Beaches Resorts to offer family holidays for children with autism

Accredited staff members will be allocated to each family 

The Beaches Resorts all-inclusive family resort brand is to offer its first all-inclusive holiday packages for families with children who have autism in October 2023.

Beaches Resorts is an operator based in the Caribbean, founded in 1997 as part of Sandals Resorts International, a parent company to five resort brands across seven countries, including the famous Sandals Resorts.

Beach Resorts' holidays for families with children on the autism spectrum will be offered at the Beaches Ocho Rios resort in Jamaica.

The Sandals sister company claims to be the first all-inclusive resort company in the world to complete rigorous International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) and Autism Certification.

Accredited Beaches staff members will be allocated to each family for various durations of time in resort. Activities will include daily arts and crafts sessions with Sesame Street’s Julia – a four-year-old character on the autism spectrum – as well as sunrise yoga sessions, tableside chats with experts, a scavenger hunt, a parents mixer event with respite care, and a water-based activity.

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Parents will also be able to liaise with the resort’s dedicated culinary concierge team, giving families a chance to pre-plan meals according to any dietary preferences and allergy requirements.

Agents can pre-register clients online using a digital form on the Beaches Resorts website. Seven-, 10- and 14-night stays are available. 

A fast track arrival and departure service is available for an additional fee, securing a professional representative to escort families through immigration, customs and security at the airport.

Beaches Resorts has also expanded its autism programme with the release of new sensory guides, designed so that carers and guests with cognitive disabilities can navigate the resort based on specific sensory sensitivities.