Several situations have happened around the world where a family has been removed from the an airplane because their child who is on the autism spectrum had a meltdown due to inconveniences that could have been prevented.

Travel can be stressful for anyone let alone a child on the autism spectrum, and for Salama and I this has always been a concern for us and something we try to our best to prepare for. What we have learned through this video is that there is a “Special Service Code” DPNA which stands for “Disabled Passenger with intellectual or developmental disability needing assistance”.

Travellers can use this code with the travel agent or airline when booking a flight which will then allow them to list the support they need such as boarding the flight early, getting a hot meal upon boarding, or ensuring that you are all sitting together, essentially anything that can be done to make the travel experience as soon as possible.

The problem here is that Airlines and Airports are not required to cater to the requirements when you use a DPNA code, more importantly many passengers around the world don’t even know it exists. That is why it is so important to raise awareness for the DPNA code, to push our airlines and our airports to acknowledge the code and ensure that travel is inclusive no matter what your needs are, so that we can all experience travelling this world with safety and dignity.