Flying tips- for 5yrs-Autism

[lovemickeya]

My son is 5 and we are not going to WDW until December. But as we plan I am getting stressed out thinking about the flight there, ANY thoughts or TIPS would be WONDERFUL.

Thanks in Advance

 

[kdtwiss]

TRY NOT TO LET HIM SEE YOU STRESSED!
hAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANY OF THE "tHERE GOES A ..." kids movies? There is There goes a garbage truck, there goes a fire truck etc. Well there is an airplane one - that may be a good intro! I would also look into these ear drops they sell in Canada that numb the ear drums I believe - or take some preventative tylenol just in case ears popping is a problem. We took our first flight with our kids (oldest is now 12 and asd) and he was great. Do you have any of the airlines like Song or JetBlue available to you? They heve the tv's in the back of the seat - what a great idea! Helped me more than the kids! I hate flying!

 

[DAG]

We bought a portable DVD player for our trip to Florida. Jr watched his favorite movie during the flight. Also, so his ears didn't get stuffed-up, we made sure that he was drinking and eating during take-off; his chewing kept his ears fine.

 

[walkena]

Here are some tricks that I have used over the years with my now 8 year old son......

a zip loc bag full of cereal (corn pops, cheerios or anything else that takes time to eat your way through the bag)

a juice box (this helps with the air pressure) - my son likes those "milkshakes " sold in tetra paks that do not require refrigeration

his favorite small wind-up toy (he likes to hold this to his ear and listen to the winding action) - a great distraction from the engines at takeoff

this time I am going to bring one of those twirly, spinning , light-up toys that you hold in your hand - you can get them at the disneystore for about 15 dollars. The novelty factor should help - I will give it to him on the trip so that his interest is heightened!

I will also bring a box of smarties for my son - his favorite - just in case of emergency

These techniques have gotten me through our flights from Toronto to Orlando with ease - touch wood for the next trip....

have a great vacation

 

[AJKMOM]

I agree with all those ideas. We had a portable CD player and headphones for our son. This trip, we bought an IPod Shuffle and put about 80 of his favorite songs on it.

We count on gum and snacks like pretzels to keep his ears from popping. Try to get direct or 1 stop flights. Pack toys, books or games he likes.

Perhaps order the planning video from Disney and let him watch it so he knows where he's going. Our now 17 year old autistic son has been to WDW 11 times and would live there if we let him.

 

[disneyelaine]

Might just be my son's (age 9) thing, but he likes to fly at night, so he can not see outside. When we fly in the daytime, he keeps the shades down and is more stressed.

 

[lovemickeya]

Thank you so much for all the tips.

Sorry it takes me a while to get back on here. I promise I will check in more often.

Thanks again

 

[TinkTatoo]

We have a 8 hour flight followed by a 2 hour flight (we live in Ireland) and find the best thing is to pack loads of their favourite snacks (neither of my two will eat airline food) and a Nintendo DS for Ds and lots of coloring / sticker books for DD. DD is usually very sick on the plane so doesn't get to look at her stuff

Just take lots of what ever your son is into and it should be OK

 

[spider]

We too have a long flight (9.5 hours) and we have plenty of comics, books, drinks, snacks, favourite toys (like a couple of his Thomas Tank trains).

This year it is 5 days before my son's 11th birthday and have planned to take a few early birthday presents wrapped up, like some Thomas Tank activity books, some Thomas collectors cards, crayons, etc and will open one every hour or so (if he can last that long!!!)

I'm sure some special gifts (and I don't mean expensive ones!!!) would go down a treat to keep him occupied for the flight, though of course, this may not be ideal for your son, but I'm sure it will work with mine

All I can say is, that even though we have a long flight, this will be our 3rd trip and the 3 weeks we spend in Florida makes the journey well worth it!!!!

Good luck!!!!

 

[navyman2]

My son's fascination with machines helped. Being sensitive to noise, we did a "live" action story. Drove to airport to watch jets (wow they go fast). Then went into terminal and played on moving walkways, up/down elevators, and toured the entire terminal. Board first to explain/prepare for incoming passengers. We have a large supply of foam earplugs he loves to wear when it's too noisy. The best $5 spent was on a gyroscope...it just keeps moving and spinning !! It helped that we were enthusiastic about the trip FL to NH. He did great.

 

[GreenGirl8]

A social story would also be a good idea...especially if this is something is has been using already.

 

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

We lived close enough to our airport that we drove our son and spent some time there, so he could see where we would go, the terminal etc. We watched planes go up and come down. He became very familiar with it and it helped our ride. We flew SouthWest (LOVE THEM!!!) and I told the flight crew that he was autistic and they made sure that the seat in front of him was not used because I knew he would be hitting the seat. If your child is not used to loud sounds then I would def. recommend that you get ear plugs and try them out before hand so they can get used to them.