Tips for taking Autistic child on plane??

[Carrieberry]

Hi there! We will be going to WDW from AZ in January with our son who is autistic and deaf. We will be trying to get a non-stop flight and even if we can't, that is not a huge issue since it might do my son better to have a break between flights. Anyway, my main concern is how to keep him in his seat! He is usually in a 5 point harness booster (he is almost 5) and I am pretty sure they won't allow that on the plane. He is old enough to sit in the regular seat, but I am afraid it will be an endless trip of him trying to wiggle out of the seat and run around!! What are you best tips on how to handle this and other situations? The flight time will be about 6.5 hours. He does to very well, even enjoys riding in the car, i just don't know how he is going to be on the plane! Thanks!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Two items concerning the flight.

1. I think you are looking at 4.5 hours, not 6.5; consider time zones. Noon MST is 2:00pm EST.

2. Check to see of the seat you use indicates anywhere on it that it is FAA approved. If it is, the airline should allowyou to use it on the plane (and it does NOT count against your carry-on limits). Even if it is not FAA approved, check with the airline "special services" office as to if it might be allowed. In any event, get the name of the person you talk to, their specific office, and the date and time of the call. Also, if the reservation has been made ask them to put it in the reservation notes.

 

[Earstou]

Don't personally have any tips, just wanted to comment. We feared our first plane trip with our son when he was 4. I knew he was ADHD, but his Aspergers didn't get diagnosed for another
5 years. His doctor kept telling me he was just an active child. At this time he wasn't on any medication. We too worried about him staying in his seat, staying quiet, how would we handle him the entire flight?
Much to our surprise, he loved flying so much, he kept still and quiet. I had trouble getting him to exit the plane when we had our layover! Only by convincing him we would get on another plane soon, and the current plane wouldn't take us to our destination, could I get him off the plane! During the layover, he stood at the window and watched the planes without leaving the window for over an hour. Normally everyone would know HE was in the vicinity, from all the commotion and noise!
There is another thread about traveling and about WDW that might be helpful to you at:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=389263

 

[Tiiiigergirl]

1. Don't do it.
2. Duct tape.

Ok sorry, I'm just having one of those days. It took us an hour and a half to DRIVE home from a park last night that was 20 minutes away. Things went from bad to worse to horrid.

You are lucky that you don't have problems generally with transportation issues. One of the worst activities in the world for our son is traveling anywhere by car. He does OK in planes. Not great but OK.

Make sure that someone has access to an aisle seat. And if he is a runner, it can't be him. I always pack a grab bag of goodies. Some are old friends and some are new surprises carefully wrapped.

We storyboarded the journey step by step for him so there were no surprises. We even storyboarded possible delays and how we would all react to them.

If you think he would do better in a booster then I would find one that is FAA approved (if yours is not) and use it. Of course I would buy it now and slowly get him used to it.

I'm still too stressed to have too many more coherent thoughts but if I think of them, I'll post them. Good luck!

 

[Carrieberry]

What ype of boosters are FAA approved? Does anyone know? Thanks for the advice!

 

[Tiiiigergirl]

I think it says on the label. It might even be on the outside of the box. I would go to one of the super large never find your way out again baby stores and ask. Or maybe even better would be a small boutique and try to ask the owner.

Note to Tiiiigergirl. I meant to quote you and I hit "edit" by mistake, so that's why it says I edited your post. Sorry
Sue

 

[leise]

We flew from UK (9 hour flight) in Jan with our ds, 4, who has ASD, and our younger son who was 18 months and was sitting on my lap. We flew with Virgin. We were dreading the flight because on previous flights ds had spent the entire flight kicking the seat in front, or trying to get out of his seat, and I would have to resort to singing to stop total meltdown, and we just thought it would be a nightmare. But we called Virgin, who advertise priority checkin and boarding for families with autistic kids and they were great. Luckily they said should get a skycot for our younger son (even though he was too big to fit in it!)because then we could have bulkhead seats. Then they also seated us in a little area of the plane between upper class and the door, where it was really quiet, with only about 20 seats. We had a cupboard behind us, and the wall to Upper class in front of us, and we had three seats , loads of legroom , a skycot , in what was like our own little cabin. The boys loved it. DS could kick the wall all he liked and no-one cared, he could lie on the floor in front of our seats (as you do!) and he was in no-ones way. He loved having his own tv, and to top it all our younger son actually slept in the skycot so i had my hands free. It was actually not too bad at all. On the way back we had the same seats but we had a bit of turbulence and he got woken up and was upset at having to keep his seatbelt on, but because we were so secluded he didn't wake up the whole plane (i hope) and soon calmed down with a cuddle. Needless to say we are going with Virgin again, although next time we won't get those seat as our youngest is too old for a skycot now, but hopefully they will still be able to seat us in that area of the plane.

 

[s&k'smom]

Hi, and first you will all have the most wonderful trip. Our son hated the plane but what we did was have his blankie and gave him a binky that he could have only on the plane. He liked the window seat for some strange reason so that may help. We also packed a bag just for him and he picked out what he wanted in it. Check and see if you plane will have one of those tv monitors so that he can watch something. I've heard other parents use headphones with music etc.

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't know if this is still in print, but there was a Mr. Rogers book about flying on a plane that was very nice with pictures of every area of the plane. Some of the stuff would be out of date(like they don't prepare food any more on most flights), but they had pictures of things like the bathroom on the plane that still look pretty much the same. The book gave a real thorough overview of what everything would be like.

 

[Nik's Mom]

We just returned with from Florida. DS is a high functioning autistic. He did well in the plane. We prepped him ahead of time by showing him pictures of airplanes. We even bought a JJ the jetplane video and stuffed toy. Make sure you pack some snacks and anything that he can't leave home without. My DS had to have his rope collection.

 

[Amaris]

Can you possibly take a very late flight so he can sleep? We usually use a dvd movie... would he be able to follow a movie with lots of colorful pictures?

The Steward ( attendent, or whatever you call them) Yelled at me last week on our flight from NY when my daughter kept taking her seatbelt off. "Madam, it is your responsibility to keep her buckled in her seatbelt." Yes, that is true, but when she takes it off every five seconds, I can only rebuckle it each time. If I hold it down she will kick and scream, and I guess that is worse for people around her. UGH!

Hopefully the folks on your ride will be nicer. And what a GREAT destination!!!

 

[Carrieberry]

Thanks everyone! We are planning on taking a lete night flight so he can sleep, as well as a DVD player for hime ot watch Toy Story and Bugs Life (he loves the computer animated flicks!) I'm not too worried about the plane change since there is usually a McDonalds or a Burger King in every terminal and he loves anything from either of those places, so he might think the plane change is a treat. I will look at my two boosters and see if they are FAA approved (both high back 5 point harness. If not, then we will just deal and check the seat with the luggage. Thanks all for your great tips!

 

[signtalker]

Just wanted to wish you luck, my son has ASD and is deaf with ADHD and impaired sight(plus eating disorder). be prepared for the worst and plan!, but dont forget to enjoy yourself once you get there, it is hard work but it'll be worth it in the end.
Jules

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by Tiiiigergirl
I think it says on the label. It might even be on the outside of the box. I would go to one of the super large never find your way out again baby stores and ask. Or maybe even better would be a small boutique and try to ask the owner.

You are right. It should be on a label right on the carseat. You could also go to the website for that car seat and find out. I know people have contacted the company for a replacement sticker to put on the carseat if it's missing. The flight attendants will look for one before they let you bring it on.