I understand first hand when it comes to traveling with a special needs family member it can be very demanding, worrisome and scary to be honest. For the longest time I wanted to avoid flying with Claire because the few times we had flown commercial I had no idea about theses benefits and didn’t utilize them when traveling.
I found out this last year about TSA Cares Program and it made our most recent flight to Disney World so much more smooth, stress free and enjoyable!
These are 3 travel benefits we utilize when traveling with our autistic daughter Claire. These benefits are for individuals with disabilities or medical conditions and worth using!
All three of these benefits helped make traveling with Claire a much more smooth process and less stressful on us all. It makes the possibility of travel not so daunting with a special needs family member.
Key Notes
- TSA CARES PROGRAM DETAILS.
- WHAT IS A TSA PASSENGER SUPPORT SPECIALIST?.
- SECURITY SCREENING PROCEDURES SUPPORT
TSA Cares program
TSA Cares Program provides information on security procedures aimed to help passengers with disabilities, medical conditions and individuals needing additional assistance to better prepare for the security screening process. They inform you about extra support, information and assistance that can help make the screening process go more smoothly.
To request more info it’s suggested to contact TSA 72 hours before your flight. However, we filed the TSA CARES FORM out about 2 weeks before our trip and they called us a couple days out from our flight to provide us with details about what to do when we get to the airport!
Contact TSA Care by calling TSA Cares at (855) 787-2227 or filling out the TSA Cares Form Here.
tsa passenger support
TSA Passanger Support Specialist is a TSA officer who A PSS is a TSA officer who has received specialized training, including how to effectively assist and communicate with individuals with disabilities or medical conditions; and passengers who need additional screening assistance. They will help you and your family member through the security screening process.
Examples where you may request PSS assistance may include:
- Difficulty following instructions due to a disability or medical condition.
- Have internal or external devices that may affect your ability to use screening technology.
- Traveling with medically necessary liquids, gels, or aerosols over 3.4oz.
- Traveling with a child who has a disability or medical condition.
- Traveling with a service animal.
- Difficulty understanding and communicating in English.
- Traveling with religious, cultural, sacred, or spiritual items, ceremonial regalia, and headdresses requiring special handling.
- Traveling with crematory remains.
For example, our staff member was able to walk us through the front of the line and help us with the screening process. We did not have to wait in the extremely long line which was a benefit for us because Claire doesn’t not cognitively understand “waiting” and doesn’t comprehend why we have to do that which can turn into meltdowns and being overwhelmed. They offered to assist us to our gate which is very helpful if you are a parent traveling alone.
security screening procedure support
This is modified screening procedures put into place to help those with disabilities or medical conditions so they have a less stressful and seamless security checkpoint of going through the screening process. For example, Claire was aloud to keep her shoes on, stay in her medical stroller as well as hold on to her iPad after running it through the scanning machine all while going through the screening area.
There can be so many What ifs when traveling with your special needs child or family member. I hope this has helped give you some guidance and confidence that it is possible! Start slow, take a short flight, see if your airport allows practice walk throughs (many due). The great thing is TSA is becoming much more accommodating when it comes to disability travel, allowing us the chance to see the world as a whole family!
Have you utilized TSA Cares Program? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments!
with grace & gratitude- Renee
