Joyful Journeys for Neurodivergent Families

I hear it all the time: "Wait until they’re older.' Wait until they can remember it. Wait until retirement."

But life doesn't promise us 'later.' I learned this the hard way. My mother spent her life waiting for retirement to start living, only to lose her battle with cancer at 56 years young. My father chased the appearance of wealth but missed the richness of connection. He passed away in his beautiful home, alone in bed, just before his 63rd birthday.

That is why I refuse to wait.

We are not meant to just survive the years; we can thrive in them.

I started Do It With Kids and LandingPad Travel because I believe that children don't end your life, they expand it; and an autism diagnosis requires additional planning with intention, but it doesn't have to keep the family grounded. 

Whether navigating a palace in Vienna or a sharing a suite at Great Wolf Lodge, the mission is the same: providing the tactical strategies that ensure your children feel safe, loved, and capable of exploring the world. This Travel Blog is my playbook -- the logistics, the strategies, and the honest reality of taking the family you love to the places you’ve always dreamed of.

Hi, I’m Avril (pronounced like Ay-vril). I live in Charlotte, NC, with my husband of over 10 years and our two children -- a 5-year-old neurodivergent boy and a 2-year-old sassy girl.

Professionally, I am a Principal Product Manager with a career built on solving complex logistical problems and optimizing user experiences. I’ve spent years engineering systems for scale; now, I’m applying that same rigor to neurodivergent travel advocacy.

I am currently studying to become a certified travel strategist, bridging the gap between industry-leading travel resources and the specific sensory requirements of families like mine. My goal is to move beyond "travel tips" to provide parents with a literal LandingPad: vetted blueprints for sensory-safe arrivals, airport survival, and destination advocacy.

The TLDR

• Expertise: 10+ Years in Product Strategy & Logistics
• Specialization: Sensory-Safe Itinerary Engineering
• Certification: Working towards becoming an Avoya Travel Academy Certified Vacation Advisor
• Advocacy: Dedicated to Neurodivergent Accessibility & Inclusion