Autistic Kids Simulate Boston Airport boarding process

More than 500 children on the autism spectrum and their families were given special treatment early this month at Logan International Airport in an event designed to help autistic individuals ease the stress of flying. As a part of the event, dubbed Wings for Autism, families were able to practice checking-in, going through security, waiting at the gate, and boarding.

The Wings for Autism® program is overseen nationally by The Arc of USA, a national organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Logan Airport program was developed in Boston by the Charles River Center (a chapter of The Arc) located in the Boston suburb of Needham.  Its purpose is to “empower and support people with developmental disabilities by offering a comprehensive array of high quality, individualized social, living, and work experiences that promote meaningful community inclusion”.

In developing the program—it is now in its 8th year—the idea was to find a way in which to help autistic children cope with the traumatic experience of being in a busy airport, checking through the gate and settling into a seat and snapping close a seat belt, etc. Each of these actions, as many parents of autistic children will tell you, can be the trigger for a meltdown. By going through all of the steps of the process, without actually taking off and flying, the affected children help to reduce the chances of doing so.

Originally developed by Jennifer Ryan, who was, at the time, the director of autism services at Charles River Center, the Boston area Wings for Autism program takes places twice a year at Logan International. Ryan no longer works there but still has some involvement in the program. Ellen Kilicarslan, who joined the organization in 2010 and is now vice president of Family and Individual Support Services for the Charles River Center, now heads the program, and has overseen its growth to the point at which it now attracts more than 500.

Currently, there are some 30 airports across the U.S. that have a Wings for Autism program. To find out where they are, or how to launch a program in your city, contact Kerry Mauger, manager, special projects at The Arc USA.

You can reach her by e-mail at mauger@thearc.org, or by calling her at 202.534.3730.  Check out the video here.To learn more about the Charles River Center Team, click here.