Special-needs kids prepare for takeoff
Special-needs kids prepare for takeoff By The Baltimore Sun, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.08.15 Word Count 795
Jennifer Bishop (center), her son, Nathaniel Epstein, 14, and a family friend, Mark Cates, check in for their practice flight on Dec. 6, 2014, at Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Maryland. Photo: Paul W. Gillespie/Baltimore Sun/TNS
BALTIMORE — Tomas Harp was ready to go at BWI, Baltimore's airport. He was already at the start of the airport security line, where bags are searched for everyone's safety. Not so fast though, he still had to wait. His mother, Carolina Harp, reminded him that waiting is part of going to the airport. Soon they handed over their boarding passes. The 7-year-old and his brother, Mateo, 9, were ready to take Southwest flight 1234 from Baltimore at 1:45 p.m. It was a flight that was not actually going to leave the runway — the plane would stay put on the ground. The Harps were taking part in the Wings for Autism program run by The Arc of Baltimore, a group that helps people with disabilities. Wings for Autism teaches children with disabilities how to board a plane. The Harps were one of 50 families in the program.
New Level Of Stressful Travel Traveling with children can be stressful for anyone. For those dealing with children with autism, it can be much worse. Autism affects the brain and causes people to understand the world differently and have trouble making sense of why things happen. There are many types of autism, so not everyone with autism is the same. Some people with autism have trouble talking to others, while some are startled by noises. Many people who have autism have trouble handling surprises and want to know what is going to happen next in their lives. Everything about flying on a plane can be difficult to understand if you have autism. Waiting in lines with hundreds of other people and the many strange noises at an airport can be very scary. “You’ve heard the phrase ‘It takes a village’?” Jennifer Bishop, of Baltimore, said, talking about the idea that many people are needed to raise just one child. “With a special-needs child, it takes the entire world.” She went to BWI with her son, Nathaniel Epstein, who is 14 years old. Nathaniel had been on a plane once before when he was 4 and was very scared by it. The trip was a disaster and Bishop promised herself she would never fly with Nathaniel again. This spring, Bishop’s mother will turn 92 years old, so 10 years after their first airplane trip, the two will try again. Bishop and her son want to visit her mother because she might only be around a few more years. Wings for Autism was the perfect way to test out flying. Nathaniel can walk, but he spends most of his time in a wheelchair because he gets scared in new places. If he gets fearful, he sometimes sits down and decides not to move. “Just going to the grocery store is a big deal,” Bishop said.
Ready For Takeoff The mood was different on the practice day, she said. Volunteers at the airport took families through a special security gate, then they boarded the plane and got in their seats. They heard instructions about safety and were served pretzels and a glass of water. They were back off the plane in a half-hour. It was the fastest little flight to nowhere. The parents there that day said that they try to avoid airports and just drive everywhere. Carolina Harp said she drives a lot when she needs to take her two sons on vacation. Tomas and Mateo have gone on long trips from their home in Maryland to Georgia and Florida, but that means driving 10 to 12 hours.
This summer the family needs to go to California, which is all the way across the country and would take days of driving. Harp said she does not plan to make that drive. She is more concerned with Mateo than Tomas. In the car, Mateo can be distracted by his iPad or Nintendo 2DS, she said. But he does not have any patience and there are times during a flight when he has to turn off his devices. It can make Mateo very upset, because he doesn't always understand why his devices have to be turned off.
A Bigger Challenge Jennifer Bishop learned on the practice run that getting on the plane was more of a challenge for Nathaniel than she thought. He briefly refused to get out of his wheelchair without his mom next to him. Bishop was pushing the wheelchair from behind, so she decided to move around to the front of Nathaniel’s chair to walk with him. Then the family went to the first seat of the plane and plopped down and Nathaniel smiled — he had done it. Bishop knows once they try to fly for real it might be harder. “How much easier it would be if the airport was filled with volunteers who were expecting us,” Bishop said.
Jennifer Bishop (center), her son, Nathaniel Epstein, 14, and a family friend, Mark Cates, check in for their practice flight on Dec. 6, 2014, at Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Maryland. Photo: Paul W. Gillespie/Baltimore Sun/TNS
BALTIMORE — Tomas Harp was ready to go at BWI, Baltimore's airport. He was already at the start of the airport security line, where bags are searched for everyone's safety. Not so fast though, he still had to wait. His mother, Carolina Harp, reminded him that waiting is part of going to the airport. Soon they handed over their boarding passes. The 7-year-old and his brother, Mateo, 9, were ready to take Southwest flight 1234 from Baltimore at 1:45 p.m. It was a flight that was not actually going to leave the runway — the plane would stay put on the ground. The Harps were taking part in the Wings for Autism program run by The Arc of Baltimore, a group that helps people with disabilities. Wings for Autism teaches children with disabilities how to board a plane. The Harps were one of 50 families in the program.
New Level Of Stressful Travel Traveling with children can be stressful for anyone. For those dealing with children with autism, it can be much worse. Autism affects the brain and causes people to understand the world differently and have trouble making sense of why things happen. There are many types of autism, so not everyone with autism is the same. Some people with autism have trouble talking to others, while some are startled by noises. Many people who have autism have trouble handling surprises and want to know what is going to happen next in their lives. Everything about flying on a plane can be difficult to understand if you have autism. Waiting in lines with hundreds of other people and the many strange noises at an airport can be very scary. “You’ve heard the phrase ‘It takes a village’?” Jennifer Bishop, of Baltimore, said, talking about the idea that many people are needed to raise just one child. “With a special-needs child, it takes the entire world.” She went to BWI with her son, Nathaniel Epstein, who is 14 years old. Nathaniel had been on a plane once before when he was 4 and was very scared by it. The trip was a disaster and Bishop promised herself she would never fly with Nathaniel again. This spring, Bishop’s mother will turn 92 years old, so 10 years after their first airplane trip, the two will try again. Bishop and her son want to visit her mother because she might only be around a few more years. Wings for Autism was the perfect way to test out flying. Nathaniel can walk, but he spends most of his time in a wheelchair because he gets scared in new places. If he gets fearful, he sometimes sits down and decides not to move. “Just going to the grocery store is a big deal,” Bishop said.
Ready For Takeoff The mood was different on the practice day, she said. Volunteers at the airport took families through a special security gate, then they boarded the plane and got in their seats. They heard instructions about safety and were served pretzels and a glass of water. They were back off the plane in a half-hour. It was the fastest little flight to nowhere. The parents there that day said that they try to avoid airports and just drive everywhere. Carolina Harp said she drives a lot when she needs to take her two sons on vacation. Tomas and Mateo have gone on long trips from their home in Maryland to Georgia and Florida, but that means driving 10 to 12 hours.
This summer the family needs to go to California, which is all the way across the country and would take days of driving. Harp said she does not plan to make that drive. She is more concerned with Mateo than Tomas. In the car, Mateo can be distracted by his iPad or Nintendo 2DS, she said. But he does not have any patience and there are times during a flight when he has to turn off his devices. It can make Mateo very upset, because he doesn't always understand why his devices have to be turned off.
A Bigger Challenge Jennifer Bishop learned on the practice run that getting on the plane was more of a challenge for Nathaniel than she thought. He briefly refused to get out of his wheelchair without his mom next to him. Bishop was pushing the wheelchair from behind, so she decided to move around to the front of Nathaniel’s chair to walk with him. Then the family went to the first seat of the plane and plopped down and Nathaniel smiled — he had done it. Bishop knows once they try to fly for real it might be harder. “How much easier it would be if the airport was filled with volunteers who were expecting us,” Bishop said.
