Travelling by plane with DS- Should I put a sunflower lanyard on him?

[OneWayTicketAwayFromHere]

I will soon be travelling alone with DS to see family. The journey is 3.5 hours or so by plane plus any waiting around the airport.

DS (5yo) has speech and development delay and an ASD diagnosis. I know that he will probably become overwhelmed by everything going around him so I am trying to prepare as much as possible (noise cancelling headphones, tablet with videos, toys, lots of snacks - any more tips welcome!).

Because of the potential meltdowns I was wondering if putting a sunflower lanyard around his neck might help with people being more understanding of any meltdowns.

I already know that anything involving queues will be a challenge as he almost always tries to run first and while I don't expect anyone to let us pass I am hoping they will be more understanding when i am trying to hold him back and he starts having a fit about it.

I always feel in situations like this we get side glances and people thinking "what a spoiled child".

So yes, wondering of people's experiences with sunflower lanyards and if I should get one for DS.

Hi OP!

We recently flew with Jet2 with DD who is almost 4.

Call your airlines special assistance - here is my post with my experience. It was BRILLIANT.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_needs/5076953-jet2-best-airline-for-traveling-with-nd-child?reply=135423931

It can't do any harm, but I suspect much of the general public without any direct experience of ND children won't know the significance of a sunflower lanyard. I had no idea until I came to this thread.

Speak to special assistance at the airport and the airline. Think about other things that would help, e.g. boarding/disembarking first, priority security and passport control. Some airports have sensory or quiet rooms.

If people are going to judge, they are likely to do so whether DS wears a sunflower lanyard or not. I think the meaning of the lanyard has been watered down since covid.

Thank you for this.

We are flying with easyjet from Gatwick so I will contact them and see what they say.

It will be great if we don't have to wait in the queues as I know that will be one of the biggest challenges.

I think you are right about the lanyard. I might get one anyway.

I will contact the airline and see what they say about providing special assistance. Thank you.

Could you let me know about your experience with Easyjet . We will be travelling too in July I'd like to know if they are helpful. X

Just to say that staff look out for the lanyard, and can really be helpful.

My DD was withdrawn and burrowing her head into me to deal with the crowd just before boarding. A member of staff noticed, led us to a quieter spot, and then got someone to come to us to check our passports & Boarding passes. We were then taken outside to wait in the sunshine, and got on the plan before all the crowds.

It really made all the difference.

When we travelled with my entirely NT and totally not bothered by queuing 5 year old, we were allowed to skip the queues due to him being a young child. He did however get checked for drugs twice. You might be fine just on account of your DS being little.

The staff look for lanyards, but randomers giving you side-eye won't care.

We have found that members of the public usually assume that ear defenders = autism (especially if the wearer is also simultaneously solving a Rubik's cube, as our son often is.... :-p)

I know that they get a bad rep, but I have only ever flown easyJet with my kids and they have been absolutely amazing each and every time.

My dd2 has ASD (age 7), and she has flown 4 times all with the sunflower lanyard. When you get to the gates it can seem very busy, but mark that your child requires special assistance on the booking, it's really easy to do. Then when you get to the gate simply say to staff that your child has special assistance before you board and they will board you first. It makes everything a lot calmer.
When we flew to Edinburgh we even had a minibus waiting for us when we landed and it drove us from the plane straight to the baggage claim, avoiding all the busy terminal area and it was such a godsend!

I do pre book our seats because I'm scared we would get split, I know in reality they wouldn't but I love to know that we are all together on the plane where the kids want to sit.
My daughter has ear defenders as well and the cabin crew have told her how lovely they are (they are pink and have unicorns on) and made her smile.

The main stress factor for me was making sure I was prepared, and that the bags were ready for security and that I'd explained what would happen with liquids, electronics, jackets etc to my daughter. Security split us up to walk through the metal detector, and my daughter wouldn't do it; I had to drag her through. There is a really helpful guide on Birmingham Airports website for ASD of the process of going through the airport, there may well be for other airports too. I explained every single detail to my daughter so she wouldn't get overwhelmed by what was happening, even when they took her bag for a random drug swab lol

She took her iPad for the flights, but has never used it on board to watch. She has listened to music for a very short amount of time but spends most of the time looking out the window!

Hope this helps and hope you have a wonderful flight!

I want to book special assistance for my son on Easyjet but didn't know if it was worth it as apparently they take u off the plan after everyone leaves. Could you please tell in detail how they helped and how long was your flight? Also what did u do about food?

I am flying end of July so you might end up going before me!
I phoned them two days ago actually. They didn't say much apart from asking my booking reference, asked me to reprint any boarding passes (if i had already done so) and when I go to the airport to go to the special assistance desk.

Thank you for your message.

Did you find the pressure changes affecting your DD's ears? Did you have to do anything to try and mitigate any discomfort?
I have read about giving them sweets to suck on but I am worried he might actually choke on one and to be fair apart from the odd gummy bear he doesn't really eat hard sweets.

I told her that her ears would pop, she also doesn't eat sweets.
I told her to yawn just as we take off, and she did and she loved it! I said if her ears felt a bit funny it is perfectly normal and that when we are up by the clouds it will stop so to keep trying to yawn to relieve it xx

Do they charge extra for special assistance

Nope, you can add it on to the booking at the time of booking or immediately afterwards for no additional charge xx

I also downloaded the easyJet app, I forgot to mention.
You can update and use boarding passes on the app, I used them the last two flights we went on and both had special assistance, they were marked "SA" on my daughters pass.
I also bought and added an extra bag on our return flight as my daughter decided to buy a huge Smiggle wheel case to bring her snuggly toys home in hahaha

We recently had special assistance flying Easy Jet out of Luton. They were brilluant, as were the staff at Mahón airport. My DS wore his ear defenders, and we all wore the sunflower lanyards. We were whizzed through very quickly, boarded first and again when we landed. Can't recommend booking it enough. They even offered to drive my DS out to the plane in a private car! But we said the bus would be fine if he could get on first

Definitely wear the lanyard and definitely speak to special assistance at the airport in advance of your trip and discuss your needs. We use them all the time and they are amazing. The staff at Stansted only had to look at the lanyard and would whisk us through the fast track lanes.

Yeah use the lanyard. I'm not sure if random judge people understood what it meant but the airport staff did as it helped us avoid queues (which are one of her main triggers). She did great on the plane, I packed loads of snacks a fully charged tablet and a new book in her favourite series and she handled the flight like a pro.

My DD actually isn't particularly bothered by noise anymore but I got her to put her ear defenders on some of the time as people seemed to understand that was a sign of autism!