Anyone have tips for flying with kids on the spectrum?

Asperger's or autism?

We had no trouble with our son flying. Just make sure that the calming parent is sitting with her. They can call the airline to make sure that they get 2 seats together.

Know what her "must have" and triggers are. plan on how to accommodate them in ways that doesn't involve the airline staff or cause inconvenience to other passengers.

Arrive early, 2-3 hours before flight times. This lets her get through security while relatively few people are trying to get through too. The lines tend to be shorter at some airports. Then if going through security (removal of shoes, giving up an item she is holding, pat down etc) causes a meltdown she has a window of time to recover.

Several airlines do allow for people with disabilities to board first. Take advantage of it. Even if the airline doesn't normally do that ask if she can- or consider taking a different airline that does allow priority seating for people with disabilities. It will allow her to get in her seat before people start pushing.

The mom and daughter that were removed knew ahead of time her daughter required her meal to be hot.. no sandwiches. So the flights she chose should have scheduled around meals instead of expecting the stewardess to produce a first class meal/first class accommodations in the coach section. A hot meal at the airport before take off then snacking for the flight might have solved a lot of issues. Or first class tickets so they had first class accommodations of a hot meal and extra room...

We haven't flown yet, but my plan includes talking to DS about it in as much detail as he needs to in the weeks before the flight. He likes to look things up online, so we'll spend some time doing that. We will talk about what to expect when we go through security, and the kind of behavior I expect when we are on the plane. I'm going to have him help pack his backpack with everything he could possible want. Books, iPad, headphones, snacks, some Legos, etc. We plan on arriving an extra hour early so he can get the jitters out, and I plan on talking to the gate attendant to give them a heads up on the possible behaviors he might display. I actually don't think we'll have any problems at all once his headphones go on, but it always helps to be prepared!

My BFF's daughter has major anxiety and when they contacted the airport, they were offered to come and take a tour of the airplane, see into the cockpit, have them hear the noises they'd hear during a flight, etc. It was VERY helpful for my friend's dd.

My ds is on the spectrum but he's quite high functioning. On his first airplane ride, we made sure he had noise canceling earphones, lots of charged electronics and other things for him to work on. We also made sure he had snacks that he liked. Incidentally, it was all for naught. He loved the plane, although he did admit that he didn't like that it was loud, and looks forward to going on one again.