120 Comments

People need to read the article. The mom is not bashing the airline, she understands why they couldn't stay on the flight. Also sounds like the flight attendants gave her time to try and calm her son down by letting her take him to the bathroom back and forth several times. Sometimes a person with autism simply has a meltdown episode and the typical deescalation strategies do not work. It does not mean that the mother isn't attentive to her son's needs or that she doesn't know how to handle him. Her son had traveled via plane before without a problem, so something about this particular experience just triggered an episode for him.

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185321
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Jean Ade people, regardless of disabilities, don't usually endanger staff or passengers. But it happens at times, and at times it can't be prevented due to the intentions of the person.

A person with no intent to harm anyone, but with a temporary inability to cope with a stressful situation, can be calmed often simply by being dealt with as an individual instead of being dealt with as an inconvenience to be ironed over quickly.

Steps can be taken along the way to along the way to keep a situation from happening rather than watching it escalate and then simply removing them and carrying on. It's not about spending money to accommodate "problems". It's learning how to best serve and assist a portion of society (and therefore the customer base) in a way that benefits everyone.

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185355
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Rachel Dvorkin Can you with 100% certainity say he wont act out on a plane against the crew, passengers, friends, or family travelling with him? You cannot, and that is the point. He has NOW demonstrated that this behavior is well within the realm of pontentially happening again. Its unpredictable behaviour, and the mother is on notice. She is responsible for both his behavior and safety. He is a risk to himself and other passengers on a plane. Logic and common sense dictates that as a parent flying is out of the question for the time being. That doesnt mean he cannot handle it in the future. Time and working with doctors will dictate if and when that can happen safely. I assume the mother is responsible and informed his medical team of what transpired

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185375
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Patti Robinson alcoholic beverages are served in moderation onboard and when a pax is intoxicated on the ground they aren’t allowed to fly. The crew members have 90 secs to evacuate an aircraft or till they no longer feel safe. How many precious seconds will it take to evacuate someone who’s sedated and can’t help themselves off the aircraft. Federal regulations are put in place by the blood and sweats of those who have died. The people who are consuming sleeping pills before flights are taking a risk with their lives. Furthermore, these pills are not being provided by the airline so the airlines will not be responsible for their lives.

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185393
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Health safety and welfare of the individual as well as others takes priority here.
No....sorry but police, first responders, and general medical staff are ill equipped to de escalate melt downs.
Now we're expecting airlines, bus staff, taxi drivers, uber drivers, train staff, movie theater ushers.......
Grow up.
I'm sorry but bringing a non verbal, volatile, emotionally unstable man on public transportation and expecting peace and harmony then going public with "the airlines should have alternatives" is ridiculous.
Yes...we have the responsibility and obligation for health care, education, work training and assistance, food, housing and specialized assistance to and from workplace.

But...... VACATIONS ??

No

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185332
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I hate flying, It makes me sick and I feel claustrophobic, and when it lands yep I'm the annoying one standing up early with my bags bc I gotta get off that flying tin can. I feel bad for a kid who has issues being forced to fly. Unfortunately reguadless of whatever your specific disability may be, a violent melt down on a plane is a safety issue and a liability. Also bc of hippa you cannot ask people about thier disability. Flight attendants can't just excuse a dangerous incident bc someone is claiming a disability & you can't pick & choose whose disability is worthy of excusing a melt down. Anyone could just have a freak out and claim panic attacks, severe mania etc if that was the case.

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185339
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He was violent. Disability or not, it is unsafe for a pilot to fly with a passenger who is violent. I feel for the child, and the family, but the airline did not ban him permanently. They said they would give a chance for him to calm down and take another flight. They allowed his loud behavior, and sitting in bathroom multiple times, in order to calm down the anxiety, but once he became violent and was head butting, the pilot had to make a call in the name of safety. A 15 y.o. is not a small child. They can injure themselves and other passengers. It is a sucky situation. There is barely enough room on a plane to comfortably sit; let alone an area to hold passengers who are causing a commotion. They cannot easily diffuse a physical fight on a plane. Imagine if he started hitting the flight attendants, and made his way into the cockpit..once he started head butting his mom, and other violent acts, they made the right call, as sad as the situation is. I have sympathy all around.

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185351
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Julie Thompson I find it interesting how each airline has its own set of rules. My mom is terrified of flying and she flew out to Germany twice to help me out. Her 1st round trip they let her take her anxiety medication, which makes her sleepy, with no problem. The 2nd time she came out they let her take her meds on the way to Germany, but not on the way home. Sometimes travel is inevitable, and disabilities should not be used as excuse to deny transportation. Companies should be able to do better to provide services across the board.

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185434
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Erin Mary Disney World is a nightmare of hot pavement and over stimulation even without Autism. It makes me physically ill to be there for over an hour.. trick is to get up super early (buy advance tickets for early morning or first ride... whatever they call it). Enjoy the ghost of a cool breeze and partial shade while you squeeze in two to three rides before 9:45 AM then get the hell out of there as the day gets blazing hot, the endless expanse of pavment heats up and becomes nauseating, and the screaming hordes show up! Spend the rest of the day reading in a lounge chair by your hotel pool if he can tolerate it.

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185436
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Lisa Ledezma Rogers What in the heck are you going on about? How in the world do you come up with that this mother thinks the world should revolve around her son? She isn't angry with the airline, she understood why they couldn't stay on the flight. She provided ideas, but acknowledges that there's only so much that can be done for air travel. If you have never had an episode with your autistic child where you weren't able to calm him down using the typical methods that work, you are either extremely lucky, or lying, or his presenting symptoms on the spectrum are not the same as the boy in this article.

Link: http://www.vin3.org/index.php?c=article&cod=256075&lang=EN#vin3Comment-1185330
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