Guest guest Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 na, Does your son have any sensory issues? This would play a big role in how you approach this. Does he hyperfocus on anything like a toy or game? You could use this as a distractor. I would make sure you tell him about the trip in advance and describe what the airplane and airport will be like, at least as much as he can understand at 3 years old. If he likes you to read books to him I would bring plenty along. At that age my son loved to listen to music with headphones whenever we went on trips to tune out all the noices. You could try this with your son. We did a lot of traveling since my husband is in the military and those are some of the ways we handled traveling with our son (now 14). Just a few thoughts...ne From: mariana <mariana0225@...>Subject: ( ) Flying with my aspie Date: Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 12:42 PM Hi Everyone,I'm taking my 4-year-old aspie on a a 3 hour flight to florida in two weeks. Does anyone have any tips on preparing him for his first time at the airport and in a plane?Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 We used a social story for dds 1st plane ride (she was 10 then and has autism) last year, she was very excited so I worried overstimulation would hit On 3/16/11, mariana <mariana0225@...> wrote: > Hi Everyone, > I'm taking my 4-year-old aspie on a a 3 hour flight to florida in two weeks. > Does anyone have any tips on preparing him for his first time at the > airport and in a plane? > > Thanks! > > -- Sent from my mobile device -mom to a boy and his 5 sisters http://thatmomof6.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 You could call the airlines or check their website for child friendly coloring book or something like that, or go on line and search and print it out. You could easily create a social story or maybe there is one already made for that sort of thing... I'm sure there must be! Social stories are always kept in a positive light - not like "it might be loud or bumpy". My son loved the flat walkways and sitting on the suitcase as we pulled him ( just for fun while waiting - not actually while we rushed to the gate! LOL). He was amazed by the size of planes and watching all the workers load the suitcases outside. Once we flew Southwest and the crew was so great with kids. One steward stood in the isle and talked to our son for 1/2 hour, drew a picture for him and wrote my son a letter about how he'll always remember how much my son taught him about snakes. We still have it. My son was 4 at the time and not diagnosed yet but this guy went out of his way and arranged for my son to go to the cockpit and meet the pilots. We were told we would probably only be able to say hi and look in the doorway but the pilots pulled him in and sat him on his lap and let him push a button. It was night time so the cockpit lights were really impressive! I wonder if you're able to mention to someone on the flight crew that it's his first time or he's very nervous or even go as far as explaining his aspergers (if that's something your comfortable doing) they might really go out of their way to do some cool things for him. We also borrowed a portable DVD player and he watched a movie with headphones. The constant noise of the plane really did get to him after a while but too much movie stimulation or music would get to him too so there just wasn't anything to do for him about that but distract him. Reading a book wouldn't work for my son because it was too hard for him to concentrate on hearing me with all the noise. We took a bag of playdough which we never thought about being a no no. OOPs so we got pulled aside for that one! But I took a ton of little things to do which I'm sure you thought of. But I didn't even show him or tell him about all the stuff. Some stuff was new and I took it out one at a time just when he was getting bored of the first thing. Puzzles, coloring book, dry erase board, cards and snacks. My son doesn't like gum so for the ear popping thing I had a bunch of fruit chews or liqorice. Hope that helps - we're planning a trip back to Michigan so I need to start thinking about all this again now and he is 7. Probably the Nintendo DS will do just fine this time! : ) Have fun! ( ) Flying with my aspie Hi Everyone,I'm taking my 4-year-old aspie on a a 3 hour flight to florida in two weeks. Does anyone have any tips on preparing him for his first time at the airport and in a plane?Thanks! No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.449 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3510 - Release Date: 03/16/11 07:34:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 My son always did well on planes, but he had his first plane trips as an infant. What helped was giving him his own backpack that was filled with snacks that he liked and plenty of things to do while on the plane and while waiting in the airport. I kept pulling things out of the backpack as soon as he looked like he was getting bored or restless. I had a mix of old familiar favorites that he loved (Play Dough, a favorite book, a stuffed animal) plus some new toys bought for the trip (sticker book, card game) A favorite activity was a shoestring plus cereal in the form of a circle (like Cheerios or Fruit Loops) - you thread the cereal on the string, make a necklace, and then eat the necklace, and then make another. It sounds corny, but it really kept him occupied. (I got this tip from a friend.) Of course, I always encouraged him to take a nap on the plane, too. Bring a headset so he can listen to the music and movies. I also bring an empty water bottle. You can fill it up as soon as you get through security. I encouraged my son to chew gum or drink the water during take offs and landings so the air pressure wouldn't bother his ears. He used to get very excited about the 'big bump' when the plane took off and landed. Hope you have a great trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 When we took our son on his first long plane trip (to Europe from California) when he was almost 2, we took a portable DVD player so he could watch videos. As he got older, it was his DS, movies and books. > > Hi Everyone, > I'm taking my 4-year-old aspie on a a 3 hour flight to florida in two weeks. Does anyone have any tips on preparing him for his first time at the airport and in a plane? > > Thanks! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 I took my then 4-year-old aspie on her first flight last May. We kept her busy on the plane with a portable DVD player and headphones. For the terminal, she got snacks, sticker books, and a brand new Matchbox airplane that looked kind of like the one we were flying on. She still loves that little plane even now. One other thing I did... to prepare her for the security check, I went to TSA's website. They have videos there showing kids going through the security stuff - like take off your shoes, put everything in bins, get your belongings back after they've gone through the x-ray machine. I let my dd watch the videos so she could see the kids in them model the right behavior. It substituted for a social story. Enjoy your trip, > > Hi Everyone, > I'm taking my 4-year-old aspie on a a 3 hour flight to florida in two weeks. Does anyone have any tips on preparing him for his first time at the airport and in a plane? > > Thanks! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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