The Neurodivergent Family Travel Mom: An In Depth Interview

Hayley at Inclusive Explorers is a wealth of amazing information! She supports inclusive family travel celebrating neurodiversity and supporting others with hidden disabilities. She loves helping others travel sustainably, affordably, and authentically. I was so honored when she agreed to be part of my travel mom profiles. Read on for Hayley’s best family travel advice and tips for inclusive travel.

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Inclusive Mom Hayley By The Numbers

Hayley has traveled to five continents, 39 countries, and 32 states. She still has Antarctica and Australia to check off! In addition to running her amazing social media account and raising her two children, ages 2 and 4, Hayley works as a teacher. She feels so fortunate to be able to find a part-time position after her first career in aviation finance. It’s a balancing act but she is proving you can manage a busy career, kids, and travel!

Have You Always Loved Traveling?

I have always loved traveling. We moved to England when I was 5 for my dad’s job. He regularly traveled to continental Europe, Middle East, and Northern Africa. My mom wanted to make the most of our time abroad and we often joined my dad on school breaks. We also embraced days out to explore the UK. When we got back to the states, we kept travelling. In high school, I got to teach English in China over two summers as well. After college, I worked for an airline for five years and we traveled constantly.

How do you make time for travel with work and school schedules?

We are really fortunate to all be on a school schedule. It can be tricky since we can only travel when everyone else is, but we do get creative with going places in shoulder/off-season like Thanksgiving in Greece. Like most teachers, we do work extra jobs, but we can do these projects remotely which opens up our summers. When I was in corporate, I milked every paid day off, took all the red-eyes possible to eke out every precious hour. 

what is your best piece of advice for families who are nervous about traveling with young kids?

You just have to do it. Something will absolutely go wrong, but isn’t that the nature of travel? We’ve had all kinds of crazy things happen – broken strollers, lost bags, canceled flights, snow storms – but our kids never remember those things. They talk about all our experiences, even at their young ages. And we’ve gotten better at it, too!

What’s one travel mistake you’ve made?

Overplanning. I felt so much pressure to see it all when I only had 10 vacation days per year. But we quickly realized we would like to see less well than to see everything poorly. I also don’t put any pressure on myself to hit a milestone, like visiting every state. I don’t think there is anything wrong with these goals, but I would rather go someplace we are really interested in and savor it. We keep a list of places we want to go (and it is always growing) so when we see a deal, we can grab it!

Favorite travel destination and why?

Italy. I have been going for 30 years and it is an affair that has lasted a lifetime. So much so that we are part-time residents in a small town in Tuscany and I have learned Italian.

You recently changed your IG handle to InclusiveXplorers, can you talk a little bit about what prompted the change and the type of information you provide on IG?

When we started as The Toteable Toddler, my kids were so little that it seemed like the right fit. We waited very little time with either kids to hit the road – both were traveling by 2 months. As time went on, I found that the “travel with baby” field is very saturated and that more and more of my content was drifting towards inclusive travel. My husband and I have always had a heart for the disabled community as public school teachers and as a neurodivergent family ourselves. A lack of awareness and support leads many ND families to quit traveling all together. I knew I didn’t want that for our family so it felt like the natural step to marry the passion for travel and access together. And as we enter preschool and beyond, we aren’t really Toteable Toddlers anymore!

Any specific advice or resources you’d recommend for neurodivergent families looking to get started traveling?

Prep! We do so much prep in our day-to-day lives, especially for more triggering events. We practice things like acting out the doctor’s visits, reading books on appointments, creating social stories, etc. Those same things can support ND families on the road. I also think that starting small can help you figure out what works for your family, like a local museum visit or a daytrip to a neighboring town. Incorporate special interests into your vacation plans also helps! Two resources I love are KultureCity which trains attractions on sensory inclusion and the Sunflower Lanyard which works with airports, airlines, and businesses to create awareness and sensitivity around Hidden Disabilities.

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Hayley is such a wealth of knowledge. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from her online and how inspiring I’ve found her travels. I hope you enjoyed her interview as much as I did! Looking for more travel inspiration? Make sure you check out our other travel mom interviews.