Airports Suck, With or Without Autism
A few months ago, I blogged on our great fortune getting through airport security in Airport Security and Children with Autism. Let me say here, it is official. That good fortune was a fluke! This trip, we ended up double paying for our bags and being told by Pamela at the Northwest Terminal in Memphis, TN that basically she was not going to argue with us, her job is just to check bags. So, we ended up paying for 7 bags instead of 4 and were told to take it up with “customer relations”.
The security checkout was pretty simple though. I am still not sure that the main goal of the TSA is not just the appearance of security. Every time we get through security with a cooler full of special diet foods, I am totally amazed. While they did wipe down the outside of some metal soup thermoses for explosives, they didn’t really look at anything in any detail. Lighters, liquids, and small pocket knives are apparently OK now days even though the “threat level” has been orange for ages.
For kids some kids with autism, airports must seem like hell on earth. At times, there are wall to wall people. At certain times, they are forced to stop and take off their shoes and wait in another line or even if unlucky singled out for the indivudual pat down in the big plastic box! We’ve been through this with our daughter and luckily she has been fine with it. I can, however, see this being a disaster in the making for some autism parents. If you travel by air, it is a necessary evil. In our case, the stroller is a godsend. I dread the day when she outgrows it. I guess we could ride in a wheel chair when that day comes. Another must have for us is the LAPTOP. As long as we have some electronics, we can last a pretty long time in the airport. 
Related:
- Autism and Airport Travel Safety Tips
- Traveling with Autism Tips
- Autism Travel Preparation Tips
- Air Travel and Autism
- Flying can be a rough ride for autistic children and their families
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