TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Autism

Why a Dress Rehearsal for a Child with Autism Makes All the Difference Before Flying

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child hugging a flight attendant captain and mom are also in the photo

For the next few months, we’re offering a free download of the highest-rated presentations from TravelAbility Summit.

Read the summary, below or see the entire “Wings for Autism Dress Rehearsal” presented here.

Wings for Autism Dress Rehearsal Presentation in a Nutshell

  • The best way for people with autism to adapt to new and changing environments such as air travel is to give them a preview of what they will experience. Wings for Autism makes airplane travel safer and more comfortable for children on the spectrum by providing airport/air travel rehearsal programs at airports in North America.

Key Learnings

  • Rehearsals started in 2014. Since then…
    • 165+ events
    • 23000 individual rehearsed
    • 67 airports
    • 16 airlines
  • The Arc also holds disability training for aviation and TSA personnel.
  • Starts with classroom training and moves to real-life scenario training at a Wings event.

    For destinations interested in hosting their own Wings for Autism event, contact Kerry Mauger at mauger@thearc.org

In case you missed it: Last month featured TravelAbility presenting was an overview of Baby Boomer Travel Trends from AARP’s director of consumer insights, Patty David.

What’s LEGOLAND Florida’s Blue Hero Pass All About?

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Photo of young people gathering beneath the Legoland sign wearing blue t-shirts. Sign is made of legos, of course.

It’s about inclusion. After research showed that Legos are very popular with kids on the autism spectrum, Legoland Florida created a special Blue Hero Pass for visitors. This follows a trend—making disabilities a non-issue for Universal’s Seaworld and Disney World, among others, according to this story in the Orlando Sentinel. READ MORE

OUR TAKE: Like many other people, visitors on the spectrum and their families like head out with a solid plan. Sensory surprises—smells, tastes, noise levels— can throw off the day in unexpected ways. So can long lines that can bring on sensory overload. Why not make planning ahead as simple as possible? To help families enjoy the rides, a new Blue Hero pass helps move ‘hero’s up in line. In addition, at their autism center, LEGOLAND has sensory ratings for every attraction. 

Autism & Travel Index

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young girl in green tee shirt plays with a tablet device Are you or a colleague looking for information on one topic in particular? Our newsletter is now indexed, so you can find all of our stories in one place. Try it out! Use the link to autism-related products and services here.

62-Year-Old Autistic Man Creates His Dream Board Game Called Keys to the Capitals

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A Tulsa resident who was diagnosed with autism late in life said that as a kid he spent hours creating games in his mind. He kept them all a secret—for 24 years. But when he was diagnosed with autism, he pulled out his old ideas and began creating a board game that has players heading acroCove of the Keys to the Capitals game box with keys and a map of statesss the country finding the Keys to each state Capital in a prop plane. The game helps kids plan routes, learn geography and memorize the state capitals.

OUR TAKE: This Tulsa native’s experience shows how autism takes many forms and can be diagnosed at any age. Happily, his imagination led him across the U.S. on a travel adventure. READ MORE 

 

 

 

 

Mom Worried Her Son Would Bother His Seatmate on the Plane. But Instead…They Became Buddies

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If you saw the two seatmates cracking jokes and having fun on the direct flight from Las Vegas to PDX, you might have assumed that they were father and son. But this wasn’t the usual son-tells-father-to-stop-making-Dad-jokes banter. They were strangers: One, a 7-year-old autistic boy traveling on a short flight without his mom and the other, a passenger who happened to take the seat next to him. Because mom was a bundle of nerves, she decided to write a note of introduction for whoever might sit next to her son, shown here. The ride turned out to be a shining moment for both of them, each enjoying the trip and getting to know each other. The video has since gone viral. SEE MORE, here.   

OUR TAKE: If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. In the travel industry, which is all about new life experiences and connections, the story of the two seatmates couldn’t be a more appropriate example of that. Landon is definitely one of a kind! Find information on travel providers who specialize in working with people with autism, here.