Where do you stand on this?

[lauradis]

I'd have to know more about the girl's and mother's behavior before I can judge. Also, it's expensive for a plane to make an emergency landing. I'd like to know what the true concern was.

Article is kinda empty, was there a video attached that I missed??

Why in the world didn't the mom bring a meal with her, for her daughter?

Why didn't the mom call the airlines pre trip and explain what special accommodation that where needed for her daughter to fly?

 

[sunshinehighway]

GMA just had a header saying they'd be talking about this. It said the mother says the girl was kicked off a flight because she has autism. That seems really inaccurate. Just from reading what the mother has to say, it's clear she wasn't kicked off the flight for having autism.
I have little sympathy for this mother. She wasn't proactive in helping her daughter. You can't use your child's behavioral issues to threaten people and expect to get what you want.

 

[lauradis]

I asked my (high functioning autistic) teen daughter her opinion based on the available information. Her first reaction was to wonder why the family does not travel with quality thermoses so they could purchase a hot meal at the airport and bring it onboard for their daughter to eat later if needed, if they know this is an issue for their daughter. I had not thought of that, but it makes perfect sense as soon as she said it.

I have flown with my son a couple of times and we ask for pre boarding, back corner of the plane, airlines have been more then willing to help out. Then this smart mom slips him a knock out pill. Its the only why to get him to fly without pain or meltdowns. Getting him off the plane is whole another drama story.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I have flown with my son a couple of times and we ask for pre boarding, back corner of the plane, airlines have been more then willing to help out. Then this smart mom slips him a knock out pill. Its the only why to get him to fly without pain or meltdowns. Getting him off the plane is whole another drama story.

DD grew up travelling and we are lucky that she handles travel (with us and alone) with almost no issues. Lots of things are overwhelming to her, but being on a plane or in a train not among them. I have all the sympathy in the world for those whose kids do struggle with travel and are trying to find ways to cope. I just don'T see that it is the airline'S fault when things go awry though. Sounds like you have it figured out well (drama getting off, once safely on the ground is not fun, but not going to cause a diverted flight, etc either--well done Mom).

 

[gwynne]

hummm....the plot thickens...sounds like a publicity stunt now

http://www.combarriers.com/

Good catch. She doesn't appear to be any sort of a travel novice. She would have to be reasonably aware of what is provided in the various classes on an airline.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Good catch. She doesn't appear to be any sort of a travel novice. She would have to be reasonably aware of what is provided in the various classes on an airline.

I agree--good catch Happy Snowman

 

[Jennasis]

Removing the family was the correct move. I have flown with an Autistic individual before who had food issues and began to have a MAJOR meltdown over food. The result wasn't pretty, and the result was me physically holding the buckle of her seatbelt with my fist while she clawed at my hand, screaming and demanding to be let out of her seat. The ONLY reason we weren't diverted was because it was a charter flight. Had we been flying commercial we would surely have been kicked off the plane as soon as she began the notion of acting up and rightly so.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Apparently the flight attendant did give her a hot meal. Other articles say she was give a sandwhich but it wasn't hot enough so the girl wouldn't eat it. She was then given somthing else that was hot and ate it.
The issue seems to be that the women said her daughter would start yelling and scratching.

 

[gwynne]

Apparently the flight attendant did give her a hot meal. Other articles say she was give a sandwhich but it wasn't hot enough so the girl wouldn't eat it. She was then given somthing else that was hot and ate it.
The issue seems to be that the women said her daughter would start yelling and scratching.

The family was removed probably for a combination of demanding something (hot meal) they weren't entitled to, along with threats of what might happen if the demand wasn't met.

I don't think airlines can allow this kind of behavior.

The family was well aware of the very specific potential food issues. Booking first class would seem their best option to provide a safe, happy flight for their daughter.

 

[cabanafrau]

The lack of preparation on the family's part to accommodate the needs themselves makes them the loser in the lawsuit. Buying an airline ticket does not shift that burden magically to the airline, autism or no.

What happens in restaurants when they deliver food to this family at the table, well within food safety guidelines and quite adequately within acceptable serving temps for 99.99% of patrons? Love to see the airline's attorneys produce restaurant employee witnesses at trial, demonstrating that the food service industry was unable to meet this family's demands and wound up comping their meals. Bet they won't have to work to hard to find them.

 

[mnrose]

Good grief. It is well known to all but the idjits, apparently, that airlines offer little to no food choices in coach class. You need to bring your own, particularly if your child is "picky" for whatever reason. Why on earth that mother failed to bring appropriate snacks, when she bloody well knows that her child is prone to temper tantrums when hungry AND is a picky eater, well, it smells to high heaven of someone looking for a lawsuit.

ETA: I've flown in first class many times domestically. I've NEVER been served a meal with "steam rolling off of it." LOL. Often times, it isn't even a "hot" meal, but rather a sandwich, or something similar.

I think this child is unsuitable for flying these kind of distances....or buy a first class seat on a flight where they serve hot meals (not all do, BTW!).

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Hmmmm....If you have a child that will begin crying and scratching people because she does not have access to hot food with steam rolling off it on a flight, the child may not be suitable for flying.

Ditto, sounds like they should use ground transportation.

 

[eliza61]

Just from the article I say mom is the problem.
You are responsible for your childs needs and comforts. If you know your kid needs a hot meal, than you make arrangements for her needs.
Two. in today's environment, I find it the height of stupidity to threaten a commercial plane with any type of behavior. Making bomb jokes, threatening to have meltdowns, getting into an argument with cabin employees will only result in you getting kicked off.

 

[pioneer89]

I'm sure there is more to this story, but if what was written on CBS was true, the second the mother threatened other passengers the pilot had to get her off the plane.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I stand to the side and back aways, playing on my phone.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Great suggestion! I think it's a practical solution.
On the other hand, several of the articles quote the mom as saying:
“If it's warm she won't eat it, if it's cold she won't eat it, it has to have steam rolling off of it.”

Read more: http://www.kptv.com/story/29020437/...hem-kicked-off-plane-mid-flight#ixzz3ZpCBgBLd

JMO--I'm not sure this teen's specific needs can be reliably accommodated in the air.

Exactly. This family needs to figure out alternate travel plans in this case. Do all flights even HAVE hot food available on them?

Hmmmm....If you have a child that will begin crying and scratching people because she does not have access to hot food with steam rolling off it on a flight, the child may not be suitable for flying.

Yep.

 

[acebatonfan]

I'm a bit mixed on the situation.

I have a teenage sister on the autism spectrum, and I completely emphasize with the family. Anything can set off my sister, and it is difficult trying to prepare for every possible issue that might arise. If we are eating at a restaurant, she can become overstimulated and might need to leave even before food is brought out so that the entire restaurant doesn't have to listen to her melt down (these situations have been "interesting" the past few years because of my diabetes. I take insulin for my food, she decides that she's had enough, and I now need to decide whether to get my food but have her melt down in the process or leave and risk going into severe hypoglycemia before I have a chance to get home and eat something). Even when we drove down to Disney, we ended up getting a flat tire on the way, and she almost had a melt down during that time because of factors we could not control (a hygiene product was irritating her and she wanted it changed IMMEDIATELY). We try to prepare for issues that might happen, but we never know what might set her off. Something as simple as the tag of her shirt irritating her could transform her from her jubilant self into Godzilla.

On the other hand, I feel like the mother could have discussed her child's needs more appropriately without making it seem threatening. Saying something along the lines of "My daughter is on the autism spectrum, she's starting to act up, and I'm concerned that she might become disruptive to the other passengers if she doesn't have anything to eat; due to her sensory issues, she will only eat foods hot. I understand you might not have any hot foods available, but it would be appreciated if you could help us in any way. I'm willing to pay for a first class meal if possible" is more appropriate than saying "How about we wait for her to have a meltdown and then she is crying and tries to scratch -- and then you'll want to help her". I completely understand that she was most likely stressed out about what was happening and might not have been able to appropriately express her concerns, but the way she said what she said almost sounded threatening.

I'm trying to think of what could have been done to prevent this situation, and it's been difficult. There have been times where my sister also would not want to eat at a time that we're eating. It might have been possible for them to take a to-go box of the food and ask if they could heat it up on the plane, but I'm not 100% certain that would be possible on most planes. I don't know why they decided to continue to make the emergency landing once she was calmed down. It doesn't seem like she was continuing to be a threat to the safety of the rest of the passengers and crew.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

from cited article.

Geez, sounds like a threat.

I agree. The mother knows her daughter has trouble when she is hungry or thirsty so why did the mother not make sure her daughter was not hungry or thirsty? You do this by making sure she eats and drinks before the flight, bringing your own food and drink on the plane or perhaps contacting the airline in advance and letting them know what your needs are and asking them to help accommodate. It's just not that hard. You don't go on unperpared then threaten them if they don't bend the rules for you. @@

 

[Dawnlight]

Her mother says Juliette is a picky eater, so she asked a flight attendant if she could purchase a hot meal from first class -- and says she was told no.

"Well, I said, 'How about we wait for her to have a meltdown and then she is crying and tries to scratch -- and then you'll want to help her,'" Beegle said she told the flight attendant.

I think this is more of the problem than the daughter being autistic. I feel like the blame is solely on the parents, not the daughter -who is obviously not able to handle situations like this- or the airline.

The above is oddly reminiscent of a post on the bathroom thread. I don't necessarily feel like it's threatening, just stating facts, but not the sort of way to behave on airlines these days.

There was a family several months ago that also took issue with an airline. They were flying with a young daughter with CP, IIRC, and did not have her fastened in a child seat, instead wanting her to be a lap child even though she was above the age limit. They made a huge stink over it as well, got their 15 minutes of internet fame, but were also to blame for the situation they put themselves in- not the airline.

I can't imagine the difficulties that come along with parenting a special needs child, but that does not give a free pass to act like the world owes you and your children everything.

 

[Dawnlight]

So it seems they were on their way back from Disney World, according to one article I read. I wonder if the mom is on the DIS?