Autism-Friendly Bay Area Airports, Hotels Offer Travel Accessibility for Families

Hotels in Concord, California, is offering free practice stays for families with autistic children.

Eli German, center, a 10-year-old boy with autism, along with his sisters Aila, 4, left, Arrow, 7, their mother, Aileen and father, Elijah, visit the the Hilton Hotel in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. The family have stayed in the hotel free of charge through the Visit Concord’s Practice Stay program, which serves traveling families with a loved one diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group

By Kate Bradshaw From The Mercury News

Traveling with kids can be tricky. Traveling with kids with autism can be downright daunting. And with roughly one in 36 children on the autism spectrum in 2020, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and rates rising significantly—a 318 percent increase since 2000—the travel industry is taking notice.