Does anyone wonder if this family were traveling for a medical appointment, I wonder - I often read about families traveling coast to coast or internationally to seek treatment for these kids. How do you think they get there??? These parents are working and supporting themselves, their kids - possibly OTHER kids than the ones with autism, and paying the same taxes and expenses that you do. But the problem is that many of the effective treatments for autism are not covered by insurance, they are not provided by the school system or early intervention, and they are not provided by Medicaid if the family is lucky enough to get on that. Do you really think it is fair and equitable to these parents who are making the effort despite the financial costs - to have to take off even more time from work to have to drive? Its not ok to strip these families of their right to choose how to be transported simply because one member of the family inconveniences others.
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First, it is not legal for an airline or any company to charge disabled people or minorities MORE money than they charge everybody else. Autism IS a disability even though some people writing into defend Southwest do not seem to understand that. Disabled people are members of a protected class under the law. Obesity is not a protected class in and of itself; so simply being fat does not qualify as a handicap - unless the person also has a qualifying disability.
Second, people with mental challenges are NOT held responsible for their actions under our laws. Why do you people think there is "not guilty by reason of mental defect" - "incompetent to stand trial" - or "crime of passion" types of defenses to CRIMES? Here, the family did not commit any crimes. They merely inconvenienced the crew and other passengers. It says they were "unruly" - not trying to hijack the plane or throw people out the emergency doors. THEY SIMPLY DID NOT ACT IN THE EXPECTED MANNER.
Third, I have chelated my son to remove mercury and other heavy metals. It is dangerous and frankly can make things worse if not done properly. Who are you to give medical advice? Are you licensed, are you experienced with all of these people reading this? It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, as autism has many causes. There are other additives in vaccines which also induce damage, such as aluminum, aborted fetal tissue, monkey kidney, antifreeze, just to name a few. The vaccines themselves may cause autism - due to overloading the immune system. Injecting 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or more infectious agents into a child at once can do crazy things to the body's ability to handle stressors. Some of these infectious agents can lead to brain infections. Also - don't forget that there is some plausability for inheritable autism. That kind of autism will not respond to chelation, because it is not caused by heavy metals.
Finally - parents who refuse to allow others to mistreat their disabled children ARE taking responsibility.
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Planning a plane ride with an autistic child would be alot easier to do if the airlines provided appropriate seating and attendants.
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I can tell you that as a parent of an autistic child - we are constantly attacked by others who think these are behavior issues, the result of poor parenting, or are controllable with a little more effort. I personally have attended parenting classes and taught the teachers a thing or two. I have read so many books, I have used every technique, the fact is - these are behaviors that are caused by biological imbalances and they are not controllable. As such, no matter how hard a parent tries - no matter what is done - no matter how bad the child feels - some times it is just not possible to have the child perform on cue.
The age of these kids was not mentioned - let me add that the older (and bigger) these kids get the harder it is for the parent to control them. Keep in mind that a person can be referred to as a child until they are 18 years old in this country.
An adult who is at the end of the rope themselves with dealing with the behavior, gets little to no help from people who are supposed to help, but on top of that gets attacked for poor parenting and uncontrollable children when that is not the case, but yet still forced to deal with it may in a moment of panic and distress lash out - I have experienced this myself as people whose jobs are to provide assistance have ignored the needs of my child, ignored my requests for help (often simple things like cup of water or having a seat to sit in or a different color crayon for god's sake), and in fact whose behavior has contributed to the rapidly deteriorating situation.
We don't know whether the flight attendants ignored information provided by the parent, we don't know if they tried to talk over the parent or intimidate the parent. These things are picked up on by the kids - autistic kids can be very sensitive to emotions.
The US Government has traditionally financially supported the airline industry - with taxpayer money - as the transportation method of choice for ALL of its people. Airlines are favored over trains and buses. I don't think the government looks at subsidized ticket prices as "buying peace and quiet" but rather "transportation." If people want to buy "peace and quiet" - they should not buy the low cost ticket but rather get FIRST CLASS or BUSINESS CLASS or whatever its called these days. Also - there are private jets if you really want to buy "peace and quiet." This is like comparing a bus ticket to a stretch limo. I'm sorry but if you buy the bus ticket which is intended for transportation, then don't expect the peace and quiet of a limo ride.
What is the solution you ask? As far as I know, there are currently no special handicap seating arrangements on Southwest planes for passengers who need them. Maybe not on any airline. That would be a solution for lots of ills. Just think: the elderly, handicapped, obese and other categories of special needs people may just need extra space, a little more care and some attention. Why don't airlines have to provide this kind of seating? It makes as much sense as the requirement for having handicap parking spaces. There is a formula for how many of those must be provided; why not the same for airline seats? Buses have these areas. It costs the same to ride, but passengers needs can be accommodated.
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as a parent of a child with autism I was alarmed to read this report. what if its me next time? I have suffered through my fair share of other people's offenses on airlines - to wit, fat people sitting on me because they can't fit in their own seat (was I compensated? NO), smelly people, sick people coughing on me or my belongings, crying babies, farting !, spilling food or drinks on me, babies with DIRTY DIAPERS whose parents don't see fit to change them, even small DOGS making noise in the seat next to me - were these people banned from their connecting planes? NO.
I am disgusted and outraged that regular paying passengers like myself are asked to put up with ALL of this but these people - who are probably the most outraged of all by the kids' behavior - are not in turn expected to put up with a special needs kid or two.
Mom to 2 ASD kids, NC and
Formerly a Southwest Passenger
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