Taking Flight

The chaos of a busy airport. Loud noises on a plane. For some people—particularly those with intellectual and developmental disabilities × disability a physical or mental condition that can affect a person’s actions, language, or learning (noun) —air travel can be overwhelming. The Arc is an organization that supports people with disabilities. It has found a way to help.

The Arc has partnered with airports nationwide for more than a decade to host a program widely known as Wings for Autism. The program allows kids with disabilities to rehearse every step of air travel before taking their first flight.

ALL ABOARD! Families present their boarding passes to an airline employee at a 2019 Wings for Autism event at Appleton International Airport, in Wisconsin.

The Arc’s director of special projects is Kerry Mauger. She says the idea for Wings for Autism came about in 2011, after a family shared a difficult airport experience. The family had planned a vacation. But the airport proved too stressful for one of the children, who is autistic. “They went home and thought, ‘There have to be other families out there that are having the same experiences,’” Mauger says. They were right. The Arc now organizes between 20 and 25 Wings for Autism events each year. More than 31,000 people in 34 states have taken part.

PILOT SEATS Kids explore the cockpit at an Asheville Regional Airport event, in North Carolina.

Practice Run

Each Wings for Autism event highlights “all the steps involved in the airport process,” Mauger says, from checking in and handling a boarding pass to going through security and getting on a plane. (The plane doesn’t take off, though at some events, it might taxi on the runway.)

“We want [families] to play with the tray tables, open the shades,” Mauger says. Participants even see the cockpit and flight-attendant areas. They’re invited to ask lots of questions. Airport staff are encouraged to ask the families questions, too. “We also want it to be a learning experience for the airport, airline, and TSA × TSA Transportation Security Administration, or airport security (noun) staff,” Mauger says.

FRIENDLY FLYERS A Wings for Autism participant meets the flight crew after boarding a plane.

Along the way, people receive information about programs that can make travel more comfortable. They might also get a lanyard with a sunflower pattern (see “Symbolic Sunflowers”), a sign that they might need extra help.

Air Travel for Everyone

The Arc has chapters around the U.S., some of which use the event name Wings for All. That’s because the program is meant to benefit anyone who needs support. “It’s open to people with any type of disability,” Mauger says.

It’s also open to people of all ages. Leah Marvin is 27. In 2024, she attended a Wings for All event at Syracuse Hancock International Airport, in New York. Marvin has intellectual and developmental disabilities. She had never been on a plane. But her family had plans to fly to Virginia for her grandmother’s 101st birthday party. Marvin’s mother wanted to make sure her daughter was prepared.

CHECKING IN Leah Marvin greets staff at a 2024 event at Syracuse Hancock International Airport, in New York.

“We had the best experience” at the event, Patti Marvin told TFK. She added that the staff was “very attentive.” And a month after the event, the family successfully enjoyed the flight to Virginia. “My daughter was so excited,” Patti Marvin says. “She wore her Wings for All T-shirt.”

Symbolic Sunflowers

Yellow-and-green lanyards are a common sight at Wings for Autism events. They feature the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower. It’s a global symbol for disabilities that might not be visually apparent. People wear these lanyards to indicate that they need additional help or time while traveling.

The lanyards were first used in 2016, at the United Kingdom’s Gatwick Airport. Today, they are recognized in more than 325 airports all over the world.