As a non-parent, I'm often in awe of how those with kids manage to wrangle themselves and their children out the door in the morning.
Like, the number of mornings where I've gotten to my car and realized I didn't have the keys is embarrassing.
As a non-parent, I'm often in awe of how those with kids manage to wrangle themselves and their children out the door in the morning.
Like, the number of mornings where I've gotten to my car and realized I didn't have the keys is embarrassing.
That fear is only exacerbated if the children are on the autism spectrum.
As annoyed as I might get by hearing kids on flights, I try to remember that I have the privilege of putting my headphones on and ignoring it. The parents don't and I applaud them for it.
Which is probably why the father of an autistic boy began to preemptively warn Rachel Romeo about the chance of a difficult journey as she sat next to them for an eight-hour flight.
She told the father this and said that he didn't need to worry, but even before takeoff, it was clear that the son was upset.
He screamed and even hit Romeo, but though the father kept apologizing, he didn't seem to know what else to do.
It was obvious that the family had almost no experience with some of the alternative communication options and therapies available.
So Romeo asked if she could try a few ideas.
The method involves teaching the person to associate symbols with their wants and feelings, allowing them to point to what they want to communicate.
Romeo made a rudimentary version using just a paper and pen.
Over the eight-hour flight, the boy had become adept at asking for things with the simple drawings instead of yelling or grabbing for them.
Romeo also explained the system to the boy's father so that they could continue practicing and adding more symbols to their family dictionary.
He was near tears at the possibilities and it just goes to show the difference that awareness of and access to such communication therapies can make in a child's life.
Transportation should be accessible for everyone, not just able bodied and neurotypical people. If we took the time to help those around us who are seemingly having a tougher time, all of us would have a better travel experience.
And in a simple act of kindness and patience, a fellow passenger on a random plane may have changed his life.
It's no wonder that when Romeo shared the story on Twitter, it got tens of thousands of likes and shares. These are the kinds of stories we need right now.