But there is still progress to be made. “I think wellness is becoming more inclusive in some ways. There is more attention on body acceptance. There is more care around the inclusion of varying abilities. People are doing more not to assume participants’ gender and/or pronouns,” Dr Graham admits. “However, race remains the topic people avoid the most. It’s the subject that people are most afraid of getting wrong. It’s also the one that people across all races assume they know a lot about but actually have very little understanding of its historical origins and how that relates to today’s disparities. We cannot truly embrace people’s intersecting identities without embracing race.”
For neurodivergent people, travel can already be difficult, let alone travel that incorporates wellness. Kelley Colihan Robertson, the founder of Avolve Wellness, launched a retreat in Costa Rica for neurodivergent families, inspired by her experience raising two neurodivergent sons. Speaking with Condé Nast Traveller, she explained, “I created wellness spaces for neurodivergent people because I saw how underserved these folks were and still are. We still have a long way to go in embracing neurodiversity in the wellness industry. It’s still a niche area, most likely because many in the wellness area are not trained in how to serve the neurodiverse population.”
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“For me, it’s personal – I have a 22-year-old autistic son. We have a large, extended community where I live (near Atlanta in the US), and I saw so many of my friends (myself included) not able to take their children to certain places, whether that was on vacation or even to gyms. There was such little understanding of the autistic population and a lot of judgement,” Robertson says.
Bigger companies are changing, too. Karisma Hotels & Resorts has introduced the Autism Double-Checked certification for select resort brands in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, providing the world’s first-ever Autism Concierge. For example, at the St. Somewhere Spa at Margaritaville Resort, Orlando, the trained property staff ensure that guests with autism receive a tailored and supportive experience, with personalised service adjustments and considerations to personal space. Hopefully, such training will become commonplace in travel, ensuring that neurodiverse people get to experience wellness with the ease neurotypical people do.
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