Traveling with our autistic adult child

Hi Carolyn, You didn't mention if you're son has traveled in airports before. Is this a completely new experience? Have you tried writing a 'social story' about traveling and what it entails? For example, "We will get in the car and drive to the airport. We will check in and then get in line at security. We will put our luggage in a bin and take off our shoes. Sometimes, we may be asked to step aside and they will wave a wand at us. You may be nervous. This is okay. You can wait quietly or ask questions of me while they wave the wand. After the security guards are done, we can get our luggage, put on our shoes, and wait to get on the plane." You can add photos from the internet to help illustrate it if his reading skills are limited. Have your son read it many times beforehand so if something happens, he will have some basic knowledge of the procedures so he can be better prepared. That may help with some of his anxiety and let him know what to do if he does get pulled out of line. If you'd like more information about what a social story is, google 'Carol Gray' for some suggestions and specific examples. They are typically written for younger students/children but could be very helpful in what I imagine will be a unique experience for your son. Also, it may be helpful to mention to the security guards at the airport that your son has a disability and may demonstrate much anxiety. I believe I have seen some websites that suggest printing up simple descriptions of the behaviors, etc. you're son might exhibit and include the fact that he has a disabilty. It MIGHT be part of www.5pointscale.com website about what happens if someone with autism gets arrested (they give the card to the police). You could make up a card in each language you'll encounter. If you'd like more suggestions, feel free to PM me! Good Luck
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...continued: Here's a link to a 1 page overview of social stories. Make sure to pay attention to the section on using different sentence types. http://www.polyxo.com/socialstories/introduction.html You potentially write social stories for each day of the trip as well (making sure to include an 'uh-oh' section if plans change on a particular day). I hope this helps.
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I often travel with two adults with Asperger (of differing levels on the autism spectrum). This does not address directly the question you have. Both of them have a very hard time visually keeping track of us in crowded situations (face recognition is an issue) so we wear bright colours, to be spotted easily. Yellow, red, orange, bright turquoise, etc. (-- thanks Land's End!) They also need for us to let them now what the plans are. "Go with the flow" can be built in only within an overall daily plan. I have a sheet that I prepare with the day-by-day general plan outlined. Also, they both really like listening to presentations, which is why I appreciate Context Travel's private tours so much! I really like the suggestions made by Gretchen. They make a lot of sense to me.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2011/02/26/candiotti.autism.flight.cnn?iref=allsearch I came across this news story recently; hope it's of some use. I don't know what level your son functions at, so hopefully you can cull something useful from my suggestions. Perhaps you could make trips to the airport (contact them first; they may have someone who could walk you through as much as possible without actually flying). Maybe they could let you 'practice' at the security procedures. You might explain to all involved how much that little exercise could make their lives easier when the real day comes... How about 'fear-of-flying'-type companies? You could actually get on the airplanes and see how he reacts to the tight quarters, luggage bins, etc. Or an aeronautics museum... The suggestions about the 'photo book' are brilliant for anyone who's new to flying and may not take to it very well. How about some videos of security procedures online? There's zillions of videos of those pat downs and scanner machines, that's for sure! Those very thorough pat downs could send him through the roof; frankly, they seem to do that to everybody! If available, maybe the scanner machine would be best for him... Perhaps he won't be required to endure either a pat down or the scanner. And go through the TSA website...It's not the easiest to get info from, but you might find a few nuggets to make it worth your while. Good luck! I hope he enjoys the flight AND his wonderful European vacation!

The quality of the responses impresses me. It reconfirms to me that this help board is a valuable thing.