MEDFORD, ORE. — Standing near Gate 3 at the Rogue Valley International Medford Airport, 11 year old Brian Gardner is a bit nervous about boarding a plane.
Gardner was diagnosed with autism when he was younger, and often has break downs during new experiences.
“It is quiet challenging because it’s really hard for him to adapt to new situations, new environments,” said Brian’s mother, Belkys Gardner.
The Gardners,along with about 20 families with children with some sort of disability were able to get a taste of what it’s take to take to the skies on Saturday, without leaving the ground.
“We are doing a practice flight to help those with disabilities to have the practice time in a non-stressful way to see what airplane travel is like and open doors for them and communities abroad,” said Kimberly Larsen, of Families for Community.
Families for Community is a parent driven group, that works to make sure all children have equal opportunities regardless of disabilities.
The group teamed up with the Medford airport, Alaska Airlines and the TSA to give these kids the full experience of being on a plane.
On father said, “It means that a door opens for him because it allows us to show the kids it’s not that traumatic of an experience to get on a plane and allow them to be a little calmer when they fly.”
Although the event is beneficial to the families, Larsen says it’s also give the airline staff and TSA a better understanding of how to handle these special flyers.
“A lot of people haven’t been exposed to disability, specifically in travel and it was a perfect partnership to help the employees learn as well families to learn about travel,” Larsen said.
While their final destination maybe right where they started,they’ve personally gone to newheights. And next time they’ll be ready to take off.
This is the second time the event was hosted. To learn more about Families for Community, click here.
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