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Vacation with disabled child

Take time out together to recharge your batteries

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Travel options and support

Get out of the daily grind for once, get away from it all, recharge your batteries, enjoy some carefree time together: This is doubly valuable for parents of disabled children, but also doubly difficult. The statutory health insurance funds enable parent cures - alone or with the child. But it also works individually, of course. Fortunately, there are suitable resorts and aids. However, it needs a good and often long-term preparation.

Finding a suitable destination: What to consider?

This is good news: the number of vacation offers suitable for people with disabilities is increasing. Some travel agents have specialized in planning and organizing trips for people with disabilities and their relatives. Vacation accommodations cater to special needs, and some vacation homes and apartments are attached to care facilities. Family vacation homes, care hotels or barrier-free farms are also available. What you should do as part of your trip planning: Check what requirements your destination absolutely must meet. For example: What distance do we dare to walk? Do we need a care bed? Are the accommodation and surroundings barrier-free? Is the sanitary area sufficiently large and suitably equipped?

Arrival: Train or plane?

If you don't want to or can't use a car, it is advisable to register special needs with the train or airline in good time.

By train
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About two-thirds of German train stations are barrier-free, look for a suitable one if necessary. Use the mobility service center of the railroad for all questions about traveling with a disabled child. You can get the information you need here, for example, you can arrange for train staff to help you get on and off the train, and much more. The Mobility Service Center can be reached by phone at 030 65212888 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and national holidays. It is also possible to register for assistance on the Internet: msz-hilfe.specials-bahn.de.

By plane
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Help is also available at the airport. Assistance at check-in and boarding is free of charge, as is the transport of a wheelchair or necessary medical aids. Here, too, the rule is: register in good time! You must clarify any necessary special considerations regarding the choice of seat when booking.

Where is financial assistance available for vacation travel for people with disabilities?

  • Special spa services for parents with children with disabilities are offered by the facilities of the Müttergenesungswerk. Visit the website for more information. There you will also find a counseling center search.
  • The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Familienerholung has favorable offers for special target groups in the program. Many houses are adjusted to people with disabilities or people with relatives in need of care.
  • The Aktion Mensch supports escorts for people with disabilities as well as children and young people on vacation trips. Here you can find details of the funding program vacation travel.
  • There are special foundations that support recreational vacations and vacation travel for families with a disabled child.

Where can we find specialized travel organizers and accessible destinations?

On the following websites, among others, you can find travel agents and organizations that have focused on travel for people with disabilities:

  • The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs promotes family holiday centers that have special offers for families with children with disabilities.
  • The Working Group of the Main Severely Disabled and Severely Disabled Representatives of the Supreme State Authorities of North Rhine-Westphalia provide information on their homepage about barrier-free travel and barrier-free destinations in Germany and Europe.
  • On the portal www.behindertenreisen.de parents of disabled children can find offers about accessible vacation homes and more.
  • On the portal Urlaub-barrierefrei.info you can research wheelchair accessible accommodation as well as specialized tour operators.
  • Many Lebenshilfen offer group travel, long-distance travel and city trips for people with disabilities. For more information, visit www.lebenshilfe-tours.de.
  • The Bundesverband Selbsthilfe Körperbehinderter e.V. provides information on its website about barrier-free individual and assisted group travel and offers the placement of trained travel assistants.

Parental time off without the disabled child

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Caring for and caring for a disabled child is often mentally and physically challenging for parents. A vacation can help recharge their batteries. For up to six weeks a year, family caregivers are entitled to short-term care or preventive care. The nursing care insurance fund then pays for care in a suitable facility or substitute care in the home. Here, too, it is important to make arrangements in good time. Short-term care places are often allocated on a long-term basis. Another option may be a claim for short-term living within the framework of integration assistance.

Links for further readingMore information

On the inclusion portal of the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs NRW you will find a good overview of the activities of the Ministry of Social Affairs in disability policy.

On the subject of mobility while traveling and compensation for disadvantages, the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs NRW has compiled comprehensive information

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TipsDownload

The brochure "Holidays with the family - family recreation for people with handicaps, those in need of care and relatives with care responsibilities" presents offers where the needs of people with disabilities are taken into consideration.