1 in 68

I wrote a piece for the Washington Post recently, regarding the story of a girl with autism and her family being removed from a flight after an emergency landing, and comparing that to a personal story where we were met with such caring and empathy at a local restaurant (you can read our story here).  The whole story about the airline is preposterous and shows me just how far we have to go to achieve real Autism Acceptance.  

It blows my mind.

A fellow autism mom got in touch with me with a story about her beautiful daughter with autism who, despite having a doctor's written recommendation, was not given appropriate airplane seating to accommodate her disability by the airline.  She suffered terribly during her 10 hour flight - I can not imagine what this family has gone through.  But I do know that it is not ok.  At all.

Please read her story here and please sign a petition here to make the Federal Department of Transportation recognize individuals with autism and service dogs and make accommodations accordingly.  

With every 1 in 68 kids in our country being diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, isn't it time to respond accordingly for these kiddos?  The disability is real, and it's time it was taken seriously by the Department of Transportation.  

For everyone's safety.  Please check it out.

Thank you!

Again, here is the link to the petition:

https://www.change.org/p/federal-department-of-transportation-make-air-travel-safer-for-people-with-autism-and-service-dogs