Flying with child who can't sit up

[samkj]

How does everyone with severely diabled children handle flying? We are flyinf for the first time withour family in February. We are just doing a short flight, just over an hour, kind of as a test to see how our daughter does. We live in Northern California and are flying to Disneyland instead of driving. We want to go to WDW in the next couple years, but are very concerned about the flight. Macy, our daughter, has cerebral palsy and is unable to sit on her own. She has a car seat, but as she is 8 years old it is much too big for an airplane seat. I think we will just gate check her wheelchair, then sit her in between us on the plane to give her the support she needs. We will also put her head/neck support on while in the plane. Will this work??

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated.

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD can sit up pretty on her own, at least most of the time, but she gets kind of 'droopy' when she gets fatigued and is out of her wheelchair. We don't have to do anything much special, but will sometimes put the armrests up and then sit her closer to me or DH so she can lean against us. The last time we traveled, they didn't have any pillows, but we used to get a couple of pillows from the flight attendent to help support her. It might be helpful to bring some pillows along (I don't know if you could find any inflatable ones, but if you could, they would be easier to carry.
We always gate check DD's wheelchair - ask when you first check in. Chances are they will tell you to get a gate check tag at the gate. Do that as soon as the gate agent shows up to make sure everything is filled out correctly. Also, ask to preboard. Even though it seems obvious that you need to preboard, in our experience, they often don't preboard you unless you ask. They do have aisle chairs (kind of narrow wheelchairs that fit down the aisle).

 

[samkj]

Thanks Sue. I just made our airline reservations, so its official, we're flying to DL in Feb! We have reserved seating, which takes some of the stress off.

 

[spiceycat]

Thanks Sue. I just made our airline reservations, so its official, we're flying to DL in Feb! We have reserved seating, which takes some of the stress off.

doesn't matter ask to preboard....

 

[samkj]

doesn't matter ask to preboard....

Thanks we still will do so, but this particular flight is usually full of families with kids travelling to DL. I know we will get pre-boarding priority, but there will most likely be many people doing pre-boarding. I would rather avoid the fight for seats if possible.

 

[JodiandTony]

I don't know what type of device your child uses, but the FAA does allow the use of "Orthotic Positioning Devices" that meet certain requirements. Additionally, parents have successfully petitioned for exemptions from certain Federal Aviation Regulations to allow the use of Child Restraint Systems that do not meet the requirements of current 14 Code of Federal Regulations section 121.311.

Information on FAA policy on OPD and the process by which to petition the FAA for an exemption can be found here:

http://www.faa.gov/safety/programs_initiatives/aircraft_aviation/cabin_safety/disabilities/

Or-you can PM me and I'll help you find the information.

Enjoy your trip!