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Why Summer Doesn't Always Feel Like a Holiday for Neurodivergent Families
- Cheryl Jean
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
For many families, the countdown to the summer holidays is filled with so much excitement. There are plans to make, suitcases to pack and dreams of days out, holidays abroad and creating magical memories together. Social media quickly fills with happy children on beaches, airport selfies and picture-perfect family adventures.
But if you're raising a neurodivergent child, you might be feeling something quite different, I know I was. You might be feeling… anxious. Not because you don't want to spend time with your child and not because you don't want them to experience wonderful things.
But because you know that, for your child, summer often brings far more than sandcastles and sunshine, it brings change.
Routine disappears overnight.
Familiar adults are no longer there.
Sleep patterns shift.
Mealtimes become less predictable.
There are new places, new smells, different foods, crowded attractions and long journeys.
Even the excitement itself of a family holiday can place huge demands on a child's nervous system. And whilst everyone else seems to be saying, ‘how lovely, they are going to love being on holiday, you find yourself thinking, ‘will they really, or will this be too much for them?’
If that sounds familiar, you're not alone.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the summer holidays is that because children aren't at school, life automatically becomes easier, but for many neurodivergent children, the opposite can be true. The structure that helps them feel safe has disappeared, yet the expectations often increase. There are more activities, more socialising, more travelling, more sensory experiences and more change. And that's a lot for any nervous system to manage.
Over the years, both through my work with families and through my own experience as a parent, I've learned something really important, that the most successful summer isn't the busiest one. It's the one where your child feels safe enough to enjoy it.
And..
Sometimes that means taking a holiday abroad with plenty of preparation and lots of downtime.
Sometimes it means planning quieter days out and leaving early when your child has had enough.
And sometimes it means staying at home because that's where everyone feels happiest.
None of those choices are better than the others, not one overrides the other, they are simply different.
And that's exactly how it should be.
As parents, we can place enormous pressure on ourselves to create the ‘perfect’ summer as we continually compare our family to others, worry that we're not doing enough and feel guilty if our plans look different. But our children don't measure summer by how many attractions they visited or how many countries they travelled to.
They remember how they felt.
Did they feel safe?
Did they feel understood?
Did they know it was okay to be themselves?
Those are the memories that stay with them.
That's why I've created Summer, Your Way: a gentle, neurodiversity-affirming guide to help families navigate the summer holidays with more confidence and less pressure. Inside, you'll find practical ideas for travelling abroad, UK holidays and days out, creating a calm and enjoyable summer at home, and simple strategies to support your child's regulation wherever your summer takes you.
Most importantly, it's a reminder that there is no one right way to spend the summer.
There is only the way that works for your family.
And if your child feels safe, connected and understood, then you're already creating the kind of summer that truly matters.
Below is the link to the guide
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