Please or to access all these features

SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

Flying long haul.... Any tips for a stress free journey

18 replies

dev9aug · 14/04/2012 15:06

We are flying next week and the flight is over 9 hours long with a connecting flight towards the end. Can you please share any successful tips with me to make the journey as stress free as possible for DS and us. DS is 2.8. He generally does not like to stay in one place for a long time so we have to make sure we can keep him busy during the take off and landing bits. So far we have...

  1. IPad with favourite videos and some games
  2. light pushchair for all the waiting around
  3. we will be taking our own food just in case he refuses on the flight.

Anything else we should be taking or thinking of..

OP posts:
coff33pot · 14/04/2012 15:29

Vids are a great idea! Using the headphones blocks out the business around them too so less distracting or stressfull.

Does he like putty or playdough? DS has a few pots of putty that you press and makes wierd noises Blush Grin

Also he has a bendy scooby doo. bit like the old Stretch Armstrong. You use a lot of upper muscle work pulling and tugging and that keeps him rooted for a bit longer. You can get a lot more bendy pully things on a smaller scale in the shops.

SallyBear · 14/04/2012 16:05

Play do. Very good idea, with cutters and rolling pin. Jigsaw puzzles in bags, crayons and a new colouring book (Thomas was good), pocket magna doodle, plastic animals to play and chew! I also took some new Lego duplo (zoo animals) which was a surprise. I just kept everything in a bag, and only let him have one thing at a time. I made sure that it was all new to him, so that it kept his interest. Hawkins bazaar have some great cheap toys. I also took stuff that didn't need refrigerating like pepperami, raisins, biscuits etc. I bought drinks on the air side but had a drinking cup for him to use. I also made sure that everyone knew that he had ASD so that we got on first, queued less etc. It made life so much easier. Did the same in the US too. Much more understanding about ASD than I thought they would be, even let me take drinks through. Smile

waitingforgodot · 14/04/2012 16:52

I would say take the pram on board with you if possible then you can strap child in at the other end. As Sallybear said, lots of little surprise new toys(pound shops are good too).
Sallybear-who did you fly with?

SallyBear · 14/04/2012 16:54

BA! They were ok actually. I made sure that they knew in advance about the ASD, and also notified them at the gate of his issues, so we got on board ahead of everyone as it's always such a ridiculous bun fight.

waitingforgodot · 14/04/2012 18:01

that is music to my ears Sallybear. DS cannot do queues of any sort. Hmmm, off to look and see where BA fly to

dev9aug · 14/04/2012 18:27

Coff DS does not like play dough or putty so thats out, but will check out the bendy scooby doo thingy.Grin

waitingforgodot I am trying to find out a stroller which fits in the overhead compartment as I definitely do not want to carry him throughout the whole immigration/security/baggage etc at the other end. He is a runner as well so having a stroller at the other end would be very handy.

Sally I like the idea of a bag full of toys. His favourite toys are drums/keyboards etc.. I have a feeling the other passengers might frown upon that..Grin Did they let you take the stroller/buggy on board?

OP posts:
SallyBear · 14/04/2012 18:39

As far i can remember - Strollers can be taken to the plane door if they are for passengers that require assistance. They are then waiting for you at the other end. We didn't bother as DS4 is too big now for our buggies. HTH Grin

waitingforgodot · 14/04/2012 18:47

dev9aug how old is your ds? We used a Quinny Zapp which folds away to nothing and we took it on as hand luggage. This was with Virgin and KLM. My DS is a runner too so it was necessary!
Books are always good especially books on favourite telly characters especially if they are new, never been read books!

dev9aug · 14/04/2012 18:59

DS is 2.8.. We have a quinny zapp. we bought it about a year and a half ago for the same journey with a bag. We had to hand it in at the passenger gate on the way down. Unfortunately it did not survive the journey. we got it back with a broken wheel and I had to carry a broken buggy for the rest of the journey. I have just bought this..Stroller hoping that they will let me take that as hand luggage. I am going to check with the airline on Monday to see if they will let me carry that otherwise I will just have to repair the ZAPP and take that as hand luggage.

OP posts:
waitingforgodot · 14/04/2012 19:09

I think if you explain it is essential for your DS. I have been on a few flights where they took buggy off me as I entered the plane and put it in the hold but then had it waiting for me as I walked off the plane. Sorry to hear about your Zapp.

zzzzz · 14/04/2012 23:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

waitingforgodot · 15/04/2012 13:14

thats great advice zzzzz

I forgot about the hat-DS had a straw trilby hat last time which helps block out the awful strip lights.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 15/04/2012 20:26

Where are you flying to?.

You can certainly take foodstuffs on the aircraft. Do not rely on the airline to fully provide re food.

Stroller will be taken from you at the gate and likely placed in the hold for you to collect in the jetway at the other end.

silverfrog · 16/04/2012 11:33

ok, the first thing to rememebr is that it will be tiring! but it is doable.

we have flown longhaul several times with our 2, and it works ok.

you have a younger ds too, don't you? will he be coming too? book bulkhead seats, and a skycot/toddler seat as a must. having somewhere safe to put the baby/toddler is a godsend.

ipad good. I ahve found sticker books to be good as well. I also found (ELC I htink) a HUngry Caterpillar soft fabric book, which came with fabric pens to colour in the book - good thing about this is that once you get to holiday destination, it is washable, so you can rinse/repeat all holiday! if sticker books no good, then the magnetic sets can be good, or fuzzy felt.

pushchair: is this 'just' for the airport, or will you need it at destination too? if jsut the airport waiting, is a sling an option? much easier to keep with you and have immediately on arrival. a soft structured carrier (eg Ergo or similar design) saved our bacon more than once (and dd1 was not small - last time we used it - well, dh did! - dd1 was about 4, and weighed around 17kg. but easier to carry her on his back, strapped in, than to have to try to soldier on just picking her up and balancing on hip)

if you do need a pushchair, then it can be possible to get it on board - dh managed a couple fo times ot get out Phil and Teds stowed on board, but it doesn't always work. alternatively, you could notify the airline of disability, and ask for ssistance getting form the aircraft to the terminal/baggage hall. a wheelchair can be aranged, but it will likely be an adult sized on, with a lapbelt only. so depends on whether your ds would be ok sitting still-ish on a big seat with not much restraint!

food: taking your own is the best bet, I have found. we have to anyway, as dd1 is gf/cf, and the airlines cannot cater. security restrictions do state not liquid foods, as it counts as part of the liquid restrictions, but we have always managed. we have a letter from our gp saying we need to take food due to autism and dietary restrictions, and this, coupled with offering to taste etc, has meant we have pretty much taken whatever we want. fish pie in a thermos, curry/rice in a thermos, anythign really. obviously, if sandwiches/easy snacks are possible for you, this woudl be an easier route to take. we also had trouble with drinks, as dd1 cannot have apple/orange juice and can only drink from one type of sports bottle. so we had to bring our own, and in quantities greater than 100ml. again, the letter form the gp helped with this, although you do still get funny looks, and it takes extra time at security etc.

one thing that we neglected to do on our first flight with an aware dd1 was to practice the security screening, including handing over her comforter/whatever object she was carrying. that caused a bit of trouble...

dev9aug · 16/04/2012 22:20

Thanks zzzzz you don't have to be jealous.. It is a very short trip to see family. we are doing 2 long haul and 2 internal flights all in the space of 4 days Blush. we will be back on the 4th day. I shall be making a trip to poundland tomorrow.

Atilla, we are flying to India.

Thanks Silverfrog DS2 is not travelling with us, I am not sure I am anywhere near ready to attempt a trip anywhere with both of them yet especially as ds1 is ignoring ds2 as much as possible.Grin
Good point re favourite objects. DS1 has his special agent oso which goes everywhere with him so will handle it carefully. I am also taking a letter from GP to see if it will help with taking the stroller on flight. It is only for airport really, hopefully we will be able to get it back after landing at the other end.

Must admit, I hadn't even thought of the toddler seat.Blush will see if I can book it with the airline. Thanks.

OP posts:
zzzzz · 17/04/2012 00:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SallyBear · 17/04/2012 06:54

Dev have a fab time! I lived in India as a teenager in Calcutta. India has always fascinated me. Smile

dev9TheOnewhoisaBloke · 25/04/2012 13:34

Thanks everyone for your advice.. We had a good trip. DS was an absolute angel during the flights and loved the iPad, puzzles etc. It's funny we planned for the worst and the worst thing that happened during the trip was that my wife sprained her ankle..Smile

New posts on this thread. Refresh page