SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILIES WITH AUTISTIC CHILDREN
WHAT IS SPECIAL ASSISTANCE?
Special Assistance is the general term used to describe the help and support available to a travellers with unique needs, this includes hidden disabilities such as Autism and ADHD as well as those with limited mobility.
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There are no rules setting out what special assistance schemes should offer, and organisations are expected to abide by the laws that prevent disability discrimination. In practice we have found there can be massive differences in how different companies approach hidden disabilities and what they offer in terms of support (or special assistance).​
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MORE INFORMATION ON BOOKING AND USING SPECIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEMES
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At airports
With airlines
On Eurostar departing London
On Eurostar departing Paris
Our Story
HOW HAS SPECIAL ASSISTANCE HELPED US TO TRAVEL AS A FAMILY?
Without Special Assistance there is no way our family would be able to travel by plane - and certainly no way we could have taken our two autistic boys on a holiday to the arctic circle in 2024!
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HERE ARE JUST A FEW REAL EXAMPLES OF THE DIFFERENCE BOOKING SPECIAL ASSISTANCE HAS MADE TO OUR EXPERIENCE OF TRAVELLING:​
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On arrival in Oslo we waited about 15 minutes to be collected by Special Assistance staff. we were then taken directly through passport control, avoiding a queue that was over 90 minutes long.
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In Gatwick we were met by the most wonderful woman from special assistance, who took care of everything - passports, security, collecting items, help with taking our medicines through. She was calm, kind and so understanding of hidden disabilities, proactively taking my son to quiet places with dim lighting to wait while she sorted things for us. Amazing.
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In Glasgow a lovely young man collected us from the plane door, helped us get our luggage of the baggage belt and then pushed me (holding our son) in a wheelchair through the airport to the long stay carpark, all the while keeping up a friendly and low demand chat with our eldest son who was showing signs of anxiety. Just awesome.
​Flying home from Sicily our son was very ill - we were boarded first, well in advance of the other passengers and given the time we needed to settle him properly
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On arrival in Bergen we were able to wait for ground crew to find and bring up our son's buggy to the airplane door. This made it so much easier transiting through the airport.
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Our plane was delayed leaving Tromso. Having already been boarded first and settled the boys we were faced with the disruption of taking them both back off the plane. The crew saw our faces, and after a brief discussion allowed us to stay on board. They even provided free refreshments and took our eldest son up to the cockpit to have a look at the space and meet the pilots - in his words - BEST DAY EVER
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The Tromso delay meant we were late for our connecting flight in Oslo. Staff there were notified by the plane crew and we were put into a special minivan and driven quickly around the perimeter of the airport to the other gate. We were brought up right next to passport control, where we were ushered through without queuing. We made our flight with 5 minutes to spare!
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In Heathrow we were transported from the departures lounge to our boarding gate on one of the little golf buggies. The boys thought this was wonderful, and so did we, it was an extremely long walk and it would have been too much for them.
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We have been seated in special waiting areas at boarding gates - these are quieter and less stressful for the boys.