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Fear of flying

NAS64645

Hi 

my 11 year old son has an extreme fear of flying but we have a wedding to attend abroad. He has travelled by plane when he was younger and had a meltdown before boarding but we managed to calm him to get him in the plane. We didn’t fly for several years hoping his fear would disappear but it hasn’t. Now he’s older I don’t think we would be able to calm and distract him as easily and he sometimes runs away when anxious. Any ideas on how we can get him to see flying in a different way and how do airport staff handle older children having a meltdown would they still let us fly? We couldn’t go without him but don’t want to miss the wedding but he is set against flying

Parents

  • Have a look at the airport you want to fly from, most airports are really clued up on  autism, some offer free access to the private lounge, even if you have to pay, it’s worth it. If your son needs sensory help, I use noise cancelling headphones, I link them to my iPhone and can blockout noises and listen to podcasts or audiobooks. If it’s the fear of flying then as others have said, go to the airport and just show him the layout, I often do the first flight of the day to the destination I’m going to, the airport is quiet and often the flight isn’t fully sold out.

Reply

  • Have a look at the airport you want to fly from, most airports are really clued up on  autism, some offer free access to the private lounge, even if you have to pay, it’s worth it. If your son needs sensory help, I use noise cancelling headphones, I link them to my iPhone and can blockout noises and listen to podcasts or audiobooks. If it’s the fear of flying then as others have said, go to the airport and just show him the layout, I often do the first flight of the day to the destination I’m going to, the airport is quiet and often the flight isn’t fully sold out.

Children
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