My family participated in an airport tour for persons with autism!  It took place at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on April 26, 2018.  The tour was sponsored by Delta Airlines and was filmed by CNN staff to promote autism awareness month.  It aired on Monday, April 30, 2018 during Michaela Pereira’s HLN show.

The airport tour was a wonderful opportunity for our boys!  They had a chance to see what it is like to go through security.  They also got to play in the airport’s sensory room and sit in the cockpit of a Delta jet!  We spent about 3 hours at the airport that day, but the film crew was skillfully able to combine all of that into a 3 minute segment. Check it out!

AIRLINE PREPS KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2018/05/02/airline-has-mock-flights-to-prep-kids-with-special-needs.cnn

PICTURES OF THE AIRPORT TOUR

Here’s a few pictures that I took throughout the day to give you an idea of how things went.

The boys enjoyed the sensory room and had a great time in the ball pit with Midori, our Flight Attendant for the day!

Daniel is in the cockpit with Capt. Erich Ries, a pilot for Delta Airlines!

Nicky is in the cockpit with Capt. Erich Ries, a pilot for Delta Airlines!

Nicky is enjoying his time at the wheel!

The CNN producer also took a few pics.  Click the arrow on the right to see the four pictures that she took and shared on Instagram:

Flying can be a fun experience, but for little ones…traveling can be scary. April marks world autism month, and we went to see how Delta airlines created a special program to help people with autism. They have teamed up with “The Arc,” an organization that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to create a space where young travelers can become more familiar with the process of flying, through simulated experiences they call ‘mock flights.’ CNN follows Tonya and Jamie Nash, along with their two sons who are on the autism spectrum, Daniel & Nicky, through the process as they prepare for a trip this summer ?More of their story on @michaelahln

A post shared by Faith Haleh (@faithhaleh) on Apr 30, 2018 at 5:06am PDT

FINAL THOUGHTS

I highly recommend this tour!  It is held every month at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport and is open to persons of all ages with special needs.  For more information, send an email to [email protected]. If you don’t live in the Metro Atlanta area, check with your local airport to see if there is a similar program available.

This airport tour reopened the conversation for our family to consider other methods of travel besides driving. It alleviated some of our fears and educated us about the resources available to help us have a smooth travel experience, such as TSA Cares and the sensory room. We participated in this program almost two years ago, but it was great to have the refresher! Thank you, Delta Airlines, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and CNN/HLN for this amazing opportunity!