AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
To mark National Autism Awareness Month, Delta debuted a multi-sensory room for customers on the autism spectrum.
Airports are not the easiest of places: typically, there are crowds of passengers, long lines, inevitable delays, overpriced food, and a whole host of other new and unfamiliar experiences. Recognizing that airports can be even more stressful for travelers on the autism spectrum, Delta Airlines collaborated with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and The Arc, an advocacy group for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to open the airport's first multi-sensory room for customers on the spectrum.
The room, which opened on April 12 as part of National Autism Awareness Month, is located in the airport's F Concourse. It has a mini ball pit, bubbling water sculpture, tactile activity panel, and other items children can interact with to help calm, prepare, and better acclimate them for the air travel experience. Delta First Officer Erich Riese, who has a nine-year-old son on the spectrum, shared tips for parents on the airline's website, including preparing children for the upcoming trip by routinely reminding them of it, packing a small carry-on bag with familiar items from home, booking a window seat near the front of the aircraft, and boarding last to minimize the time spent on the plane. “When my son was born, I couldn’t wait for him to be old enough to travel with me,” says Reise. “When doctors diagnosed him with autism, we looked at his diagnosis as a positive. Instead of traveling less, we traveled more…The key is to simplify, simplify, simplify.”
Delta, which also has monthly pilot-led airport tours in Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul for families who have children with autism, is not alone in its efforts to make traveling easier. United Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, and other carriers routinely partner with the Transportation Security Administration and airports across the country to host “Wings for Autism” events, airport “rehearsals” specially designed for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, their families, and aviation professionals. Other airports around the world—including Manchester and Newcastle, in the U.K.—have special programs to fast-track children with autism through security.
SOURCE: http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-04-21/this-airport-launched-a-new-room-for-autistic-fliers
To mark National Autism Awareness Month, Delta debuted a multi-sensory room for customers on the autism spectrum.
Airports are not the easiest of places: typically, there are crowds of passengers, long lines, inevitable delays, overpriced food, and a whole host of other new and unfamiliar experiences. Recognizing that airports can be even more stressful for travelers on the autism spectrum, Delta Airlines collaborated with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and The Arc, an advocacy group for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to open the airport's first multi-sensory room for customers on the spectrum.
The room, which opened on April 12 as part of National Autism Awareness Month, is located in the airport's F Concourse. It has a mini ball pit, bubbling water sculpture, tactile activity panel, and other items children can interact with to help calm, prepare, and better acclimate them for the air travel experience. Delta First Officer Erich Riese, who has a nine-year-old son on the spectrum, shared tips for parents on the airline's website, including preparing children for the upcoming trip by routinely reminding them of it, packing a small carry-on bag with familiar items from home, booking a window seat near the front of the aircraft, and boarding last to minimize the time spent on the plane. “When my son was born, I couldn’t wait for him to be old enough to travel with me,” says Reise. “When doctors diagnosed him with autism, we looked at his diagnosis as a positive. Instead of traveling less, we traveled more…The key is to simplify, simplify, simplify.”
Delta, which also has monthly pilot-led airport tours in Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul for families who have children with autism, is not alone in its efforts to make traveling easier. United Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, and other carriers routinely partner with the Transportation Security Administration and airports across the country to host “Wings for Autism” events, airport “rehearsals” specially designed for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, their families, and aviation professionals. Other airports around the world—including Manchester and Newcastle, in the U.K.—have special programs to fast-track children with autism through security.
SOURCE: http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-04-21/this-airport-launched-a-new-room-for-autistic-fliers
