Scanning the letters my twin boys had brought home from their respective schools earlier this year, my eyes widened in shock.
One detailed a week-long ski trip to Italy, costing £1,600 – the other was for a Classics trip to Greece for a few days, costing £1,200.
Each of these trips represented the cost of a family holiday – there was no way I could afford one, let alone both.
At that moment, I decided that, rather than have one of the boys miss out, we would simply go to Italy to visit Pompeii for our family holiday instead. There was, however, a catch…
It was term time, and I’d probably be punished for it.
Both my children – age 14 – have autism and become distressed in overstimulating, noisy, environments.
They wouldn’t be able to cope with peak time busy airports, resorts, or attractions. It’s why I’d never taken them on a holiday outside of the UK until earlier this year.
Despite finding the school environment difficult, my sons have made great…
