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What Is Supported Holiday For People With Learning Disabilities?

A holiday can be a perfect time to cool off, rest, and rejuvenate from boring and regular routines. Agedness and sickness should not hinder going on a holiday, let alone a fun and relaxing one. The holiday, however, needs to be well planned and prepared for.

A supported holiday for people with learning disabilities is when a caregiver or family member takes a person with a learning disability on holiday. This person would have access to full support and care. This holiday is meant for children, mid-adults, and aged ones alike.

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Individuals with learning difficulties need to take a holiday. It is their right. It offers them good exposure to physical wellness and psychological wholeness. Often, they need to stay off their regular routines and change their environment. They need to take some days off and exchange energies with new scenes for mental and medical reasons.

Several places offer a large variety of entertainment and exercises. These places are designed to accommodate people with various needs. As a group tutor, you can organise such trips. Since you know the peculiarities and conditions of your group members, it would be easy for you to choose the best destination for a holiday. You would also be able to arrange the activities that would go on during the holiday period. Holidays like these give your group members different levels of experience.

Benefits Of Supported Holidays Learning Disabilities

Taking breaks from their normal lifestyle through trips can be a healthy push towards better living. Here are some advantages of supported holiday learning disabilities.

It Helps Them To Interact With The World Freely

Sometimes, people with learning disabilities get nervous or worried about unfamiliar people and cultures. They feel this way because they do not know if people can understand their feelings and attend to their needs. But with group trips, they feel more confident and comfortable because they have people who understand and care for them. As a result, they can freely interact with other people with and without learning difficulties. They can as well learn their lifestyles and communicate with their new environments. They would interact without fear of discrimination or rejection.

It Boosts Their Self-Confidence

When they engage in new activities and find out that they can perform equally or better than their daily regulars, they believe more in themselves, and their self-pride is raised.

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Unity and Security

Holidays in new places are vital because it helps people with learning disabilities feel safe around others. This safety comes when travelling with family members, friends, or caregivers. As a caregiver or educator, travelling with your people helps them feel secure because they know you will look after them. They will also display unity among themselves.

Enhancement of Social Skills

Holidays give room for interactions, and continuous interactions open them to enhancing their social skills. After some time, they will understand the techniques to bond with people, create and maintain solid friendships.

Tourism Enhancement

Over the years, there has been little or no tourism provision made for people with learning disabilities. However, civilisation has recognised that they need to travel and explore like ordinary people because it is their right. Therefore, cities and communities are improving their tourism structures and vacation centres to accommodate people of every kind. As a result of the improvements, people with learning disabilities can visit places with different cultural backgrounds and activities without hurdles. They can access and have a feel of ideologies that are being interpreted as physical structures, policies, and practices.

Psychological and Mental Wellness

Sometimes, elderly people with learning dysfunctions get choked with boredom. At times, they feel socially secluded. If they remain in conditions where their functionalities and mobilities do not get used, their motor and cognitive skills may be affected. This is why holidays are significant. New environments can enlighten, stimulate, and keep them mentally focused on their agendas. 

They can engage in walk sessions, workout sessions, making new friends, engaging in new things, reading novels, tasting fresh foods, etc. Holidays can help with their memory strengths through music, pictures, and videos.

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Participatory Activities For Supported Holidays For People With Learning Disabilities

Holidays need to be filled with fun activities. Some of them include:

  • Making new friends
  • Golf
  • Video games
  • Cooking competitions
  • Hiking
  • Riddle sessions
  • Jogging
  • Music
  • Scuba diving
  • Tennis
  • Soccer
  • Canoeing
  • Seeing movies

Factors To Consider When Planning a Supported Holiday For People With Learning Disabilities

  • What destination you would site the holiday
  • Would the location benefit your people?
  • Equipment and supports you would need during the journey.
  • Resources you would need during the holiday like enclosures and safe places.
  • What means of transportation would be efficient?
  • Would there be a need for a hand-map?
  • Are there convenience and emergency facilities for road trips?
  • Is there a need for special seats for any of your wards?
  • If your holiday is situated abroad, do you and your people have a travelling passport and insurance?
  • Do you need to take any drugs along?
  • Is there a need for special facilities and equipment like toilets, baths, swimming pools, and wheelchairs during the holiday period?
  • Smart devices you would need to improve their well beings, like iPads and mobile phones.
  • Would you need more caregivers during the holiday to lessen difficulties?
  • Do you think you should invite other families with similar objectives for a joint holiday experience?

Difficulties Encountered Among People With Learning Disabilities During Holidays

Sometimes, difficulties can arise during holidays even after thorough preparations. Some of them include:

  • Lack of social skills for developing relationships, healthy communication with people, and maintaining friendships.
  • They may become burdensome during the holiday. They might exhibit difficulties even with the presence of professional carers. When they exhibit these behaviours, they might affect others from interacting with others and developing good relationships.
  • They may not feel comfortable in new environments, especially their first time. Sometimes, they may be subjected to being abused, neglected, or being intimidated.

People with learning disabilities might experience these difficulties due to extrinsic or intrinsic factors. But with time, as they continue to go on more holidays, they are likely to stop experiencing them. However, taking them on holiday in groups can help them become more confident and catch up with new routines. It also allows them to communicate with new people, interact with their environments, and be entertained.

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