Mercer County program helps autistic children prepare for air travel
— Mercer County photo
TRENTON, N.J. — About two dozen families introduced their special-needs children to the airport experience at Mercer County’s inaugural program called Let’s Investigate Flying Together (LIFT) exercise at Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN), recently.
The 90-minute program took participants through the experiences of entering the airport, getting boarding passes, going through security, sitting in the passenger hold area, and collecting their luggage through baggage claim.
“Our goal was to help families prepare for a positive flying experience from Trenton-Mercer or any other airport,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes. “This first exercise went very smoothly, and we hope to offer additional LIFT events for people with special needs who could benefit from an airport exposure program.”
LIFT was organized by the County of Mercer, TTN, and the Mercer County Special Services School District to allow children with autism to become familiar with TTN, airport procedures, and the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) process before taking an actual airplane trip.
For the first LIFT event, airport officials and Special Services School District staff members were on hand to answer questions and help participants understand the airport procedures.
Worldwide Flight Services, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and Sky Lounge at Ewing restaurant were also present at the event.
The participating families feedback will help shape future LIFT programs. Overall, participants said they enjoyed the airport experience and would consider traveling from TTN.
“Thank you for organizing this event! Frankly, I have some anxiety regarding flying with my son…exposing him to the process and environment before we actually fly will lessen that,” states one parent.
This parent offered a special thank you to the TSA staff for their desire to learn about the autistic population and how to best assist such travelers, making sure they are safe but compliant.
“Everything went well,” wrote another parent. “My 4-year-old enjoyed his first experience in an airport.”
Some participants said they were disappointed that they were not able to board an aircraft, but organizers expressed hope that an aircraft could be made available for future LIFT exercises.
