Parents in the Twin Cities! Are you flying with a special-needs child for the first time? Worried about how your child will handle their first flight?

Let’s be real—traveling is stressful enough, but when you add autism, sensory sensitivities or other special needs into the mix, it can feel downright impossible. That’s why I’m so excited to share our amazing experience with the “Navigating MSP” program at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. It completely transformed my son’s first flight into something not just manageable, but actually fun.

Our Story

My son is on the spectrum and has sensory sensitivities, including misophonia. I also have misophonia, but despite its actual meaning—”hatred of sound”—we don’t actually hate sound. In fact, we love sounds, especially music! We just struggle with certain noises; in fact, my triggers are different from his. Having misophonia makes certain situations difficult, especially ones where we’re confined in a small area with sounds that we can’t control. As a result, we have to bring noise-canceling headphones whenever we’re these situations. But I knew having a practice run at the airport would be helpful for my son to prepare for any specific triggers or stressors.

I traveled a lot on planes a lot growing up, but my son was soon going on his first flight. Thanks to credit card points, I had just gotten FREE plane tickets for our family of 4 to visit my dad in Nevada. We were so excited! My daughter had flown once before, but I knew we needed to prepare my son for this new experience.

I had heard of Navigating MSP from local special needs family support groups I was in. It’s a FREE in-person experience that gives special needs kids a practice run through the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. You even get to board a real plane!

Our Navigating MSP Experience

Navigating MSP offers events once a month, and you must pre-register. You can bring your family, too. After securing the flight tickets, I signed up our family a couple months in advance for an event a week before our departure. I recommend doing it this way as events fill up, and they only schedule kids who have an actual flight booked.

We arrived and found families scattered around, each talking with volunteers wearing special vests. We checked in and were assigned a volunteer who would spend the whole time just with our family. She was wonderful! She gave my kids some free packets with activities, got to know our specific needs, and explained what to expect from this event. There were other families meeting with their volunteers too.

The experience helped us get familiar with the airport ahead of time, which was a total game-changer. “Navigating MSP” gives families the chance to do a practice run before travel day, and it made such a difference. My son got to see the spaces, hear the sounds, and just take it all in without the added stress of actually having to catch a flight. It helped so much with easing his anxiety.

Our volunteer also gave us badges that had sunflowers. The sunflowers symbolized a hidden disability. When you wear this badge, airport employees know that you have a hidden disability, and they are required to give you accommodations like extra time. However, it’s important to note that this isn’t a special ticket or fast-track pass – it’s just a badge that communicates some things may be more challenging or time-consuming for you than for others.

We walked through the airport and went through security. Security is probably the most stressful part of flying! My son got to experience putting his stuff in bins, taking his shoes off and going through the body scanner. Typically in my experiences, security guards keep the line moving and can make you feel rushed through this part. But it wasn’t rushed or stressful (having the sunflower badges helped). 

A Support Dog

We took our time walking more through the airport, talking about the whole airport experience, and we sat at a gate with other people in the group. We got to board a plane! As we waited, we were introduced to a support dog!

Oh my gosh, my kids loved meeting this sweet, calm pup at the airport. This dog knew a few tricks like how to shake hands. And was very friendly! We gave her treats and got some cuddle time.

On a Real Plane (though staying on the ground)

Soon we got to board a plane! We were divided into 2 groups, and our group sat in the back with one pilot, while the other group sat in the front with another pilot.

The pilots talked to each group about the whole experience of flying. We got to ask questions, explore the plane (and even the lavatories if we wanted), and just sit in a seat while the engine was on.

This was the absolute highlight. My kids even got to sit in the cockpit for pictures!

After this experience, my son was ready and confident, which made the whole experience so much smoother for all of us. 

Our Trip!

Our trip to Nevada to see my dad was a success. The flights went smoothly, both ways. Wearing the sunflower badges helped a lot. One benefit was we were able to board planes with the first boarding group, instead of waiting. Tihs was helpful so we could avoid triggers in the waiting area, and have some time to get adjusted to being on the plane before it was crowded.

During our trip we also explored the area including Lake Tahoe and Reno. I’m so glad we had Navigating MSP to help us prepare so we could travel together.

In closing

Thanks to “Navigating MSP,” what could have been a super stressful ordeal turned into a day full of smiles and excitement. I can’t recommend this program enough for families with kids who have autism or sensory sensitivities. It’s proof that airports really can go above and beyond to make air travel better for everyone.

If you’re planning a trip, seriously, check this out. It made all the difference for us.

Here’s the Navigating MSP website.

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Originally published on: Feb 6, 2025