OK; I am having issues with this

[Mike Mercury]

while I am sympathetic to parents of special need children, this was soooo easily avoided; the mother was well aware of her childs unique needs... but didn't plan ahead very well.

Family With Autistic Daughter Forced Off Plane
The mother of an autistic girl has told how they were forced to get off a flight that made an emergency landing because the airline said her daughter was "disruptive".
Dr Donna Beegle said they were flying to Portland, Oregan, from a holiday at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, with United Airlines when 15-year-old Juliette began to get hungry.
She said Juliette refused snacks they had brought with them and needed hot food quickly to avoid her having a "meltdown".
She told KPTV: "I asked the flight attendant if they had anything hot, because Juliette is very particular about her food

"If it's warm she won't eat it, if it's cold she won't eat it, it has to have steam rolling off of it."
The family were told hot meals could only be served to first-class passengers.

Dr Beegle, from Tigard, Oregon, said: "The flight attendant said, 'There's not anything we can get you', so I said, 'Well how about we wait for her to have a meltdown, and start crying and she tries to scratch, and then you'll want to help her'."

A flight attendant then brought a hot meal from first class, and Dr Beegle said Juliette calmed down.

The aircraft then made an emergency landing in Salt Lake City, Utah, where police boarded the plane and asked the family to leave.
Dr Beegle said: "We were shocked to hear them say we're going to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City. We have a passenger in the back of the plane who has behaviour issues.

"I asked them why and they said 'the captain doesn't feel comfortable flying to Portland with your daughter on the flight'."
Writing on her Facebook page, Dr Beegle said: "This was a sheer case of ignorance. Prejudice, ignorance and mistreatment are all too common toward people facing poverty."

Footage of the moment the family were removed from the flight has been posted online. In it, passengers can be heard calling for the family to be allowed to remain on board.

United Airlines said in a statement: "After working to accommodate Dr Beegle and her daughter during the flight, the crew made the best decision for the safety and comfort of all of our customers and elected to divert to Salt Lake City after the situation became disruptive.
"We rebooked the customers on a different carrier and the flight continued to Portland."
The family has complained to the Federal Aviation Administration and plans to sue the airline.

Either fly first class, or don't fly at all.

[DAB]

bring your own munchies.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

while I am sympathetic to parents of special need children, this was soooo easily avoided; the mother was well aware of her childs unique needs... but didn't plan ahead very well.



Either fly first class, or don't fly at all.

Please note the Mother is a rights activist.

[Aerovette]

Sedation before travel.

[Gina]

Obviously, y'all have never dealt with an autistic child who has meltdowns. It's not as simple or easy as you think.

[DAB]

correct, i have no experience with that at all.

but the mom does, so she should know what will be needed and plan accordingly.

[Sneaks]

Originally Posted by DAB

correct, i have no experience with that at all.

but the mom does, so she should know what will be needed and plan accordingly.

Have to agree with DAB on this one.
"Your lack of preparedness does not constitute an emergency on my part"

[RedLS1GTO]

IN HER OWN WORDS:

...so I said, 'Well how about we wait for her to have a meltdown, and start crying and she tries to scratch, and then you'll want to help her'."

If you expect people to make exceptions and help you, it's probably best not to act like a raving bitch. Just a thought.

The family has complained to the Federal Aviation Administration and plans to sue the airline.

Of course they do.

F**k her. Was probably her intent from the start.

[Gina]

Yes, the mom should have been prepared and it seems she tried to be by bringing snacks. But, the daughter wanted something else. It's impossible to know or prepare for anything and everything the child might decide they want which could lead to a meltdown. If it had been my daughter, almost anything can set her off when she's confused, scared, doesn't understand something, in pain, plans change, or any of a zillion other things.

And sedate them? You have to sedate them to the point of almost unconsciousness to achieve desired results. BTDT, it doesn't work. They don't react to meds like other people in a lot of cases.

And before anyone says they are just spoiled.........well, that's not even worth discussing. Get back to me after you've raised an autistic child who has meltdowns. I did not spoil my daughter. She has severe medical problems which affect her perception, understanding, and communication.

I will say this........I've only flown with my daughter once. And we did go first class. It was a nightmare. Flight was cancelled and we had to stay overnight. The change in plans really set her off. Unless it's 100% unavoidable, I'll never do it again. You can't prepare for every circumstance.

Trust me, we'll do almost anything to avoid a meltdown. You think it's tough on those around them? Try thinking about how miserable they are when they totally lose control.

[Gina]

BTW, I'm NOT sticking up for the mom. She sounds like a raving lunatic bitch.

[RedLS1GTO]

Originally Posted by Gina

BTW, I'm NOT sticking up for the mom. She sounds like a raving lunatic bitch.

From what I see, that's the problem.

I'd be willing to bet that they did what they did because of HER, not because of the daughter.

I'd also be willing to bet that if she had gone about it in a civil manner and simply explained the situation without going into full bitch mode, it would have been a drama free event.

[DAB]

another account:

Oregon family says they were kicked off United flight due to autistic daughter's behavior | Fox News

relevant quote: "...is suing United in the hope of requiring all flight attendants to undergo training in dealing with autistic passengers."

ummm....how are they supposed to do that? this is something that apparently affects behavior, as opposed to an obvious physical limitation (like confined to a wheel chair). does the passenger have to declare that they are autistic? and assuming that the FA is made aware of this, does the passenger also have to tell them what might happen and what the cure might be? what if the cure is not available on the plane? this doesn't sound like a one size cure fits all kind of thing. maybe some want a specific food, others want a specific physical item....

planes are not flying diagnostic wards. FAs have plenty to do as it is.

if her experience has shown that flying is not the best way to go, then go to plan B. does that involve more time? maybe. more money? maybe.

we all have limitations, mental and physical, that we have to work around. some disrupt our plans or the plans of others, but we do the best we can. do i like to fly? no. so i plan to drive. if i had to, yes, i could fly somewhere.

if this lady and her daughter have now discovered that flying is not their best overall option, then think of something else.

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by Gina

BTW, I'm NOT sticking up for the mom. She sounds like a raving lunatic bitch.

Though, 15 years of diffusing consistent (daily? weekly? I don't know) meltdowns can take its toll on even the nicest of folks.


It's difficult to judge the situation with the small amount of information provided, but then it's not really our place to do so anyways.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by RedLS1GTO

From what I see, that's the problem.

I'd be willing to bet that they did what they did because of HER, not because of the daughter.

I'd also be willing to bet that if she had gone about it in a civil manner and simply explained the situation without going into full bitch mode, it would have been a drama free event.

"If it's warm she won't eat it, if it's cold she won't eat it, it has to have steam rolling off of it."
The family were told hot meals could only be served to first-class passengers.

Dr Beegle, from Tigard, Oregon, said: "The flight attendant said, 'There's not anything we can get you', so I said, 'Well how about we wait for her to have a meltdown, and start crying and she tries to scratch, and then you'll want to help her'."

The Mother is the problem. If she had said it in a different way VS telling them they WILL have a meltdown they most likely would have gotten t meal and been on their way.

Imagine if You or I said " If I don;t get a hot meal for myself I'm going to get nasty and start Scratching you and others" what would happen.

[Aerovette]

If I am not mistaken, you can declare any special assistance you need when you purchase the ticket. If not then, you can do so at the gate. She "could have" stated that her daughter has special needs and they ar ewilling to pay an upcharge to obtain a hot meal for her on the flight. I mean, even at an extra 20 bucks, it has to be worth the inconvenience of getting tossed. Then again, there is more money to be made in a lawsuit.

I wish I could find something to sue over for a cool $400k. That would solve about a thousand issues I have going on right now.

[island14]

Originally Posted by RedLS1GTO

From what I see, that's the problem.

I'd be willing to bet that they did what they did because of HER, not because of the daughter.

I'd also be willing to bet that if she had gone about it in a civil manner and simply explained the situation without going into full bitch mode, it would have been a drama free event.

Probably... And was my first thought.

But kinda hard to tell from the story without all of the details.

Footage of the moment the family were removed from the flight has been posted online. In it, passengers can be heard calling for the family to be allowed to remain on board.

This part sounds like they were not really a problem or out of line.

Could go either way, attendant was a bitch... or the Mom was... sounds like a coin toss without more details.

Just the idea that she might have a meltdown does not sound like enough to kick them off, but if she did have a meltdown, it would be understandable.

I have seen a few Flight attendants be kinda snotty asswipes at times to people flying with kids.

But most are pretty professional and have good people skills.

[NeedSpeed]

I find the odd part about this story is it said they went ahead and brought her a hot meal and she calmed down.

On top of it, they were flying from Florida going to Oregon and they landed in Utah? They were most of the way there.

They had maybe an hour or two to go and they chose to delay everyone on the plane for likely hours I'm sure by the time they landed, handled the situation, and got cleared to continue.

[StaticCling]

Originally Posted by Gina

Obviously, y'all have never dealt with an autistic child who has meltdowns. It's not as simple or easy as you think.

[wicked_c6]

Originally Posted by VITE1

The Mother is the problem. If she had said it in a different way VS telling them they WILL have a meltdown they most likely would have gotten t meal and been on their way.

Imagine if You or I said " If I don;t get a hot meal for myself I'm going to get nasty and start Scratching you and others" what would happen.

Having flown first class many times...they don't always have spare meals laying around. They usually only take the required number of meals for those passengers in First Class. I know this because I've asked to change my meal and was told they only have the exact number. Makes sense because why would the airline order 22 meals when there's only 20 people in FC...its a money waster.

[Grey Ghost]

What is it with people and food. They act like they can't go a few hours without stuffing their pie hole. Give me a break. Eat your damn food before or after the flight.

My bad memory is of a flight and a whiff of some vial smelling crap a foreigner decided to unwrap once airborne.