How Autism-Certified Hotel and Airline Brands Made a Huge Difference for One Family

Fourteen-year-old Felicia Callafange, who has autism, is an extremely friendly and high-energy person. Her mother Flavia said she loves talking to people, which can sometimes come across as “aggressive,” and she has trouble sitting still during long plane rides. Callafange has learned that there isn’t much she can do to calm Felicia during a meltdown.

“For someone who doesn’t know what autism is and just looks at her, she’s a pretty girl with bad behavior, and I’m a bad mother,” Callafange said. “I heard these insults all the time.”

But a recent trip from their home in Chile to New York City provided a radically different experience, thanks to certifications provided by Alan Day’s Autism Double-Checked. After flying LATAM airlines and staying at Virgin Hotels of New York City, Flavia said the family will only travel with autism-friendly companies from now on. Read more.

Our Takeaway: Partnerships between travel companies and autism experts/advocates can make a dramatic difference to families with autistic children. Autism Double-Checked is providing an excellent model of what can be done through education and staff training. For example, Karisma Hotels & Resorts launched an Autism Concierge service that uses autism-trained “e-mail concierges” to deal with real time issues. The email concierge concept is an important (and affordable) innovation, as far as we’re concerned. The fact that it’s actually working can open new possibilities for hotels to become more accessible for families dealing with cognitive disabilities.