Traveling With Learning Differences

It can be a much more complicated and overwhelming experience for us

This week we are going on vacation, so I’ve been packing and preparing for travel. As fun as vacation is for most people, those of us with dyslexia and other common learning differences may have more trouble traveling away from home. There is extra stimulation and many circumstances that are out of our control when it comes to travel, which is difficult for LD folks. It causes us to become easily overwhelmed, which is in turn distracting, and may cause us to forget things or get easily upset. I remember my parents trying to teach me about traveling when I was a teen; they would put me in charge of finding our gate at the airport, which was very hard at first, but has become easier and easier over the years and taught me so much. Now, I’m teaching my 10-year-old stepdaughter, Khloe, what my parents taught me, and it’s very rewarding. 

When it comes to packing as an LD person, there will always be times when no matter what you do, you’ll forget something important. Of course, there will also be winning streaks when you manage to bring everything that you need… but I personally never get too confident because that’s when BAM, you forget your underwear or toothbrush. It always hits you like a ton of bricks! I have forgotten just about everything, one way or another, while traveling, in my lifetime. Despite the roadblocks that I may have faced over the years, now I have my wife as my support system while traveling, and I don’t know what I’d do without her. I know that I’m extremely lucky to have her there to help me, and I know that I’m not the only one. So, to my wife, and all of you other amazing mothers and wives supporting LD folks, thank you for helping us reach our destination with enough clean underwear.