TSA Checkpoint and Autism

[Midnightred]

BTW, just had a talk with my husband. He said he will be on his very best behavior in the airport, and will do anything for the boys. I'm glad he is aware of this! Hopefully everything will go well. I mean, it's not like we are smuggling anything, we are just going to Disneyland for a family vacation for goodness sakes!

Midnightred

 

[blondietink]

If you do use the wheelchair as I suggested earlier, you will go through the wheelchair line which is even shorter than the family line. they will ask if your son can walk, and if so, you will push him up to the metal detector and he will wak throughon his own. TSA will take the wheelchair through, rub it with their special gloves to make sure there are no explosives in it. Then they will give him a pat down after he sits back down in the chair on the other side of the metal detector. My son does not mind this, and they are very gentle. I explain he wears a diaper.They let me stand right there and watch this process after I have gone through the screening.

We invested in an adult sized travel chair some years ago that we travel with for my son. they are pretty cheap ($150.00) online free shipping. We take it right up to the door of the aircraft with us, then the airline stows it underneath. It has been a lifesaver for us. We don't have to worry about my son running away as he loves to be pushed around in his chair. I think he views it as his safety net as he doesn't deal well with strange places, people, but if he is in his chair, he is very friendly and easy to get along with. I think it is the sensory feedback he gets from the movement of being pushed and he can concentrate on what is happening around him.

 

[AJKMOM]

BTW, just had a talk with my husband. He said he will be on his very best behavior in the airport, and will do anything for the boys. I'm glad he is aware of this! Hopefully everything will go well. I mean, it's not like we are smuggling anything, we are just going to Disneyland for a family vacation for goodness sakes!

Midnightred

Just want to say "Good luck" on your trip! The first time we took DS, with autism, now 24, it was not easy. That was before 9-11, so they weren't as watchful. When we travel as a family, I go thru first and explain about DS, then he goes thru, then the rest shove the carry-ons in the xray and they go thru. It didn't take DS that long to figure out that there was a great prize at the end, the Magic Kingdom. I hope your kiddos have fun and you end up with a full head of hair-oh and not in jail!

 

[wendyt_ca]

I'm taking my 10yr old brother to WDW in May flying out of Maine and he is autistic as well. It's not severe he can communicate and looking at him people prob wouldn't even notice but I have been concerned about TSA checkpoints as well.

 

[AJKMOM]

I'm taking my 10yr old brother to WDW in May flying out of Maine and he is autistic as well. It's not severe he can communicate and looking at him people prob wouldn't even notice but I have been concerned about TSA checkpoints as well.

Because of bad publicity (videos on Youtube) the TSA has become better at not making things worse for travelers. It seems like there aren't as many bad reports lately.

 

[Midnightred]

Thanks guys. I think your post is so interesting about the chair Blondietink, because my son feels that way about his wagon. He has always been O.K. in that wagon, whether we are at a 4th of July parade, or a crowded park for Cinco de Mayo. The wagon is huge, but we don't use it as much as we used too. It almost is like a crate. He probably would love the wheelchair. I think my husband will behave, if not we will say "see you later Daddy, we'll be in Disneyland"!

Midnightred

 

[disney david]

Thanks guys. I think your post is so interesting about the chair Blondietink, because my son feels that way about his wagon. He has always been O.K. in that wagon, whether we are at a 4th of July parade, or a crowded park for Cinco de Mayo. The wagon is huge, but we don't use it as much as we used too. It almost is like a crate. He probably would love the wheelchair. I think my husband will behave, if not we will say "see you later Daddy, we'll be in Disneyland"!

Midnightred

You could say who ever makes it through TSA gets a Mickey bar or dole whip.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you do use the wheelchair as I suggested earlier, you will go through the wheelchair line which is even shorter than the family line. they will ask if your son can walk, and if so, you will push him up to the metal detector and he will wak throughon his own. TSA will take the wheelchair through, rub it with their special gloves to make sure there are no explosives in it. Then they will give him a pat down after he sits back down in the chair on the other side of the metal detector. My son does not mind this, and they are very gentle. I explain he wears a diaper.They let me stand right there and watch this process after I have gone through the screening.

We invested in an adult sized travel chair some years ago that we travel with for my son. they are pretty cheap ($150.00) online free shipping. We take it right up to the door of the aircraft with us, then the airline stows it underneath. It has been a lifesaver for us. We don't have to worry about my son running away as he loves to be pushed around in his chair. I think he views it as his safety net as he doesn't deal well with strange places, people, but if he is in his chair, he is very friendly and easy to get along with. I think it is the sensory feedback he gets from the movement of being pushed and he can concentrate on what is happening around him.

Just a clarification - if someone can successfully walk thru the metal detector, they won't also do a pat down of the person.
That is usually just for people who can't walk thru unaided or make the detector go off.

You should also prepare him for the possibility of the detector going off either for him or someone else. If it goes off, it's loud and disturbing.
I have never looked on YouTube to see if there are any videos, but you may want to check so at least you know what it might sound like.

My DD can't stand, so she gets patted down every time we travel. She has no trouble with it, but she understands what to expect. She is not autistic, although she does have sensory issues to some extent, OCD and can get 'pinchy'.

Thanks guys. I think your post is so interesting about the chair Blondietink, because my son feels that way about his wagon. He has always been O.K. in that wagon, whether we are at a 4th of July parade, or a crowded park for Cinco de Mayo. The wagon is huge, but we don't use it as much as we used too. It almost is like a crate. He probably would love the wheelchair. I think my husband will behave, if not we will say "see you later Daddy, we'll be in Disneyland"!

Midnightred

A lot of people whose children have autism or sensory issues feel a stroller or wheelchair is the single most helpful thing they can do.

 

[blondietink]

Just a clarification - if someone can successfully walk thru the metal detector, they won't also do a pat down of the person.
That is usually just for people who can't walk thru unaided or make the detector go off.

A lot of people whose children have autism or sensory issues feel a stroller or wheelchair is the single most helpful thing they can do.

Well, our experience has been since we began flying in the year 2005, my DS always gets patted down after walking through the metal detector. Maybe it is is because he had scoliosis surgery and has a rod and pins in his back, but I'm not sure. They are titanium and not supposed to light up the metal detector. Anyway, he has gotten a pat down in every airport we have been to, but as I said before, they TSA agents have been very kind to him.

And yes, my other son who has Autism but does not have the medical issues as his brother, uses a travel chair also. A funny story to parents like us: one day while at AKL his travel chair's wheel broke off and there was no way to fix it. Maintenance even tried. So, we decided to rent a wheelchair for a series of days in the parks. He was about 16 yo at the time. He would hold my hand until we got through the ticket turnstiles in whichever park we went to and then he would literally run as fast as he could leaving us in the dust behind him. We tried and tried to keep up with him that first day without his travel chair but we lost sight of him quickly. Panic set in. Where is he??? Finally got to Spaceship Earth and looked around and where is DS? Sitting in a wheelchair at the rental place waiting for us! The CM was trying to communicate with him and he just kept saying mom and pointing my way. Every park we went to that trip he would just run to the wheelchair rentals when we got into a park and wait for us. After that first episode, at the different parks we gave him the multi-day wheelchair rental ticket to give to the CM and his chair would be all labeled by the time we got there. DS craves the safety of the moving chair so much and I believe it is because he can actually concentrate on what is going on around him instead of how he moves in space if he is walking. Besides his hearing protector headphones which we never leave home without, we always take his travel chair, too.

 

[SueM in MN]

Well, our experience has been since we began flying in the year 2005, my DS always gets patted down after walking through the metal detector. Maybe it is is because he had scoliosis surgery and has a rod and pins in his back, but I'm not sure. They are titanium and not supposed to light up the metal detector. Anyway, he has gotten a pat down in every airport we have been to, but as I said before, they TSA agents have been very kind to him.

And yes, my other son who has Autism but does not have the medical issues as his brother, uses a travel chair also. A funny story to parents like us: one day while at AKL his travel chair's wheel broke off and there was no way to fix it. Maintenance even tried. So, we decided to rent a wheelchair for a series of days in the parks. He was about 16 yo at the time. He would hold my hand until we got through the ticket turnstiles in whichever park we went to and then he would literally run as fast as he could leaving us in the dust behind him. We tried and tried to keep up with him that first day without his travel chair but we lost sight of him quickly. Panic set in. Where is he??? Finally got to Spaceship Earth and looked around and where is DS? Sitting in a wheelchair at the rental place waiting for us! The CM was trying to communicate with him and he just kept saying mom and pointing my way. Every park we went to that trip he would just run to the wheelchair rentals when we got into a park and wait for us. After that first episode, at the different parks we gave him the multi-day wheelchair rental ticket to give to the CM and his chair would be all labeled by the time we got there. DS craves the safety of the moving chair so much and I believe it is because he can actually concentrate on what is going on around him instead of how he moves in space if he is walking. Besides his hearing protector headphones which we never leave home without, we always take his travel chair, too.

Funny story about the chair.

I'm guessing that the titanium rods do have something to do with the additional pat down.

As I mentioned, my DD can't walk, so has no option to go thru herself.
We see a lot of people getting out of wheelchairs going thru before us and have only seen people also get patted down once or twice - they include a woman who made the buzzer go off and one who tried but couldn't walk thru without her cane.
So, I feel safe saying most people who get out of their wheelchairs and walk thru the detector successfully wil not also be patted down.

 

[Midnightred]

Blondietink,
I love, love the story about your DS and the wheelchair, so cute! I can see my youngest doing something like that. A cute thing my DS does is to bring me my purse and my coat when he is ready to leave!

Midnightred

 

[blondietink]

Blondietink,
I love, love the story about your DS and the wheelchair, so cute! I can see my youngest doing something like that. A cute thing my DS does is to bring me my purse and my coat when he is ready to leave!

Midnightred

Thanks! I have many more stories that will make you laugh. Maybe some day I will write a book.