Sunflower lanyard

Wonderful! 

I've reached the gate and Easyjet have  a separate lane for ppl with Easyjet plus and for 'special assistance'' I had the lanyard on and asked if that lane was just for ppl with physical disabilities and the staff member said i could use  i think it was because she'd seen my lanyard. Then someone from Easyjet checking the queue said to me that I could use speedy boarding lane. He'd obviously spotted my lanyard. So well done Easyjet 

I was invited to a party of an old friend's this week (already an anxiety inducing situation). The NTs started laughing and joking about people with sunflower lanyards as if it was the most hilarious thing in the world. I haven't told anyone I'm autistic so this wasn't aimed at me. However my husband (who I was with) is aware that I was planning to get a sunflower lanyard. I felt my face going bright red and I felt so uncomfortable. It has really put me off wearing a sunflower lanyard now that I'm aware how much NTs mock people wearing them. I came home from the party feeling upset and dysregulated. 

When I travelled with Tui airlines recently I called the company beforehand and they arranged priority queuing, seats together and assisted boarding for me all for free. They didn't ask for any proof. 

Yeah I’ve got the rubber bracelet and it works really well for me

However I've just been wandering around and I discovered the 'Assistance Lounge'. Would have been good to know but no-one mentioned it. At least I'll know in future

I couldn't find my photos when I posted yesterday, but these are some of the other official products from the scheme - perhaps it's one of these: 

Hidden Disabilities - Shop > All wearer products

Stewart said:

There were 2 ppl staffing the gates and instead of letting me through one of them I was directed to the  'normal' gates to show my boarding pass

Thank you for sharing. Hopefully it at least helped a little to have known, in advance, about that new approach.

Stewart said:

if I'd had the lanyard on I probably would have had the confidence to ask someone for help

I can relate to that! It provides immediate context to whoever we're asking for help, which can avoid us needing to explain ourselves any further. For me, it's also a signal to myself that I'm not trying to hide my needs at that point in time / in that situation, so serves as a reminder and encouragement to speak up for myself.

Well I went to the special assistance desk st T2 and said 'I've been advised to ask for a sunflower lanyard' . I was given one and given directions for the assistance lane . There were 2 ppl staffing the gates and instead of letting me through one of them I was directed to the  'normal' gates to show my boarding pass. I got the impression the lanyard hadn't been recognised but the queue for security was short. After I'd put my backpack and lanyard in the tray and gone through the scanner I got confused about which lane my bag would be on and couldn't see it anywhere and if I'd had the lanyard on I probably would have had the confidence to ask someone for help. Then I realised it'd been separated for a manual check. The person foing the check was quite curt and I don't know if they'd seen or recognised the lanyard in the tray but maybe that's just how they are. So at least I've got a lanyard now and next month I'm flying from T3 the Ryanair terminal so I'll see if there's any difference.

Hi,

I don’t like having anything around my neck as I feel restricted and self conscious. I bought a green sunflower bracelet that i I found on Amazon that works better for me.

hope this helps

Hello, I have worn a lanyard for years now and would not leave home without it. I use the railways not airports so cannot comment but find it so useful as rail staff are trained to recognize the lanyard and offer help. East Midlands Railways staff have undergone autism training and I love using their services as the staff have always been so kind and helpful. I always book assistance to help me around stations and on and off trains, do airports offer this? Maybe it might be helpful to book if they do? 

That's terrible, I feel stressed out and panicky just reading about Ellie, probably best to cope as best I can without it I don't want any confrontation

It's worth being aware that you won't necessarily be directed to a faster channel due to wearing the lanyard.

Manchester Airport recently changed its policy for lanyard wearers (as reflected in the page that you linked to).

Whether due to initial confusion among staff or perhaps an even tighter original new policy, an autistic lady was recently denied access to it.

The airport now says: 

"The Sunflower lanyard now offers access to all lanes at departure security, in addition to our Family and Assisted Travel lane.

All channels at departure security offer next-generation security screening, offering a quicker, quieter and more customer-friendly process for all passengers. Security colleagues have hidden disability awareness training and will assist you with any questions that you may have while passing through the security process."

Manchester Evening News - Manchester Airport’s message to passengers wearing sunflower lanyard

I find it essentially when I've been in local hospitals, especially in A&E. It's part of my survival kit along with the noise cancelling headphones and dark glasses. It doesn't guarantee recognition or any action, but is better than nothing.

I have not used a lanyard in an airport- i have opted for special assistance. I needed it because primarily I had another condition that affected my physical mobility to. It sounds like a lanyard may be at least good for dealing with social interaction for you-the crowds. I think most people find the buzz of airports difficult. Not all autistic people may find it more difficult as they may have no sensory needs. Perhaps you can find out if you do from your score sheet if you have one. It will come under sensory.  If you have some issues caused by autism being in a airport then you shouldn't feel guilty by wearing a lanyard.

I tried wearing mine in Edinburgh airport, but it did nothing. I was hoping it would get some attention so I could get help for my son's knee, but the only time it got a comment was being told to take it off for the scanner and being subject to a search as I'd left a tissue in my pocket. 

People in the NHS, government offices, hospitality and retail are quite often trained to recognise the sunflower symbol. It has quite a large-scale campaign behind it. Personally, I would tend to wear it anywhere that I might feel intimidated by bureaucratic complexity or have reason to apprehend having a sensory reaction.

Get the lanyard - actually when I first tried they had run out of lanyards so was given a card instead - then, as you go towards the queue there will be someone on duty; make sure they can see the lanyard or show them the card and they will show you which entrance to go down to join the higher assistance queue.

I'm curious, in what other circumstances would you wear it and how would reps from the organisation concerned know about it?

Thanks Martin. I'll test it tomorrow then. So do you just walk through the fast lane or do you have have to engage with someone from security first ?

You can ask for the loan of a lanyard at the desk. I bought my own online. I have used it at Manchester airport and it took about a quarter of the usual time in queuing for the security check, as you use a separate, shorter, queue. Well worth it, in my opinion. In my experience you just have to say that you have a non-obvious disability, no flourishing of diagnoses is required. I did say that I was in fact autistic.