Travelling can be both adventurous and stressful. To avoid the stress of airports some parents may avoid vacations far from home to avoid flying. There are not many airports in the U.S that are sensory friendly but I did find 3 sensory friendly airports below, as well as a social story and videos.
The following airports located in the U.S. are sensory friendly:
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. This airport created a calming space for kids on the spectrum.
Myrtle Beach Airport. This airport has a quiet room for anyone on the spectrum or special needs who are in need of a place to decompress after their flight.
Pittsburgh International Airport. This airport opened a suite of “sensory rooms” inside its airside terminal to help travelers on the autism spectrum decompress from the stress of flying.
Social story and videos:
Canucks Autism Network and Vancouver International Airport created a social story that helps prepare children for airport travel from home. I CAN Fly with YVR has a YouTube video series that walks children through the process of flying. The website to download the social story and watch the videos can be found here.
Blue Bird Day fosters socialization, sensory regulation, and pre-academic learning in children ages 2-7 years in therapeutic rotations that simulate preschool and kindergarten settings. Our compassionate therapists practice a relationship-based and family-centered approach, provide parent training, and collaborate on goals and individualized intensive treatment plans for your child.
We believe in a collaborative and multi-disciplinary team approach to therapy. A team of occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, dietitians, developmental therapists, behavioral therapists, physical therapists, and therapeutic assistants are created for each child to ensure child and family are fully supported and the best possible results are achieved.
Options for individualized, group and virtual therapy sessions are available as well.
Want to learn more or you have a specific question? Feel free to connect with us here!