Have you ever took your ASD child on a flight?

[Toni29]

We are thinking of booking a holiday next year but we are worried about taking our son on an aeroplane. Partly because of his asd as it will be noisy and busy etc, partly because he gets very waxy ears for some reason and I worry he might get ear pain when we are landing. Has anyone taken their autistic child on a flight and what preparations did you do? Was the flight a success for your child or never again? Thanks

It’s usually been a success for my DS but he’s used to flying from a very young age as we used to do short flights to visit my parents.

I have used “special assistance” once or twice to avoid queuing for security and boarding. We had to arrange it in advance and arrive very early and we got to board early, with a stewardess to walk us onto the plane. Special assistance was a bit overkill for my son’s needs – he was OK with just early boarding along with the little kids! - but worth thinking about.

My DS doesn’t have specific ear problems. I kept a supply of sweets going so he could suck on them which helps with the pressure (and it helps calm him too) He wears headphones and an ipod to amuse himself and cut out the background noise.

Some airports offer extra help for families of kids with autism and information to prepare the kids themselves so they know what to expect, like these from Manchester airport and Manchester even seems to have a fast-track/wristband system too. But each airport is different.

With package type holidays abroad it's the return journey that I find most difficult. Busy airports near holiday resorts in high season can be a bit nightmarish. Mallorca has a huge modern airport which is very spacious but some of the others were pretty overcrowded.

Good luck

Oh yes - one thing that helps my son is making sure we have allocated seats, either through early check-in online or paying upfront with package operators. The EasyJet-type queue up and scramble for seats is very very not us! Even if we get to board early, not knowing where to sit is still stressful for him.

Yes I took Ds to lapland, 3 hours each way and he was better behaved than the NT children!

We flew from Manchester and they have a social story type booklet for asd children that klein has linked to. You can ring and ask for one or download off the website - its free either way.

I booked pre boarding and reserved the same seats there and back so that he had his 'own' seat.
Pre boarding didn't really work as the airline staff forgot to call us

DS took a rucksack on board with ear defenders, ipod, portable dvd player, magazines and snacks and it seemed to keep him entertained. He enjoyed looking out of the window a lot of the time and watching the map on the tv on the plane!

I made sure that the holiday company (Thomson) knew he had asd by logging it with there care team. This meant that at the welcome meeting they set out a special chair at the side for DS so we could easily leave without disturbing everyone else. Worked a treat when he bolted after about 3 minutes

I thought flying would be a nightmare but it wasn't -apart from other people's kids-

Earplanes have helped my DD a lot. In your case I'd buy some , see if he can get used to them on the ground, and then use on the plane just in case.

You could also prepare by visiting the airport, to watch the planes just to prepare.

We booked a holiday ages ago for this October to the Canary Islands from Gatwick. I'm actually now dreading it.

Good luck op.

wirecat we've been through Tenerife and Lanzarote and they were both OK.

DD - 4, ASD, - been on several flights and likes flying. The busyness at airports doesnt seem to overwhelm her. I guess theres a sense of space in airports so then the busyness is just exciting. She also loves take offs and landings - she loves cars and buses too. She also has incredibly waxy ears - never seemed to get blocked - I give her water to drink to make sure she swallows.

Help at airports has been pants fairly often.

we have - we made a book about it before hand - showing home then taxi, airport, plane, baggage pick up etc so he knew what to expect
Then just has endless supply of snacks stickers and ipad to get through the flight
Having minimal hand luggage helped as well

Ds2 loves flying!
He needs a window seat and takes a portable DVD player with headphones so he can tune out cabin noise etc if he needs a break, but that's it. He's bloody brilliant.

First time we mime/practiced seat belts as he didn't want to be strapped in, even car seats were difficult.
Would he look at maybe footage on line of a plane journey? How do you generally prepare him for stuff ?

Ds coped very well with his first long haul flight last year. He absolutely loved the bustle of the airport and nearly imploded with excitement when he got onto the plane.

He did get bored after about 5 hours and then it was hairy for a while (he doesn't watch films, and without being able to access YouTube his beloved iPad would have been pointless) but I put him on my lap and sang to him and we got through it.

He then loved the holiday too...I reckon new places and experiences suit him best of all as there are no templates laid down in his mind so he doesn't get hung up on routines etc as at home. It's very freeing for him.

As an aside we thought the help given to us at gatwick was excellent. We were fast tracked to within an inch of our lives!!

DD1 has ASD and probable ADHD too, think the ADHD is a bigger problem when travelling as she finds it so hard to stay in a seat. Have had v mixed experiences - some great flights, some horrific - last year we flew to France and within ten minutes she was lying in the aisle holding on to the bit where the seats are bolted onto the chassis for dear life while a queue of people and trolleys built up behind her and the man across from me glared in disgust at us!

I have found help at Gatwick to be very mixed but would always flag her up on our booking as needing special assistance anyway in case of major problems - she is unpredictable and fast. They can get you through bag drop/check in but what they offer seems to vary on the day. Btw Easyjet is all allocated seating now and I have found their staff to be very nice and helpful when have explained about dd1.

I have done a 2hrs 45 mins flight with her which was a bit hairy but would not attempt a longer flight yet. I always bring loads to do: sticker books, dvd player, iPad with inlayer downloads and lots of games, stories, snacks etc.

We have taken DS on a number of fightd but I would not try more than about 2 hours right now. I use Phenergan given half an hour before boarding, a special seatbelt he cannot get out of (CAA and FAA approved), advance warning to both the airport and airline so no waiting in any queues and getting onto the plane last so no standing about. Also lots of reinforcer (cucumbers, DVD player etc etc)

Sorry about typos!

Ps have found all airlines very helpful, both budget and other ones. Also airports (special mention to Heathrow T1)!.

yes. My two are teens now. oldest with autism and youngest with autism and adhd.

They've just come back from Kenya as it happens. not direct either, was two flights.

We were really concerned particularly about the youngest and we spent a long time going over and over and over everything that would happen. We looked up videos on youtube, wrote social stories, did story boards, etc etc. We planned for him kicking off, for him shutting down, tried to think of every possibility. Took earmuffs, games, etc

Turned out he LOVED it! He thought it was amazing. He played games and watched movies on this little screen they have at the back of the seat in front of them.

They were both very frightened of the toilets at first, that was the biggest problem.

Worst bit was airline left the luggage. we hadn't considered this so hadn't done any prep on it. My youngest couldn't cope with that and he was terribly upset. but it arrived the next day and he was ok.

My husband chose specific seats that he felt would enable him to manage them. He basically pinned them in

I fly regularly with both my girls. One adhd one asperger traits. The as traits dd did kick off a couple of times on the last flight (12 hrs) but wuickly calmed amd she was pretty good. I take ear defenders and ipads

Oh yes the toilet is a massive issue....

we took dd - AS, on an 11 hr flight. tbh we very nearly cancelled as she was going through a very violent rage period and we were terrified of her kicking off on the plane.
However, she managed both flights really well. We contacted the airline (air New Zealand - can't recommend them enough, they were really fab) and they queue jumped us at both ends of flight, and we found a you tube video of the flight . We discussed the noisy toilets, and practiced lying down on the sofa trying to sleep in a small space, looked at the aircraft on line, planned what we would eat at the airport pre flight, everything we could think of.

dd also scared of toilets, but I went with her and flushed to loo after she'd gone!!!!

She wants to go back!!
Oh, another shout out for Heathrow terminal 1 too.
Phenergan sent her hyper, so do test out at home first if you're thinking of using this!!