ASD and Orlando airport

[lawlesslovewdw]

Our autistic son had a huge meltdown going through screening at Orlando airport (didnt want to take his shoes off) which resulted in a violent attack on myself by him. We were informed by security that we could request a private screening room through our airline. I asked one of the virgin air stewards and was told this was accurate. :thumbsup2

hth someone

[natalielongstaff]

:hug: sorry to hear about that Louise, i hope the staff handled the incident compassionatly !

[Lizzy Lemon]

Virgin are supposed to be very good with special needs customers. We will be putting that to the test in two weeks time. Sorry to hear about your hard time.

[lawlesslovewdw]

We found virgin very good with seat request and early boarding in manchester, however the american virgin staff were very good with visible special needs, everyone in wheelchairs, crutches etc were treated well, we were stopped twice trying to board with wheelchairs after being told they board babies later (we have to ds 4 & 2). Our family were ignored when they took the boarding passes of other special needs (wheelchairs) and i had to ask if they were taking ours and we were told only special needs. Our ds is a registered special needs flyer with virgin, if they had taken one minute to check their list, overall he was treated with contempt. We had a family with 2 special needs adults push in front of us and keep muttering about us being in the way. Next time i suppose i should hang a placard around his neck:confused3 The queue for customs uk was very long and a rep came round and took all the wheelchairs out of the line and put them in a saperate queue, at this point i was slightly angry and asked the man that was taking them if it was the queue for uk passengers and he said "no special needs" to which i replied well thats good and promptly joined the queue with my family.

We as a family dont want our son to be singled out, he has enough of that, but consideration would be good. It is an invisible disability but one that affects the whole family.
We wouldnt stand in a line just because it is there, :rolleyes1

Sorry to rant and vent but i am still upset by the american staff at the airport.

[UKDEB]

Thanks for taking the time to post - this is really useful information. Sorry to hear your experience wasn't all it should have been.

[Netty]

Our autistic son had a huge meltdown going through screening at Orlando airport (didnt want to take his shoes off) which resulted in a violent attack on myself by him. We were informed by security that we could request a private screening room through our airline. I asked one of the virgin air stewards and was told this was accurate. :thumbsup2

hth someone

Sorry to hear this, I work with autistic children so i can see how upset he must of been. Johhnysharp on here also has an autistic boy, and because of this always uses virgin.
I wish you all well :hug:

[Rosie]

My DS has Asperger Syndrome and I really feel for families with a family member who has a less visible disability. I know how terrifying it can be for people with ASDs to leave their familiar surroundings and so it really makes a huge difference if they can have a little less trauma.
I'm so sorry that your family had this experience and I will certainly speak to Virgin before we fly next year.

[JohnnySharp2]

Our autistic son had a huge meltdown going through screening at Orlando airport (didnt want to take his shoes off) which resulted in a violent attack on myself by him. We were informed by security that we could request a private screening room through our airline. I asked one of the virgin air stewards and was told this was accurate. :thumbsup2

hth someone

Hi

found this website on disabilities board http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1572.shtm

We always ring Virgin Customer Care Department on 0870 990 8350 to let them know when we travelling, any requirements we may have. We always board last because then we are not waiting for everyone else to get seated, usually the door shut's behind us and we are away, it suits our DS better. If he's happy then so are we. :)

This is Julie not Johnny

[lawlesslovewdw]

Hi

found this website on disabilities board http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1572.shtm

We always ring Virgin Customer Care Department on 0870 990 8350 to let them know when we travelling, any requirements we may have. We always board last because then we are not waiting for everyone else to get seated, usually the door shut's behind us and we are away, it suits our DS better. If he's happy then so are we. :)

This is Julie not Johnny

We contacted virgin before we travel, this is the first year we have had problems. Adam wont enter a crowded noisy area, so for us we like the plane to be emptyish so he was walk on relaxed, he then acclimatises to the other passengers as they board. This year flying out he had his virgin flight socks, eye mask(on his head not his eyes) brushed his teeth with virgin toothbrush and paste) and was leafing through the tv guide before plane took off:) He looked so cute.