I don't disagree that air travel isn't for everyone. I absolutely would not ever put my son on a plane. Ever. For any reason imaginable.

But, people, seriously, have some empathy. My son has melted down in grocery stores and parks and at school, and I am so saddened by the people who treat us like we are freaks. He and I both try our hardest to get through each day. Minute by minute.

But through it all, I have discovered that "normal" people mostly suck. Just as my son cannot always control his reactions, the same can be said for most normal folks. At least my son has a neurological disorder to explain his behavior.

Grow up, people.

1. The staff should have handled this better(as should have the mother).

2. People on this board(Bean in particular) seem to have a callous view on autism, saying its a "pop-culture diagnosis" when it reality, its a really disabling disorder.

Yes, ultimately, the kid should have been removed off the plane, but they should have been moved to a later flight after the child had calmed down.

Why was it that the staff of the flight had to be the one to attempt to get the boy in a SAFE position so the plane could take off? From that article the mother was not interested in doing anything to protect her child's safety. Yes, it's sad the boy has autism. But there is a reason that the FAA requires all passengers to be belted into their seats at the time of take-off, and it is even sadder the mother thought her child should be exempt from safety regulations just because he has autism. Not only that, the mother thought thousands of people should be held up, or their plans hurt, because her boy was, at the time, unable to sit with his seat belt on.

What if there was a doctor carrying an organ for transplant and he was depending on that flight making it's connection to save someone else's life? What if there a man who had learned his father was dying within the day and he was desperate to see him before that happened but by the flight arriving late would have missed that opportunity? How about a family who had saved and pinched pennies just for a chance to see their family? What about a service member who was returning from Iraq and had not yet seen his newborn child?

So, because one child is at the moment unable to follow FAA regulations regarding safety, all these other people should suffer?

All I'm hearing is, "but he has autism, so no one else is as important or special as he is and he most certainly is exempt from safety regulations."

I'm not being overly dramatic, I've run into this mentality in public when working with kids with disabilities and people here claiming she should just "control" her kid in the same fashion parents control normal kids, which isn't the correct protocol at all. It sounds like the airline crew got into the kids face, overloading his senses even more. We as a society are judged by how we treat our less capable. I agree safety measures need to be followed, but it just sounds like the airline staff was incompetent and not trained to deal with this situation.

Okay, so why did the stewardess and the pilot had to be the one to point out the boy was incorrectly seated? The problem here isn't that the boy was having a meltdown due to autism - it's that the mother wasn't taking the necessary steps to correct the situation of her son putting himself a potentially dangerous situation.

@ Greg

Talk about being over dramatic....

No one has seriously suggested the mother never take her child outside. Nor has anyone blamed the boy for having an uncontrollable reaction. People here have expressed anger and disgust that the mother refused to follow safety protocol for her son.

No, a plane cannot wait indefinitely for someone before it takes off. I would suggest finding someone who flies a lot, or works in the industry to discover why that is not a possibility.

You assumed the mother drugged her child, but read the article and watch the video - as over dramatic as she is being, and the fact that she completely refuses to acknowledge she was allowing her son to be in a dangerous position, don't you think she would have mentioned that fact in an interview? It would have been another pity point for her.

I think you need to carefully reread the reactions of the people on here before throwing a hysterical fit. No one suggested the kid is locked away for life, no one suggested he less of a person than a "normal" person - but people are demanding that he follow the rules designed to protect him and safeguard him against accident.

It is possible that the employees on that flight may need some kind of sensitivity training, but it is not the responsibility of the airlines to make sure their employees are able to deal with every type of disorder known to man. Every autistic kid is different. What may be soothing to one could set another one off.

Did she talk to anyone before the flight to let them know of any special needs? Did she tell them he will be more comfortable if his belt is a little loose? This type of interaction could have prevented the whole situation.

It's just like those ahole parents who don't leave a restaurant or theatre when their kid is screaming. Control your kid or keep them at home.

This is the standard argument/dilemma for a lot of disabilities, mental disorder, racism, sexism, poverty and other discrimination issues, i.e. The world owes them so they have more special rights.

And such way of thinking is resulted from believing in free will, as they believe that their choices were limited by their disabilities.

However, from the point of view of determinism, I would say, just live with what you have, and stop crying about how much you would have if you were normal.

Safety regulations are applicable to all passengers, autism notwithstanding. Presumably, this mother doesn't let her child cross the street against a red light "because he's autisitic".

She and her son were dealt a bad hand and they'll have to adapt to it and not expect the rest of the world to adapt to them. I'm sure the child could be mildly sedated for future flights, and if not, I guess they can't fly. There are other ways to get around.

It's rare that an airline does anything with which I agree but on this occasion, the pilot did the right thing.

Flying is miserable as it is in this day and age. I don't think a flying tube full of people need to suffer delays, defying safety regulations, and a child's caterwauling tantrum whether he is autistic or not. If that mother had even an ounce of class, she would have taken herself and the kid off the flight without being asked. Autism is unpredictable, right? Well, she should not have counted on every flight going as well as his first, and now that she has this knowledge, she might want to look for other methods of transport, for her own sanity and everyone else's. We live in a society that caters to everyone that cries discrimination whether that cry is justified or not. Understanding is fine, but there are limits to that. Sorry the kid has autism. Sorry you have to deal with it as a parent. Ultimately, though, it's not my problem or anyone else's. This situation went beyond the limits of patience and understanding.

The disorder is unpredictable. There's no telling whether he WOULD be ok on the plane or not. Like the article said, he was fine on another flight. So ya, let's say the possibility of his maladaptive behaviours exist so she should find another way to travel. The possibility of his maladaptive behaviours showing up given ANY mode of travel exists. So then what? Well, maybe these kids shouldn't travel at all. Heck, there's even a possible danger if this kid is in a house, better confine him to a room. But all that space, those windows in that room, dangerous...better keep him in a cage. I know I'm exaggerating, but it's where that road of thinking leads.

I mean, we don't really need to build ramps for parapalegics, why bother spending the money? They should just learn to accept that they shouldn't have access to any place above ground level. That sound ok to you guys too?

I am not denying that the flight crew did any wrong by following regulations. But a little patience and understanding is not a lot to ask for from a group of individuals with fully healthy minds.

They did have an alternative. I know this because I have been in the EXACT same situation on a plane, like I said. With an autistic child who was much older than 2. They did not yell at him, they did not tug on his seatbelt, I told them to give him space. They respected me, asked me what I needed if anything, moved us to a seat in the back corner of the plane. Case in point, they HELPED. It's a choice they made. The crew of this flight made the safe and right decisions, sure. But they could have HELPED and they chose not to.

And nobody can tell me that just because someone has autism, they don't have the right to a free pass like that. Because they do. They deserve more, because they've had more taken away from them by no choice of their own OR their parents in most cases.

In this instance it's not the kids fault; it's the Mom's fault. She needs to learn how in the hell to take care of kids with special needs. This sounds like a weepy, bitter Mom who wants to play the victim. Woman up and take care of your kid! You're a discredit to your gender and Moms everywhere!

But big pharma and its pocket $$ protection agency screw us all.

And so alcohol and coffee remain the tolerated social drugs of choice, because America is ruled by tyrannical sexual dinosaurs.

This is not an issue about equality for all. Perhaps you understand what autistic children are and are not capable of on an individual basis because you have worked with them. But do you understand that the FAA has set down mandatory regulations regarding flight safety? A plane may not take off with passengers unbuckled and out of their seat.

IT IS A SAFETY RISK TO THE PERSON NOT WEARING A SEAT BELT DURING TAKE-OFF!

I've flown a lot, and my husband flies even more than I do (two to three times a week sometimes) and there are reasons for these requirements. How was that mother going to handle a frantic son during take-off? What if he had gotten out of his belt again in the middle of take-off and went tumbling down the aisle where he broke a bone or two or ended up concussed? This wasn't about inconvenience to other passengers with his tantrum, it was about his safety.

Equality means nothing if the person being made "equal" is thrust into a position that is potentially dangerous. The stewardess and the pilot did not tell the mother of the child to put her son into a cage in the basement and never let him see light of day again. They informed her he needed to stay in his seat with the belt on because compromising his safety was preventing the take off of the plane.