First flying with Autism

Pehaps you can watch some videos of what to expect when the plane takes off and lands etc.? There must be something on Youtube. Be prepared that it gets very loud very suddenly when the plane is preparing for takeoff and when touching down on the runway when you land. It's also completely normal for there to be a bit of shaking and occasionally you can get turbulences where the plane shakes a bit more than usual. But normally once you're up in the air it's not much different from being on a train or a bus, except with a better view :) However the light fom outside can be blindingly bright, just in case you're light sensitive. Perhaps pack some chewing gum because it can help with the change in pressure during takeoff/landing which can be unpleasant. This all sounds quite negative, sorry, it's really not that bad. Just trying to think of things that I would find helpful to know in advance so they're not unexpected.

With the ear popping thing, as the cabin pressurises this puts pressure on your inner ear which has set to the ground level normal pressure. You ear normally normalises pressure each day when you yawn. Therefore you can normally avert a pop and uncomfortable pressure by yawning. The action opens up your inner ear to the surrounding pressure and takes away the pressure difference. I'm no doctor so I might not be explaining it well, but it works for me. I think this is the same function as chewing gum.

Turbulence is quite normal. It is just warm air rising. When you boil the kettle, steam rises. When the sun shines on the planet warm air rises in the same way. This rising air is lumpy so rises in patches. The plane flies through rising bits and this causes a bit of up and down here and there. Nothing to worry about. Just explain to yourself what is going on and rationalise it and the fear goes away.

Also don't worry about strange noises. There will be noises when the planes wheels go up after taking off and again when they come down before landing. You will also hear noises when the wings retract after take off and extend before landing. This is just so that when taking off and landing the wings are made bigger so the plane can generate more lift at slower speeds. All normal.

With the ear popping thing, as the cabin pressurises this puts pressure on your inner ear which has set to the ground level normal pressure. You ear normally normalises pressure each day when you yawn. Therefore you can normally avert a pop and uncomfortable pressure by yawning. The action opens up your inner ear to the surrounding pressure and takes away the pressure difference. I'm no doctor so I might not be explaining it well, but it works for me. I think this is the same function as chewing gum.

Turbulence is quite normal. It is just warm air rising. When you boil the kettle, steam rises. When the sun shines on the planet warm air rises in the same way. This rising air is lumpy so rises in patches. The plane flies through rising bits and this causes a bit of up and down here and there. Nothing to worry about. Just explain to yourself what is going on and rationalise it and the fear goes away.

Also don't worry about strange noises. There will be noises when the planes wheels go up after taking off and again when they come down before landing. You will also hear noises when the wings retract after take off and extend before landing. This is just so that when taking off and landing the wings are made bigger so the plane can generate more lift at slower speeds. All normal.