"If your kid has a disability with any unpleasant behaviors, keep him/her out of public."
That's the message I got after reading Gayla McCord's post about a toddler with autism who was ordered off an American Airline flight.
First, here's the story that is being referenced to:
Autistic Toddler Kicked Off Airplane
The Consumerist: American Eagle Kicks Autistic Child Off the Plane
"As the American Eagle flight headed down the taxiway, two-and-a-half-year-old Jarett Farrell wasn't a happy traveler.
His mother says she was doing all she could to calm the autistic boy, but got no sympathy from the flight crew.
"If they just would have been a little more understanding I think that none of this would have been a problem," Mother, Janice Farrell said.
But it became a big problem for everyone on the plane. Farrell says that's because the flight attendant was indignant.
"She kept coming over and tugging his seatbelt to make it tighter, 'This has to stay tight'. And then he was wiggling around and trying to get out of his seatbelt. And she kept coming over and reprimanding him and yelling at him," Farrell said.
One of the pilots came back to the cabin with a stern warning and Farrell says the frustration level escalated."
If that flight attendant was indeed reaching over and strapping the seatbelt in tighter, I can see how it would escalate the situation the way it did.
I've been on airplanes before with babies and toddlers who had difficulty remaining seated. I always extend empathy for families who travel with young children for it can be a tough thing to deal with an energetic child for hours at a time--a situation that's often made worse with delays.
What has me riled up though, is the discussion that is going on over at Supernanny Rules:
Sometimes Special Needs Just Needs to Stay Home
Gayla wrote:
"I don’t think it’s being so much judgmental as it is being awfully darned sick of society being forced to accommodate so many “differences” in people."
and:
"I have to say that in a case such as this, IF the child MAY pose a problem to other passengers, I believe it’s the parents responsibility to visit the doctor to get some sort of sedative that will help make their flying experience a bit easier. If the parent can’t do that - then driving isn’t too crowded and they should be the one cooped up in a small space with their own screaming child."
There’s lots more I can say on the whole overuse of special needs syndrome that’s making life so annoying for normal people - but that’s for another day.
Heads up folks, Gayla's saying that all of us raising "Special Needs" children need to keep them at home, sedate them when traveling and go stand in a corner so you don't bother those other "normal" people.
Gayla, I just have one question for you:
What are you going to do if your child should happen to become disabled one day? Or heaven forbid, you become disabled yourself?
