Traveling with Autism 2

I found an article when I was on CNN.com that discussed traveling with children who are on the spectrum. They began discussing the difficulties of traveling with typical children. Children in general don't like long lines, hate to sit still, they can cry, and spill things. Unfortunately, people around children are often not sympathetic toward these behaviors as common as they are. Knowing this, it can be even more difficult on parents whose children are on the spectrum. Take these behaviors and maximize them for children on the spectrum. They are affected socially and do not understand that this is not socially acceptable and they are attracting the attention of others. I hope that parents of these children have the patience to handle these situations. I always try to be sympathetic and show my understanding towards parents when dealing with a difficult child because I know it's not always their fault. I had written earlier about how important preparation is when it comes to traveling with a child on the spectrum. CNN brings up that no matter how much preparation you do, the slightest thing can set off a child and there's nothing you can do about it. This goes for children in general. There was a mother who asked to get off of an American Eagle flight because her 2 year-old son who is on the spectrum was having a melt-down. Apparently, this situation "caused an uproar in the blogosphere." They referenced the recommendations that Delta has implemented and that I have discussed in a previous posting. I am glad that CNN wrote about this and that more people are doing research about autism. The more we find out and the more we inform people about it, the more sympathetic and understanding people can be.

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-08-04/travel/autism.traveling_1_autistic-kids-autistic-child-parent?_s=PM:TRAVEL