Traveling with an autistic child

Traveling with children can be challenging, especially if your child has any sensory, emotional, and/or physical challenges. We wanted to share this info from our trip as it REALLY helped ease the traveling process for our 4-year-old autistic daughter, and us as parents as well.

We learned about the sensory room in Concourse D at PDX and checked out the link associated with the post. It was a TOTAL blessing to get this info as we were preparing to travel to Las Vegas to attend a funeral.

While we didn’t go to Concourse D (as they no longer allow you to walk to the different concourses without going through security), we did inform the TSA agent that we were traveling with an autistic child and requested the sensory bag they are supposed to have at the TSA checkpoints. Not only were they very happy to provide the bag, the agents were so incredibly helpful! They took us to the shortest line, allowed us to carry our daughter through security without having to remove her shoes, and allowed her to carry the sensory bag and wear the headphones that came in it.

One of the agents even gave us the link to TSA Cares. When you submit your information you receive an email you can show at a TSA checkpoint for additional help. Here’s the link:

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/passenger-support

The sensory bag had headphones, a coloring book, crayons, sunglasses, 2 small toys, a laminated plane spotter guide, and a PDX Avian Field Guide.

The TSA agent also told us to notify the agent at the Alaska Airlines gate for a lanyard. The Alaska agent gladly gave us one to fill out and have our daughter wear during the flight. The sunflower lanyard helps the airline staff know you may need additional assistance.

Our return flight from Las Vegas was a little more hectic as it was an incredibly busy TSA checkpoint. But we completed the TSA Cares online form and had the response email available to show the TSA agent who kindly assisted us to the shortest line. They didn’t have any sensory items but the agent did give our daughter a sticker and tried to make her laugh.

We share this with you as we know how hard it is for little ones to travel, especially those with sensory, emotional, and/or physical challenges. We didn’t know about any of this when we traveled in the past and the airport experience was so unpleasant that we held off on traveling until we were forced to due to the circumstances.

Based on our one-time experience, it appears that PDX is making an effort to make the experience as pleasant as possible for individuals with disabilities. We hope that this is a trend that we will begin seeing at other airports across the nation. I hope this helps any of you who plan on traveling soon!