Originally Posted by
JDiver
Passengers in wheelchairs and / or needing assistance are pre-boarded.
Whilst it is common for families with small children often are pre-boarded abroad, that's not the usual practice with most airlines (maybe all?) in the USA.
The family with small children preboarding thankfully (for abusers) and sadly (for those that could really use it) went away because of the unfortunate overuse by those that thought entitled to board planes early just because they had a rug rat in tow.