125: Tips and Tricks for Traveling with Disabled Kids w/ Alyssa Nutile

For most of us, traveling with medically complex and disabled children can feel daunting, scary, or maybe even impossible. But while not necessarily easy or simple, if travel is a priority for your family, it is possible with the right planning and preparation.  In today’s episode, Alyssa Nutile and I share the best tips and tricks from The Rare Life community, plus a few of Alyssa’s own tips from all the traveling she’s done with her daughter Gemma. We cover everything from general planning to airplane specific tips (there are a ton!) to finding the best accommodations and more. We even have a few tips for camping with medically complex kiddos!  Plus, we also dive into the big feelings that can come up for us around traveling with our kids and why it’s okay if that’s not a priority for your family right now. If you really want to take your disabled children on a trip, there are many ways to do it, but we also recognize that travel still isn’t feasible or accessible for many.  Thank you to everyone who submitted tips, tricks, hacks, and ideas to this episode! And don’t forget to check our website and Youtube channel (linked below) for articles linking our favorite travel items, carriers, and tips, plus images of all the setups and devices parents in our community use.    Links:  Check out the blog section of our website for a list of our must-have items for traveling with a disabled child, our favorite child carriers, and more!  Visit our Youtube channel to see the video version of this episode with photos of all the items mentioned and captions so you can read along!  Listen to Ep 118: Organization Hacks for helpful devices when packing and traveling.  Listen to Ep 66 with Falesha Johnson on how she travels with her daughter Cali, who was machine dependent at the time.  Follow Alyssa on Instagram!  Follow me on Instagram!  Donate to the podcast via Buy Me a Coffee.   Contact me about sponsoring the podcast.  Follow the Facebook page.   Join the Facebook group Parents of Children with Rare Conditions.   Access the transcript on the website here.   And if you love this podcast, please leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcast app!