I planned a family holiday to Wales. It was supposed to be me, my three children, my partner, his two children and my two dogs.

First of all, my older two children dropped out so then it was just me and Charlie and then my partner and his children. And then of course the dogs. It was a great caravan, plenty big enough for us all so that was good, but it just didn't go to plan.

Charlie lasted 1.5days there. His dad was supposed to have him that week, it was his dad's week but this holiday was booked and paid for before the contact arrangements changed, I will explain more in a different blog. So, because he was not going to his dad's, his dad then booked some overtime shifts so it was really difficult to juggle what Charlie needed at that time and what the solution might be. I ended up driving home, sleeping overnight at home, driving to dad's and then driving back to North Wales, and then driving home the following day. But it's what Charlie needed so that's what we did.

The main issues of the holiday, which was a caravan holiday and something that we hadn't done for many several years, was the noise. I totally took it for granted that Charlie wouldn't cope with the noises within the caravan. We could hear every footstep and door closing, which then meant Charlie could hear it times 100. Charlie has auditory processing disorder as well as sensory processing disorder and that means he can't filter out sounds and hears absolutely everything. A caravan environment is not right for us.

This was a blessing in disguise really because previous to this, I was considering getting a caravan on a site so we could have a permanent stable holiday home that we could travel to in support of Charlie. When we go somewhere new it takes him around 48hrs sometimes longer to really understand and settle into his new environment. The first couple of days are always make or break and the first night anywhere is always the worst and impossible. Because of this I thought, a caravan permanently that would be familiar to him would be perfect. But after this experience I know it would have been a complete waste of money.

I know now that it's not possible to do a caravan holiday with Charlie again so the plan for now is Disney in Paris next March (booked and paid for in October 2022) and then a centre parks style break. A lodge in the countryside with a hot tub. Those breaks have always been really successful so that's what I will aim for in the future.

Georgina