one we stayed at back in 2020. The one we stayed at then was a little cramped, and our kids have grown a lot (plus another was born since then). Our tent is bigger, too. Knowing the campsite was a little small, we made note of some other campsites that would have worked; the one right beside us was huge and had a clear view of the night sky so it was our favourite. Thankfully we managed to get that site this time.
Autism and ADHD tend to go hand in hand with meal-type problems like picky eating. One of my kids is very picky with her food, especially when she's already struggling with a new environment. When we go camping, I try to make sure to plan simple meals that are similar to food she typically eats at home, and go over the meal plan with her to get any input she has. If I can get her to help with the meal planning, prep work, and/or cooking at the campsite, she feels more in control of her meals and tends to eat better than otherwise.
One of my other kids has no trouble eating, but she can't sleep unless she has a very specific toy, weighted blanket, and bedtime routine. We make sure to bring her toy and try to keep to the routine as much as possible to help her have a good sleep. If we sleep well, the day goes well, so that toy and weighted blanket are really high priority! We cut back as much as possible when packing but consider sleep items like this to be necessities for everyone's sanity.
Lastly, this hasn't been an issue for the vast majority of our camping trips, but for whatever reason, my older girls have decided that they hate camping bathrooms, and bathroom visits during the last couple of trips have been really stressful for me. To reduce my own stress, for this trip I bought a portable potty and shower tent. I'm planning to set this up on our campsite so that whoever is planning to throw a fuss about the public bathroom can just use our private bathroom. The potty fits inside the shower tent and has a liner that can just be tied up and thrown away after use.
Plan for sensory needs
Everyone has sensory needs and we try to account for all of them when packing. Weighted blankets for the kids, sunglasses and sun hats for my light-sensitive son and I, fidget toys, comfort toys, and noise-cancelling headphones. My eldest daughter takes frequent breaks to draw as a coping mechanism, so she packs her sketchbooks and drawing supplies. All my kids pack books, which thankfully became a lot lighter when we switched to e-readers.
We always choose quiet campsites. We don't like group campsites or parks that are close to the city or suburbs -- people tend to use these to gather with friends and family and to have large BBQs and outdoor games, and play music. It's just too loud for us. When we go camping, we prefer to have solitude and get away from the noise of the city, so we choose campsites that are far enough away that the other people visiting are also after the same kind of peace and quiet.
Stay safe!
Any activity with kids needs to have safety as a priority. When we choose a campsite, we try to find one that's safe for kids to explore, with lots of wide open spaces and a clear view of the sky at night. Cramped campsites have dangers like playing too close to the fire, and they encourage kids to try to leave the campsite and go find more space elsewhere. If we end up with a small campsite, because sometimes you have to take what you can get, we try to go out to more open spaces as much as possible. The last time we went to this campground, when we had a smaller campsite, we walked down to the lake every day and let the kids run around and wade in the water there. There was also a forested area to walk through where the kids explored and found all sorts of treasures.
If you have kids that are wanderers, I highly recommend giving them a whistle and teaching them to use it. In case they get lost, they can stay put while blowing on the whistle until someone locates them. I would also recommend having at least two adults present so that one can be on child-watch duty while the other takes care of the fire, tent, cooking, etc. If only one adult is present, try to set up a buddy system with the other kids so that no one is unattended. And if there's only one adult and one wandering child, keep the child engaged in conversation and games while you work, get them involved with setting up the tent and cooking meals, so that they aren't as inclined to stray.
Be prepared for meltdowns
No matter how much you prepare, meltdowns will happen. Plan ahead for a quiet sensory-friendly break area. Maybe in a corner of the tent, maybe in the car or near the fire, maybe in a small clearing of the forest close to the campsite. As long as it's a quiet place where a child can take their time to center themselves and get back in control of their emotions without judgment.
Another option, if you're camping close to a small town, is to drive into town for an hour or two somewhere around the middle of the trip. You could go to a restaurant for lunch, or wander through a gift shop. We did this once to get a break from mosquitoes and black flies and have a nice meal and it really helped everyone's moods.
Kids (and parents) need structure
My autistic and ADHD kids and I thrive on structure and routine. We try to keep our schedule mostly the same while camping, in terms of wake up time and bedtime (and, when they were younger, nap time), and meal times. If we have other activities that we normally do, if possible we continue them while camping. For example, over the summer, I've been reading a book to some of my kids before lunch. When we go camping, we will try to continue that routine. Instead of reading on the couch, we'll sit by the fire or beach, but we'll try to maintain the habit of reading together.
... but they also need flexibility
Camping is a completely different environment than home, though, so it's not possible to just continue everything exactly the same as we do normally. We need to balance the structured part of our schedule with lots of downtime. In between meals, we leave lots of blank space that we can fill in with whatever we feel like. If it's a nice day, maybe we'll go for a hike or go down to the lake. If it's rainy, maybe we'll stay in the tent and play a family game or just read, write, or draw for a few hours. Don't over-schedule yourself and miss this opportunity to just sit and absorb nature or to feel free to do anything you can think of.
Lastly, this flexibility also extends to your trip length. Be flexible enough to leave early if necessary. We all learn and grow when we're under a healthy amount of stress. Camping is great because it provides that stress. It takes us out of our comfort zone and forces us to think and do things for our survival and to create comfort for ourselves. In my family, we each have aspects of ourselves that we are working on improving, and camping helps us with that. However, if we reach our limit in terms of sensory experience, discomfort, or emotions, then the camping experience is no longer beneficial for us and that leads to meltdowns and shutdowns. When one of us has reached our limit, we try to see if there's anything that might help in terms of coping strategies or sensory tools, but if nothing is helping, then it's time to call it and head home.
We always speak quickly about what we could have improved, and spend the rest of the day (and probably the next week) reminiscing about all the best moments of our trip. Just because it ended slightly earlier than planned doesn't mean it was a bad trip. In contrast, leaving early probably prevented it from turning into a bad trip. We leave when the camping experience has served its purpose. We're grateful for that opportunity, and we plan for the next trip to be even better.
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