(Shari Small/WBZ NewsRadio)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A program that helps manage the stress of flying for children on the autism spectrum and their families was held for the 18th time at Boston Logan International Airport on Saturday.
The Wings for Autism program allows children with autism to practice the experience of air travel.
“They get their boarding pass, they go through a fully staffed security checkpoint, and they experience exactly the protocols that would be in place when they travel. They board the aircraft. They actually close the door and pretend,” program coordinator Jennifer Ryan said.
Ryan designed and launched the program with the Charles River Center after learning of a family that cancelled a trip when the flying experience became too overwhelming for their child with autism.
Six hundred people came out to Saturday’s event. 6,000 have participated in Boston since it launched.
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WBZ NewsRadio’s Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports