We flew on December 17th 2021, 3 weeks after the Omicron variant had started to spread. It had been two and a half years since my autistic son had been on an airplane and he was VERY excited- and we were very nervous!
Things we did to help our travels:
- We told him ahead of time that we were traveling so that he could prepare himself for the change in his routine.
2. We checked more bags and had less carry-on items. This meant less time scanning bags through security and more hands available to help my son.
3. We bought my son some noise-limiting headphones.
I really liked the ones shown above because you have the option of removing the wire. This way he could wear the headphones around the airport to help reduce the stimulation around him, but they could also be used to listen to music, watch his iPad, or the TV screen on the plane. Check out the link above to have a look at them. They were even ‘gamer-approved’ by my older son!
4. My son loves books, so we bought my son a new book at the airport to read on the plane.
5. We used disposable masks. This way, as they got wet or dirty, we could just replace them with another one. I think my son went through 5 or 6 masks.
6. He made sure we had his favorite snacks, as being tired AND hungry is not a great combination.
7. We also tend to use counting with him as a strategy to help him know what is coming next. So when he had to have his COVID test on arrival at the airport, we told him that he had to stay still for 10 seconds while the nurse swabbed his nose and throat.
We wore our ‘I love an autistic person’ pins and told people (where needed) that our son was autistic. For example, we informed the flight attendant so he was allowed to wear his headphones for longer, and also the nurse that performed his COVID test.
I have definitely found that flying has gotten easier with him as he has gotten older. And I would say that even though the change came with a disruption to his sleep, overall- for him and for us- the benefits of traveling far outweigh any stress it may cause.
The Pajama Gang 