Did You Know That All Beaches Resorts Are Advanced Certified Autism Centers? Here's My Family's Experience

A dedicated team, thoughtful guidance, and low-sensory zones made a farther-flung trip accessible for my daughter and our whole family.Treasure Beach VillageBeaches Resorts were featured on Condé Nast Traveler's Bright Ideas in Travel 2025. Read the full list of winners here.If I had to choose one word to describe the sort of family getaway I look for as the parent of two teens, it would be easy. Plenty of things in life are hard; a vacation shouldn’t be. When you can only travel with your family once or twice a year, you want everyone to be able to enjoy it. For everyone to enjoy it, their needs have to be met.My younger daughter, who is 15 and autistic, is one of the sweetest, happiest kids I know. She sometimes has a hard time with long travel days, and sudden shifts in her routine can distress her. She requires constant support to safely navigate crowded or unfamiliar spaces. If the rest of us appreciate consistency and structure, for her, these are necessities.Beaches Turks & Caicos is an Advanced Certified Autism Center, meaning it has programs meant to create an accessible resort experience for autistic guests and their families. On vacation, we often gravitate toward the familiar, calm, and controllable: lakeside cabins, oceanfront cottages, homes tucked away in the mountains, usually within a day’s drive. We all love our quiet getaways. But sometimes I long to venture farther. Our eldest is 18, and when you have a child about to leave home, you can’t help but feel keenly aware of the days slipping away—on the running list of things I hope we can do before she goes to college, “more travel” is near the top. When I learned that Beaches properties are Advanced Certified Autism Centers, with programs intended to create a smoother and more accessible resort experience for autistic guests and their families, I was eager to learn what kind of support would be available to us at the Turks and Caicos resort—and what impact it might have on our stay.I discovered that the conversation about your family’s specific needs can begin well before arrival. An optional pre-visit questionnaire gathers information (e.g.: How does your autistic family member communicate? What are their favorite activities? What are their triggers? What kind of swimmer are they—from level 1, “a land mammal,” to level 10, “a fish”?), which resort staff can then use to make recommendations and help you plan for your stay. Before we traveled, Beaches representatives reserved an oceanview suite for us in the new Treasure Beach Village—one of the calmest areas of the resort, which opened on March 1—and arranged for private airport transfers so that we could avoid longer wait times and noisier bus rides. They also shared information about the resort’s inclusive day camps and 1:1 “Beaches Buddy” service.The backyard of a villa in Treasure Beach Village, a new addition to the property as of March. My husband, kids, and I arrived in Turks and Caicos on a dazzlingly bright, breezy afternoon in April. I was exhausted and looked the way I always do after a day of Economy travel with my family, but I was already glad we’d come. We were warmly welcomed “home” to Treasure Beach Village, and I drew my 15-year-old’s attention to the sculpted sea turtles swimming across the ceiling of the open-air lobby. An enthusiastic swimmer, she needed no prompting to spot the vast lagoon-style pool, where guests of all ages splashed and sprawled amid swaying tropical blooms. Then we caught our first glimpse of the deep blue sea stretching out to the horizon, and I understood why the promotional materials made such free use of the word paradise.When I asked Jevon, the kind and gracious team member bringing us to our suite, to name his favorite place at the resort, he mentioned a peaceful spot at the far end of the beach with “the most beautiful views,” where few guests seemed to linger. To find it, all we had to do was take the elevator downstairs and walk about thirty feet. On the soft white sand of “the little beach,” as my kids soon dubbed it, we were practically alone, and I felt some tension melt away as the waves lapped at our feet.A full spread of food from Pinta, a food hall in Treasure Beach Village. We had dinner at Pinta, the food hall in the village. Our server asked whether we had any dietary needs or food sensory issues. A culinary concierge could have helped us find other dining options—or even request special dishes at no extra cost—but we had no trouble finding things to try on the Caribbean, Mexican, Italian, and pan-Asian menus. When we spotted the dessert bar, we knew we were up to the challenge.We’d planned a snorkeling excursion the next day, with a Beaches Buddy coming along to provide extra support for our younger daughter, but resort vessels were grounded due to windy conditions. The Buddy met us at the pool instead, swam with our daughter for a couple of hours, and later supported her during her requested mani-pedi at the spa, while I got a massage and my husband and older daughter got ready to go kayaking.When I met with Fedeline Julien, manager of children’s programs at Beaches Turks and Caicos, she praised the ongoing autism sensitivity and competency training that resort staff participate in, but noted that they often learn the most by meeting and collaborating with guests. It’s important, she said, to provide the best possible experience “for everybody, not just a certain set of families.”Children bake as part of the annual Autism Inclusion Week at Beaches. The pool at Beaches is lagoon-style and populated by guests of all ages. My family got a slow start most days, ordering in-room breakfast and enjoying the gorgeous view from our balcony. We walked to the Italian Village for froyo, had lunch steps from the shore at Neptune’s in Key West Village, checked out Pirate’s Island Water Park and Treasure Beach’s Starfish Cinema (the only movie theater on Providenciales). We spent most of our time at the pool or on the beach, doing very little at all. It was precisely the kind of effortless vacation we all love, transplanted to one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen; we didn’t need a great deal of additional support in order to enjoy it.Which is, perhaps, the point: Many of the things Beaches has put in place—like its detailed sensory guide, which rates every area by touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound intensity, and identifies various “low-sensory zones” for those who want them—aren’t terribly difficult to provide. I’m not discounting the investment in time, training, or staffing. But much can be made more navigable for vacationing families like mine simply by taking intentional steps to consider our experiences and needs, and not only as an afterthought. If this is a moral imperative for those in the tourism industry, it is also, frankly, a sound business move. It can begin with the understanding that we are legion, and we also love to travel and explore new places with our loved ones.We had a dinner reservation at the teppanyaki restaurant in the French Village on the second night of our stay. The moment we entered, we could hear cheers, clattering knives, and boisterous singing. Our host checked in to make sure the experience wouldn’t be overwhelming for our younger daughter—would noise-reducing headphones help? There was a quiet garden nearby, in case any of us needed a sensory break. We had already warned our daughter that dinner would be loud; she was happy to stay and enjoy the show and her fifth lemonade of the day. I saw her grinning over her teriyaki chicken every time the chef coaxed our table into song. Still, I appreciated the fact that the host had taken a moment to make sure she would feel comfortable and included.Starfish Cinema, on Beaches grounds, is the only movie theater on the island of Providenciales. Walking back to our suite, I thought about some of the trips we hadn’t taken—not because I believed they would be negative experiences for us, but because I couldn’t gather enough information in advance to feel assured they would be positive. What if our daughter became dysregulated and couldn’t enjoy herself? Would the rest of us be focused on helping her, and would we actually be able to help? Would others—including staff on site—feel surprised or inconvenienced, and make that known to us? I’ve heard the comments and felt the stares of people quick to judge when my child’s speech or behavior is different from what they expect.I am not embarrassed by my family’s needs, and I do not apologize for them. Every person and every family has needs. My daughter has as much right as anyone to be herself, to get a manicure or eat at a fun restaurant, to travel and have adventures with her loved ones. But as many of us know, there’s an ocean of difference between knowing that you have a right to be in a space and knowing that you are welcome there. For my part, when I understand that the people around us see and welcome both my children, there’s a particular spot in my chest that seems to open up: I can relax and be more present, knowing that we are all accepted; we will all be cared for; we can all have a good time. I feel this way among friends who know and understand us. I often felt something akin to it on our vacation.Sometimes, when I’m trying to plan something I know might be more challenging for our family, I repeat to myself: Ten percent easier. It’s a reminder that while I can never ensure a seamless experience—there is far too much outside my control—I can look for small but meaningful ways to make the day, the outing, the trip feel just a little more possible. At Beaches, someone else had already done a lot of that work for me. I’m glad they are committed to acknowledging and welcoming people like my daughter and families like ours, and I hope that other resorts and hotels will take similar steps to consider the experiences and needs of all their guests.Another view of a villa backyard in Treasure Beach Village Now that we’re home, the place we miss most is the little beach Jevon told us about—our own “low-sensory zone,” where we spent many tranquil hours during our stay. The night before we left, we went there to catch the swift Caribbean sunset one last time. I knew that everything was about to change: our eldest would graduate and make a new home for herself at college; the rest of us would learn to be a household of three. We would cross an ocean and be in a new world. For the moment, I was grateful to be standing on the shore of Grace Bay with all the people I love most in arm’s reach, watching the sun slip beneath dark waves while the sky clung to its light. When I close my eyes, I can still see the colors.Nicole Chung is the author of the award-winning memoir A Living Remedy, which was named a Notable Book by The New York Times and a Best Book of the Year by over a dozen other outlets. Her 2018 debut All You Can Ever Know was a national bestseller and a ... Read MoreMore hotels nearbyThe Ritz-Carlton, Turks and Caicos$$$ | Turks and Caicos Islands, Grace Bay, Grace Bay RoadA comprehensive property on a white-sand beach, whose luxury offerings are true to the Ritz-Carlton reputation.Price | Turks and Caicos Islands, Providenciales, 118 Grace Bay Road, Grace Bay BeachA suite-style home-away-from-home with an unmatched location and an authentic Caribbean atmosphere.$$$ | Turks and Caicos, Providenciales, Lower Bight Rd.On Grace Bay’s quieter western edge, Wymara delivers the polish of a design hotel with the laid-back vibe of a beach house.Turks and Caicos, Providenciales, Grace Bay Beach