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Autistic toddler forced of American flight

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andywarhol
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28 Jul 2008, 12:32 am

Rjaye wrote:
Actually, not all of the facts weren't released on this case until recently.

Apparently this kid was not just unruly-he was having a full scale meltdown. Meaning that not a whole lot could be done, even by his mom.

And they were trying to get the plane off the ground, and the child had to have his seatbelt on as per safety regs.

Now there may have been things that could have been handled better, but understanding and compassion can only go so far before it really is invading other people's space and rights. A squalling child is one thing, but one in full meltdown is something else.

Should the plane have held off until the mother was able to get the child calmed down? How fair is that to potentially hundreds of other travellers? And what if the child couldn't calm down because of sensory issues?

And what about others on the plane with their own sensory issues? I can deal with a crying and bratty child, but to be around a full on screaming, flailing meltdown--I can't handle it. So, does all of our "compassion" go to the mom and child at the expense of everyone else? Or was this a case of everyone making the kid suffer. Maybe that kid was better served by being off of that plane. Maybe in Mom's eagerness to stick to her own schedule she overloaded her son, and really wasn't looking to his comfort but her own need?

The captain made the final decision after trying to deal with the situation himself, and being on a timetable, he made what he thought was right was right choice in serving the rest of his customers.

This is not a black and white issue, and it seems everyone could have behaved better if they had considered the special needs of the child, and not the adults.


I agree with Rjaye. You can only go so far to accomodate someone. The situation should be handled with every person on the flight in mind. Letting the child fly when his behaviour was so unruly just because he is autistic would be discriminatory to autistics and NTs alike. If his behaviour is unsafe, then he may as well not fly. I think the pilot made the right decision for the sake of the passengers and the child.


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Liopleurodon
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28 Jul 2008, 9:02 am

If I had been on that plane and had to listen to the child having a meltdown, I would have had a meltdown too. I can't bear the sound of screaming children. In fact, just thinking about it now is making me feel a little weak and shaky. The kid probably needed to get off the plane for his own good anyway - he was clearly in a complete state of panic.


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Argon
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03 Aug 2008, 3:21 am

It does seem that the main issue is being overlooked, it wasn't an NT child having a tantrum it was an autistic child in a state of overload. The child was in great distress at that time and the best scenario was to remove the child. The mother should have realised that.

On a personal level, I can't stand children screaming and crying either...and my instant response is so say out loud...ffs shut that kid up or get out. I cant abide parents who seem to think we should all accept their howling brats, NT, autie, AS or other in public situations.

Part of teaching a child what is acceptable in my personal view is to remove them from the situation...once they have calmed to simply tell them." Your behaviour was not acceptable". No point in making a crap situation worse by causing a big fuss...insisting the kid stay and upsetting everyone else. Living in society does mean that there are rules that are created for the many not the minority.



SilverPikmin
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03 Aug 2008, 4:50 pm

This seems to me to be a complicated issue. Personally, I think it was the right thing to take them off the plane. If the autistic child had been kept in the plane, the meltdown might have continued for a long time, and EVERYONE doesn't like screaming children. It was inconvenient for the mother, but it was for the best for all the passengers and the child (obviously he wasn't having a good time on the plane).