OT-Airplane Travel

[Guest guest]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep a 4 yr old (PDD) entertained for a

3 hr. plane flight??? We took him last year and he was just getting over

bronchitis-screamed for an hour and a half (ear pain?) I'm terrified to try

to take him on a plane again since sitting for a while is an issue. Any

thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

Kathy

[Guest guest]

One trick that always works for me is to have lots of little surprises

wrapped in wrapping paper. Hand one out every hour, half-hour or 15 minutes

at first if needed. The can be tiny candies, crayons pad of paper, etc. all

the things your child might enjoy playing with on the trip anyway. If your

child kows there is more coming, the worst it may get is answering how many

minutes till the next 'gift' is handed out'. A new toothbrush for the trip,

special toothpaste, pez dispensers even old toys that have been put out of

reach for a while.

Hope this helps.

[Guest guest]

Good point on the seats. When we flew our mildly autistic-pdd-nos son was 4

and I had no idea what his response would be. HE was fine, but my then 9 yr

old aspersers son was afraid. The wrapped treats were great to keep him from

a fink. But gum and gumm's etc helped for take-offs and landingd. I called

the airline ahead of time too and told them about our special needs kids

(even tho they were easier than some non-needs kids on the flight). The had

me be on the board early status and aside from a man in a wheelchair, we were

first one on with our choice seats. Every airline has different policies,

and with all the waiting in lines for security etc., having asked ahead of

time about any 'special conveniences' they can provide , can only make the

entire trip easier. My kids also carried their own backpacks (even the 4 yr

old) with all their play things, a couple books and a days worth of clothes

in case of lost luggage. Medicines and vitamins with instructions also in th

epack too, in case you should ever become separated. This sounds scary, but

it is just a practical precaution.

Sorry, this is probably more than you even wanted to know. Our trip went so

smoothly and I believe it was by pre-planning and anticipating the worst. (I

guess I am too pessimistic! LOL)

Have a great trip.

[Guest guest]

> One trick that always works for me is to have lots of little

surprises

> wrapped in wrapping paper.

What a great idea! Also remember the ear plugs if they are noise

sensitive. Janelle

[Guest guest]

First off, try to get bulkhead seats, explain your situation to the

check in clerks, they may take pity. When we fly we take two carry

ons, one filled with toys and one filled with food.Wrapped treats are

a great idea, someone once told me it was worth the cost of a laptop

computer(thats a little extreme, but if you can afford it why not) My

non autistic kids loved walkmans with storybook tapes. A figdet bag

is good with lots of sensory stuff like koosh balls, silly putty,etc.

I saw a new thing at the store today, they were ear plugs especially

for children on airplanes that are supposed to stop the pressure

buildup. Gum or gummie bears are also helpful for the ears. Worst

case is giving him something to help him sleep, gravol puts my son

right out. Well I'm done. Have a wonderful trip.

> Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep a 4 yr old (PDD)

entertained for a

> 3 hr. plane flight??? We took him last year and he was just

getting over

> bronchitis-screamed for an hour and a half (ear pain?) I'm

terrified to try

> to take him on a plane again since sitting for a while is an

issue. Any

> thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

> Thanks

>

> Kathy

[Guest guest]

in August, we flew from BWI (Md) to LAX (Calif)

to see Dr Goldberg. We were dreading the 6-8 hr flight.

Even tho the airlines promised to give us 'special seats' if

we arrived early (which we did - 3 hrs early) they

didn't when we checked in even tho I explained that

we needed some extra leg room for a very active

child (this was American West - if anyone has a recommendation

for another airline, pls email me sjsmith@...)

What saved the trip was the Dell laptop we purchased for our son.

We found it at a pawn shop and it was worth the $300 we paid.

It had enough memory to play all of his CDs .

We bought an addlt battery pack (battery lasts 2-3 hrs)

We used the laptop on the flight, while waiting in the terminal,

while waiting to have his neurospect done as UCLA

and during the neurospect. As long as he could move his fingers, he

was a happy camper during the 20 min scan.

We also took along a lunchbox (big enough to hold 2-3 six packs)

full of munchies and drinks. It was collapsable so we were able to

squish it thru the xray machine at the airport.

AND in my bag I had a CD player, a tape player, headphones,

a dry erase board and books....

Thank goodness for Veggie booty ...

doris

land

http://steve_doris.tripod.com

http://nids.net

http://www.neuroimmunedr.com

[Guest guest]

we used southwest airline from NY to FL. We were able to get non-stop and

it was the most obvious of physical disablilties first then, the 'special

seating' was first come first serve to those of us with kids. We were 2nd in

line and didn't get the front 'extra room' seats, but the lady there with her

wheel chair bound husband offered her seat to a woman with a very ative 1 yr

old.'s mom who was holding her on her lap for the entire flight. People can

be very nice about switching seats too.

[Guest guest]

,

Thanks for all the info. What is gravol? Also, where did you see the ear

plugs?

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Thank you-detail is good. And besides IM THE ONE who's probably making too

much and my son will probably be fine. Just don't feel like hearing

screaming for hours (I'm assuming it was the pressure from bronchitis-he was

fine on the trip home). Ya know ,It's just a pleasure trip not a necessary

trip-we don't have to go. I'm letting fear get the best of me for a " what

if " situation.

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

Gravol is motion sickness medication, I'm in Canada so I don't know

if it goes by a different name in the US, try asking your pharmacist,

also we got it in suppository form for children. The ear plugs I saw

were in a store called Zellers which is also Canadian, but WalMart up

here carries mostly the same inventory, they were not regular ear

plugs the next time I'm there I'll see if I can get a company name

for you. I'll bet that somewhere on the internet theres a company

that deals exclusively in earplugs.

O.T. If Doris from land reads this post, " small world " , I had to

check the top of the screen to see if I was on the NIDS message

board, you offered me advice there on what to do while I wait for my

appt. with Dr. G. Thanks!

> Thank you-detail is good. And besides IM THE ONE who's probably

making too

> much and my son will probably be fine. Just don't feel like

hearing

> screaming for hours (I'm assuming it was the pressure from

bronchitis-he was

> fine on the trip home). Ya know ,It's just a pleasure trip not a

necessary

> trip-we don't have to go. I'm letting fear get the best of me for

a " what

> if " situation.

> Kathy

[Guest guest]

Snacks has always been helpful for me. Right now most groceries have

candy for 1/2 off. You might want to get some special GFCF treats

that take time to eat. Just make sure if you are carrying anything

powder-like that it is in it's orginial packaging and you bring the

receipt with you. Also be prepared for security to go through each

and every item in both check-in and carry on bags. At my work I

arrange the travel for our technicians. You won't believe what they

go through at security. Since your child is GFCF, you might be

carrying special food for your trip. It might be wise to have a

doctor's note acknowleding that fact. Anything to make it easier.

Another note - I have heard you can request special food in advance.

Some airlines will serve Mcs. You could try to see if you

could get fries for them.

> Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep a 4 yr old (PDD)

entertained for a

> 3 hr. plane flight??? We took him last year and he was just

getting over

> bronchitis-screamed for an hour and a half (ear pain?) I'm

terrified to try

> to take him on a plane again since sitting for a while is an

issue. Any

> thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

> Thanks

>

> Kathy

[Guest guest]

I brought a laptop w/ DVD Disney movies and that kept Jeff busy for a 5 hour

flight. And lots of crunchy, chewy foods which help the ears pop in

altitude changes!

Take care

A jeffs mom

Re: OT-Airplane Travel

One trick that always works for me is to have lots of little surprises

wrapped in wrapping paper. Hand one out every hour, half-hour or 15 minutes

at first if needed. The can be tiny candies, crayons pad of paper, etc. all

the things your child might enjoy playing with on the trip anyway. If your

child kows there is more coming, the worst it may get is answering how many

minutes till the next 'gift' is handed out'. A new toothbrush for the trip,

special toothpaste, pez dispensers even old toys that have been put out of

reach for a while.

Hope this helps.