Good travel experience

[theDudesmummy]

A postive travel experience with DS, who is aged 4, non-verbal ASD and very very active and wilful!

I was dreading the airport part of the holiday, DS is no longer using a pushchair so you cannot tie him down (!), he can get away from your grasp, can run like the wind, he never tires, does not often follow instructions, is obsessed with playing with sliding doors, and has loud tantrums if made to wait at all for anything. Heathrow sounds like a recipe for disaster, no?

Actually, no! I will be writing to Heathrow about this but wanted to share it here. I alerted them in advance regarding special needs. They told me that when I had checked in I should come to their special assistance desk (run by an organisation called Omniserve) and they would try to help me.

In fact, I did not even have to do that. While I was busy checking in, a lovely security guard came over and introduced himself, he then waited until we were ready and personally escorted me, DS and the rest of the family through the priority lane at security. The rest of the family had to wait in a short queue with other people in the priority lane, me and DS were taken to the very front of the queue, and quickly processed through security with no waiting at any point.

DS did not even notice the process, and was perfectly happy, to the point that he was then able to go and sit in a Griaffe restaurant on the other side of security and eat a bowl of chps, which he would only be able to do if he was extremely calm and had been for some time! It was a good start to a lovely holiday (of course not everything went as smoothly as that the whole holiday long, there is no such thing as magic! but it was a really nice way to start!).

When we got back to Heathrow after the holiday there was a long snaking queue at passport control (my heart sank!), but as you entered the hall there was a special assistance desk just there. I told the lady that DS would not tolerate the queue. She did not falter or ask anything further, just took us straight to a special desk where we were processed through immediately.

All in all, it did make me think that current attitudes to disability (and "invisible" disabilites like ASD in particular) are not always as bad as they can sometimes appear. No-one questioned or queried why a perfectly normal looking little boy and family were just being allowed to bypass the usual worst part of travelling, and the attitude of the staff at both Heathrow and the foreign airport, and the airline, was uniformly helpful. It does restore your faith a little!

I found the airlines very good, we phoned in advanced and they arranged a harness (creiling type) for his seat, gave him extra leg room arranged seating for us and provided extra pillows and blankets. All of that and a dose of melatonin made the 9 hours flights almost stress free.

Yes we had a good experience with the airline too (Croatian Airlines). they let me and DS get on last, after everyone else on the plane had sat down, and after my daughters had set up his CARES harness and DVD player for him at his seat, they also let us off the plane first and were generally helpful. It was only a two-hour flight, so I used an antihistamine (Phenergan), which worked a treat.

I am interested to hear about the melatonin, as Phenergan only keeps him sleepy/calm for two hours so we are limited in how far we can fly at the moment. Do you use melatonin at other times or just for flights? How old is your DS, and how long does it work for? I would love to one day be able to take DS on a longer flight!

We are just back from Orlando (with 3 kids, including non-verbal 6yr old ds, asd) and I have to say I was incredibly impressed with the help we were given, both by the airline (Virgin) and by the airport staff (Gatwick). I was so, so stressed re the whole airport side of things, but we were treated like VIPs from start to finish, and had a seamless trip to the plane!

It was a very positive and uplifting experience, and I was very grateful that we were accommodated in such a way. It really made a world of difference.

Now if only they could make the flight there a tad shorter

googlyeyes - We are flying virgin on Saturday. Did you just call them on the numbers here - www.heathrowairport.com/help/contact-us/airline-contacts and let them know? I realise I havent left too much time (less than 48hrs)

We haven't used airport assistance yet but have brought DD (Aspergers/ADHD) to America twice (both involving 2 leg flights both ways) without major problems. Talking lots beforehand, going through the airport "autism preparation pack" from website, and telling her exactly what to expect there and what we expected of her helped a lot.

She got to carry her booster seat (Trunki backpack) which she packed herself with her favourite toys for hols. I had plenty of distractions (including portable dvd player 1st time, iPad this time). And on the way home, for a night flight, we got her a slice of pizza (on the list of tolerated foods - mentally rather than physically) before boarding so even though there was a long delay (and we still hear LOTS about that!), she had enough to eat for her dinner and settled down to sleep before the dinner carts came around (as did DH but he hadn't had anything so was starving when he woke after breakfast had been served).

We used dozol the 1st trip (pre-dx) and melatonin the 2nd (now prescribed). I had rescue remedy (drops and gummy stars versions) and plenty of snacks and water in my bag.

The 1st trip, we got her to change into pj's at the stopover in JFK (again a night flight) so she was prepared for sleep. We didn't have to do that this time, but she was dressed in a very comfy tracksuit and almost excited about sleeping on the plane again.

(I hadn't asked for assistance from the airline as US Airways does not seem to offer any and as we'd been through Dublin airport before, we reckoned we could handle that - but we had the numbers to get help if we needed it and letters from DD's consultant for Disney anyway so would have waved those under the nose of anyone who could have helped).

I'm sorry I don't have time to paste the link now but they have a dedicated special assistance department...if you google 'virgin special assistance' you should get the phone number.

But it may be too late for them to help as they only deal with the actual flight (ie they requested bulkhead seats for us and a special meal).

When at the airport, just approach a Virgin member of staff and they should be able to help with bypassing queues etc. If you are checking in/ bag dropping then there is a special assistance check in desk.

Yes I just called them. They said we can use the priority check in.

But I agree, we are too late for the special seats. I am taking food with me

I emailed Special Assistance when we booked the holiday saying "Due to my son having Autism would it be possible for the airport to provide special assistance as he finds queuing frustrating and distressing. This could lead to inappropiate behaviour such as shouting, screaming, kicking, pushing, punching etc. I believe it would be in his best interests and the interests of other people if he was given special assistance at the airport, queue jumping at check-in, security and passport control and priority boarding." I printed out the email and took it straight to the security desk on the day and like you say had a brilliant experience.

Yes that was along the lines of what I said too, to the airline and the airports. Really that if DS had to wait anywhere the experience for all the other passengers around was going to become rather difficult and unpleasant. It really did work!

PS another tip with regard to actually being on the plane, a CARES seat harness has proved to be invaluable in our case (DS can just undo and get out of the normal plane seatbelt and sees not earthly reason why he should not!)

I once took one of the bigwigs at Liverpool Street St to task with regard to ds2. We used to go to London for regular assesments and had to travel home on a commuter train. I used to ask for non airline seats (ds2 would kick the seats and bang the table)but was always given them. One evening I asked if we could be allowed to get on the train before everyone else as ds2 didn't like crowds. A lady rang up and asked and was told no. I was not happy and pointed out that they had paid over £100 for a taxi to get us from Shenfield to Diss when trains were playing up earlier in the month. I asked the lady to ring her colleague and ask him to come and meet ds2. He did!!! He got us onto the platform before the train even came in!!! We stood to the side and let everyone get off and then we got on and got a table seat! If you ask then sometimes you get! Am glad you had a good experience OP!!

I think a lot can be learnt from airlines, the way they deal with disabled travellers has improved hugely & I have found airlines & airports (even the budget airlines :) ) to be brilliant.

& glad you had a good holiday!

I can't quite believe I am reporting this - we found Ryan Air were good too. Stansted airport got us through priority special assistance too.

oh my - this gives me hope. Maybe we will brave a short haul holiday abroad this summer....

also, we always try to book the seats with the wall/partition bit in front so it doesn't really matter how wriggly he gets he isn't banging the back of the seats in front.
Also you get the trolley service first & are able to get off first (unless we have to wait fro sky lift ut that's another story)

Virgin were good with me when I traveled as a UM (unaccompanied minor) between Florida and UK. Emirates, Etihad are very good. They made cappuccinos for me, and block off seats next to me.

On the last flight there was a family with a son who hasSN and required special meals. The chef came out to see them. Staff made a card for them too!