Where do you stand on this?

[robinb]

S
She didn't "ask" nicely. She threatened that unless things were done her way, bad things were going to happen.

Did you read the article that Pea-n-Me posted on page 5? She did ask nicely three times and even offered to pay for the meal.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I've heard many stories of autistic individuals becoming scarily violent during a meltdown. A coworker has an autistic son the she had to call the police on several times before she finally placed him in a group home, where he is thriving. He would get so violent toward her that she feared for her life after he became a teenager.

Hearing stories like hers makes me side with pilot. He didn't know this girl, had no idea what her meltdowns are like. The mother threatened the entire airplane with her daughter's violence. The pilot had to take that seriously.

If he had continued on the flight, and the girl had begun acting violently and injured someone, we would all be up in arms that the pilot didn't take the threat seriously.

If the mother knew that her daughter wasn't really a threat, she should have kept her trap shut. Instead, she tried to bully the airline, and the airline won for now.

I'm sure she will get some sort of money from her lawsuit, as that's the sad state of things in this country. She is using her poor daughter as a sympathy card, almost like a muncheusen's by proxy type situation. She creates trouble for her special needs child and then goes big to get attention for all the problems she caused for her poor child. All the while, that poor girl, who probably hates being the center of attention, hates being made to look different or being set apart for her different abilities, is big thrown into the media.

That mom who is such an advocate should really get over herself

 

[Jennasis]

What if the only hot food on board was something the kid didn't like?? What if the meal wasn't enough to quell the brewing antsy-crankitude? The parent said the kid could start scratching...steps had to be taken at that point. You can't unsay things.

If the e-landing had been called because someone who was, say diabetic, demanded a meal or else their plummeting blood sugar would hit bottom and the pilot landed out of an abundance of caution even after the person had been given food would we be having this conversation?

 

[cabanafrau]

They could also have asked at the check in desk before actually boarding the plane. If they were told no there, they could have bought a hot meal to bring on board or scheduled another flight. To demand that the airline meet their demands or else, was a threat and an unreasonable expectation. The parents are solely responsible for meeting their daughter's needs and they failed in this case.

Absolutely agree. Wrangling over things like this instead of using common sense results in everyone paying more for air travel. It seems to me as if this family has very adequate means to make decisions despite their costs. It appears they have the attitude they will spend their money for their own purposes and comforts as they choose, which is their right, and seek to pass on the consequences of their choices to others, which is not their absolute right.

 

[asta]

Did you read the article that Pea-n-Me posted on page 5? She did ask nicely three times and even offered to pay for the meal.

She says she asked nicely but the flight attendants might not think it was phrased nicely. And to threaten bodily harm if your needs are not met would never be called "asking nicely".

The meals were provided to first class passengers, not coach where they had paid less to sit. It is not reasonable to expect the airline to handle special eating requests from the coach area whether they offered to pay or not. It would not be fair to only accommodate them and not the rest of the plane. It would quickly escalate to too many requests to handle.

 

[lauradis]

Really if you child is going to have that big of a melt down during travel, why oh why doesn't her mother knock her out?

Sure it's not pleasent getting a grown knocked out adult off the plan and you have to leave a day earlier then you have should, but really it's the best solution.

 

[cabanafrau]

Did you read the article that Pea-n-Me posted on page 5? She did ask nicely three times and even offered to pay for the meal.

She knew before boarding the plane her daughter hadn't eaten, would be hungry, the likely behaviors resulting from hunger and the fact they did not purchase tickets which included a piping hot meal. The solution was not asking nicely three times. If the title of Dr. is meant to infer she has in fact earned her doctorate she should be well equipped to riddle that out.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

not unpopular w/me at all, and i'll venture to say that the majority of the parents of asd kids I attend a parent group with would completely agree. the bulk of the parents I've encountered try their best to evaluate travel/outings on how it might impact their child as well as how it might negatively impact/impair others from their enjoyment/experience. something as simple as going to a movie can entail allot of thought and planning-I know one mom whose teen son wouldn't cause a disruption in a theatre BUT his thing is that he only feels safe if he stands next to an emergency exit for the entirety of the movie. mom knows this was manageable when kid was young (small-with mom sitting adjacent) but now that he's 6 foot tall it SCARES people what with movie house tragedies. so as much as the kid would like to attend every movie out there they largely just attend the once a month sensory friendly movie showings the theatre offers up. mom isn't willing to make other people fearful. heck-our asd teen group works hard to choose places for our kid's outings specifically b/c we know what our kids can/can not/ might not be able to handle and we don't want to put them/wherever we take them/other patrons to have a negative experience.

barkley, I agree with you 100%, just wanted to say, if she hasn't, you should mention to your friend that going to the movies after 7:00 on a Tuesday night during school, for movies that have been in theaters at least 3 or 4 weeks, is the least populated showing. Most of the time when I've gone it's either just me, or just me and maybe 2 other people, and if it were me, and a mom came and mentioned that her autistic son wanted to see the show but could only stand by the exit, just to let me know, I'd be fine with it. Hopefully she can take him to the movies again!

 

[NewRVLady]

Did you read the article that Pea-n-Me posted on page 5? She did ask nicely three times and even offered to pay for the meal.

Do you REALLY think that ANY person NOT in First Class has the right to ask this?? Really??
Even if they ask NICELY?

(as OTHERS have said-OFTEN the first class meal is not a HOT meal or its a SNACK

 

[eliza61]

I was involved in a discussion regarding this situation on Facebook and was being called ignorant because I said it is the mother's responsibility to take care of her child's needs. Honestly, there is no reasoning with people like that, so I stopped trying.

Unfortunately Jana, and I know I'll get flamed for this but it's because some where along the line we've adopted a "children are precious jewels that everyone must love at all times" mentality.

It's become standard that everyone must be understanding and patient with someone else's kids, no matter what.

Can you imagine being the passenger on that plane who may now miss their connection due to this and dare voice anger at this mom?

 

[robinb]

Do you REALLY think that ANY person NOT in First Class has the right to ask this?? Really??
Even if they ask NICELY?

(as OTHERS have said-OFTEN the first class meal is not a HOT meal or its a SNACK

Wow. You don't need to shout. Yes, I think that in this specific case it was a legitimate request. I think was her biggest mistake was putting her in the situation where the hot food from first class was necessary instead of making sure she had food in a thermos as suggested by others on this thread.

 

[eliza61]

This article (if accurate) lays out the turn of events. I'm surprised at the reaction of fire and police personnel at an airport; shouldn't they be more supportive of the pilot's decision? And who knows what it may have been that the pilot said to the emergency personnel that made them change their minds? Likely cited FAA rules or something, but anyone know specifically what it may have been?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-claims-daughter-autism-kicked-off-united-airlines/story?id=30926832

Woman Claims She and Daughter With Autism Were Kicked Off United Plane

May 11, 2015, 11:55 AM

An Oregon woman claims United Airlines kicked her family off a Portland-bound flight because of her teenage daughter who has autism.

Juliette Beegle, 15, was diagnosed with autism just before she turned three, her mother, Donna Beegle, told ABC News. While her daughter has a high IQ, Beegle said, she has a hard time communicating.

On Tuesday, Beegle said she, her husband, Juliette, and Juliette's brother boarded a layover flight in Houston on their way home to Portland.

The family ate dinner in Houston, Beegle said, but Juliette refused to eat. Beegle brought some snacks on board for her because "if her blood sugar lets go, she gets frustrated and antsy. We try to anticipate that and prevent that."

After boarding, Beegle said she asked the flight attendant if she had any hot meals.

"Juliette refuses room-temp food," Beegle said. "I had no real way to bring hot snacks in my bag."

The attendant told her they had a hot sandwich, but the sandwich arrived cold, Beegle said, and Juliette refused to eat it.

"I could see [Juliette] getting frustrated," Beegle said, adding that she asked the flight attendant to check on meals available for purchase in first class.

"I asked if I can purchase something hot for my daughter and [the first class flight attendant] said no" she said. "I called him back over and I said to him, 'Please, help us out here,'" but he again refused.

"He came back again and I said, 'I have a child with special needs, I need to get her something.' And he said, 'I can't do that,'" she explained. "I said, 'How about we wait for her to have a meltdown, she'll be crying and trying to scratch in frustration. I don't want her to get to that point.'"

The attendant then brought Juliette rice and jambalaya, Beegle said, and "she ate and she was fine."

About 25 minutes later, according to Beegle, an announcement over the loudspeaker said the plane was making an emergency landing because of a passenger with "a behavior issue."

Paramedics came on board and asked what was wrong when they found Juliette happily watching a video, Beegle said.

"The paramedic said this was an over-reactive flight attendant and started shaking his head, and said 'We have real work to do' and left," she said. "We were still baffled."

Police then came to their row, Beegle said.

"They see this little teenager sitting there watching a video and they asked if there was an issue, and I said, 'No.'"

When the officers started to leave, the captain stepped out of the cockpit and said something to them, Beegle said. They then asked her family to leave, she said.

"He said, 'The captain has asked us to ask you to step off the plane.'" Beegle said. "I said, 'She didn't do anything' ... But the captain said he's not comfortable flying on to Portland with [Juliette] on the plane."

"It just killed me for her to be treated that way," she said, adding that the passengers around her agreed that Juliette wasn't disrupting anyone. The police apologized, Beegle said.

"It was awful," she said. "It was completely uncalled for."

Another traveler, Jodi Smith, who was sitting three rows behind Juliette, said she heard the entire conversation with the first-class flight attendant.

"He was being totally ridiculous," Smith said.

"Then the medics came on, then the police ... They went right straight to Dr. Beegle. You could hear them saying their daughter was perceived as a threat," Smith told ABC News. "I stood up and said, 'Absolutely positively not.'

"This was just ridiculous... she was calm, she had done nothing," she said. "I've been on flights where kids have screamed for 4 hours and they've never diverted a flight.

"This was the epitome of discrimination," Smith said. "I have never in all my years of flying seen anything like this."

Beegle said Juliette has traveled often, saying her daughter has been to London, Paris and 22 states.

"We've never experienced anything like that," she said. "It was horrific."

Beegle said she filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration and United Airlines and received responses from both, agreeing to investigate. She said she is also planning to file a lawsuit against United.

Beegle said her goal is to encourage autism training for airline workers.

"If they had autism training when I explained to him when I needed something hot, we could have found a workable solution together," she said. "But his whole view was, 'I'm trained to give a first class meal.' He didn't understand at all. He was disrespectful, he was rude."

r."

Nothing in this article makes me have any sympathy for this mother.
Basically she expected everyone involved in the flight to bend over backwards for her special situation.
The pilot had no idea if once back in the air the situation would escalate again and personally the flight stewards SHOULD not have to be asked to break the rules. Maybe it was against company policy to feed first class meals to coach passengers? we don't know, so should he have jeopardized his job for the little princess?

LOL, sorry but of all the people I want to be comfortable on a plane it's definitely the captain.

 

[cabanafrau]

Unfortunately Jana, and I know I'll get flamed for this but it's because some where along the line we've adopted a "children are precious jewels that everyone must love at all times" mentality.

It's become standard that everyone must be understanding and patient with someone else's kids, no matter what.

Can you imagine being the passenger on that plane who may now miss their connection due to this and dare voice anger at this mom?

I won't flame you, I'll burn alongside you for agreeing.

I would be peeved if I were a passenger on that plane. As I said upthread, it is a remote possibility one of the fellow passengers could have been headed to a critically ill loved one for a last goodbye. These parents' choices disregarded everyone else.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Nothing in this article makes me have any sympathy for this mother.
Basically she expected everyone involved in the flight to bend over backwards for her special situation.
The pilot had no idea if once back in the air the situation would escalate again and personally the flight stewards SHOULD not have to be asked to break the rules. Maybe it was against company policy to feed first class meals to coach passengers? we don't know, so should he have jeopardized his job for the little princess?

LOL, sorry but of all the people I want to be comfortable on a plane it's definitely the captain.

I agree. I came across it as I was looking for another article on how long the situation had gone on, and thought it was a good synopsis of what had gone down. i just don't understand why the emergency response team second guessed the pilot. I think they should have realized that although she and her family were sitting quietly at that moment, obviously something had gone on that was serious enough to land the plane. Especially airport-based teams.

 

[NewRVLady]

Wow. You don't need to shout. Yes, I think that in this specific case it was a legitimate request. I think was her biggest mistake was putting her in the situation where the hot food from first class was necessary instead of making sure she had food in a thermos as suggested by others on this thread.

But then wouldn't this open up requests from all "in the back of the plane"?
Who is to decide whether this one or that one has a legitimate reason to request food from 1st class?
If you need hot food-Fly 1st class.....but as others pointed out it may not be a flight with a meal that is heated-just cold sandwich
This woman was adamant that her DD needed super hot food

 

[gwynne]

I agree. I came across it as I was looking for another article on how long the situation had gone on, and thought it was a good synopsis of what had gone down. i just don't understand why the emergency response team second guessed the pilot.

Well, maybe they didn't totally understand this situation was escalated with the FA's by Mom. Mom made the specific demand for a piping hot First class meal or else the teen may start scratching. It wasn't just the teen's behavior.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

But then wouldn't this open up requests from all "in the back of the plane"?
Who is to decide whether this one or that one has a legitimate reason to request food from 1st class?
If you need hot food-Fly 1st class.....but as others pointed out it may not be a flight with a meal that is heated-just cold sandwich
This woman was adamant that her DD needed super hot food

Jambalaya - all around! (Heated, with steam!)

 

[Jedana]

Did you read the article that Pea-n-Me posted on page 5? She did ask nicely three times and even offered to pay for the meal.

Maybe after the third time, the flight crew was just done with this woman. When did it become acceptable to keep asking until you get your way?

The mom and dad needed to handle their responsibility better. What's next, a mom who sues because her baby has a "blow out" and the airline doesn't stock extra clothes or diapers?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Also from the article re the airline statement:

"We rebooked the customers on a different carrier and the flight continued to Portland."

This seemed decent of the airline to do and not just leave them stranded at an airport somewhere, which they could have done.

 

[Wendy31]

This is almost exactly like the bathroom thread.

"If you don't let my kid use your private restroom, he's going to pee all over your floor."

"If you don't give my kid a steaming hot meal, she's going to scream & scratch people."

Perhaps, this teenager was calm after she ate & was calm when the paramedics boarded, but the pilot had NO WAY of knowing if she would continue to stay calm for the remainder of the flight.

At the point the mom made the threat, the pilot then had to protect the flight & the rest of the passengers. According to the mother's own words, her daughter is capable of injuring (scratching) other people if she doesn't get her way. The mother basically told the flight crew, "If my daughter doesn't get her way, I'm not capable of controlling her." The pilot then can do nothing but land the plane - he can't continue the flight w/ a possibly uncontrollable passenger on board.

I feel for the mom, but, as parents, we have to take responsibility & accountability for our children - we cannot assume that our children can be accommodated in every single situation, so, then, we have to be smart enough & "with it" enough to plan accordingly.

And, like others have said, why would you get on a flight in coach assuming that you could get a hot meal? If the flight attendants bring this girl a hot meal, what about the diabetic sitting 2 seats over that was in too much of a hurry to eat before the flight? Or the small child who just decided he wasn't going to eat earlier & now he's "Realllly huuungry, Mommy!" And, if that passenger can pay for a meal, why can't another mom pay for a meal for her little boy who's hungry?