need some help from the experts

[mtnprotracy]

Happy holidays to everyone....you all were so helpful when we traveled with our 8 year old autistic son on a Disney Cruise and to WDW...I thought I'd pick your collective brain again.

We are traveling with our immediate and extened family to Ochos Rios, Jamaica mid-December. Our flight (Charlotte-Miami-Montego Bay) leaves at 6:20 am ! Zeke, our autistic, non-verbal 8yo, doesn't chew and is VERY limited in what he will eat. Presently, he eats yogurt (LaCreme variety ONLY), banana pudding, blended soups and maccaroni. We have contacted the resort and they do NOT have LaCreme yogurt or banana pudding, so we will have to take our own. They have assured us they will provide a refrigerator. We had Zeke's developmental pediatrician write a letter explaining his needs to bring enough food with us on the flights in hopes that would satisfy security requirements. We have not flown with him since the new guidelines were put in place a little over a year ago. I did contact TSA and they could not assure me his yogurt would be allowed on the plane. Basically, they said it was up to the screener . We plan to check a cooler with enough yogurt for the vacation. My parents are also going to check a cooler in case one of them gets lost.

My questions are:

1. Have any of you had success getting through airport security with food for your special needs child or adult? Is a letter from a doctor enough to convince the screener to allow the food?

2. Do you think it would be wise to freeze the yogurt? We'll use ice packs, but I'm thinking it's probably pretty hot in the belly of a plane.

Many, many thanks...have a great holiday!

Tracy in NC

 

[ntsammy5]

You may want to look here:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1059.shtm

 

[barkley]

i don't know that a doctor's note will do much. dh's doctor wanted him to wear a halter monitor during a time when we were planning on traveling by air and assumed a note would work (to prevent any hassles at security) but the place where you go to get the monitor said not to chance it because the tsa people were not going to take the time to verify if a note was valid or not and would simply opt to go with whatever procedures they had in place (he ended up getting the monitor when we returned).

i think anything that's non perscription or not breast milk or formula is going to fall under the rules that govern food items on the tsa's website, which is pretty restrictive.

a couple of things that occur to me that you might check on-contact the airline you will be flying on and see if they have access to or would be willing to get the type of yogurt your son eats or some banana pudding (explain the med situation). if that's not possible maybe you could get the name and number for any of the food vendors or restaurants beyond the security check point at the airport you start at. you can bring on as much food as you like if it's purchased beyond the security point. you might be able to find one that would be willing to get you a supply that you could purchase before boarding (and one of the restaurants may be willing to do up just plain macaroni for you to put in a to-go box).

as for taking the yogurt in a cooler on the plain-would it maybe be easier to just mail it to the resort? you could call one of those ups or other mail service hubs and see if they can cold pack it for fast delivery (there must be a way since honey baked ham and other food companies that don't freeze foods send them by mail).