Parents Of Children With Learning Disabilities Say Family Holidays Can Be A Struggle

As we head into January, lots of us will start thinking about planning the next family summer holiday. (And in the wake of Storm Frank, I'm definitely ready to start thinking ahead to the summer.)

But while family holidays can be stressful at the best of times, the issue can be especially difficult for parents of children with learning disabilities, according to a recent study.

"Parents of children with learning disabilities say they worry about the attitudes of members of the public when take their child on holiday," reports BT.

The figures come from a survey of 400 parents of children with a learning disability, conducted by the learning disability charity Mencap.

Of the parents questioned, 58% said they worry about taking a child with learning disabilities on holiday, with 42% saying they had particular concerns about the attitude of staff members towards a child with learning disabilities.

Of those surveyed, 39% of parents said a lack of appropriate childcare on holiday was also a worry, and 86% said they had "significant or very significant" concerns about getting access to adequate care and support during a holiday.

Rossanna Trudgian, of Mencap, said:

"Positive public and staff attitudes can make a great deal of difference to people's experiences of going away. Encouraging the public to see the person, not the disability, will bring about more opportunities for people to live their lives as equal citizens, an issue that needs addressing locally as well as nationally. It is incredibly important that we challenge discriminatory attitudes towards people with a learning disability."

We're keen to hear your experiences on this matter. Could more be done to make holidaying less difficult for families of children with learning disabilities?

If you're the parent or carer of a child with learning disabilities and have had difficult experiences during a family holiday, please come and tell us over on our Facebook page. Equally, if you've had a very good holiday experience, we'd love to hear all about it.

Visit Mencap for advice and information for parents, carers and family members of someone with a learning disability.