fly747first

Completely agree ^^^^

lupine

I have seen a 14 y.o. autistic teen go berserk, and his mom, dad and a sibling got hurt. It was my cousin, and it was very scary to watch. He had strength far beyond his size when he was in a rage.

If a baby/toddler has a meltdown, there can be a lot of screaming and crying, and maybe some kicking the seat in front, but it unlikely that others would be hurt.

A full-on teenager? Yeah, I'd be worried if the mom said the teen might start scratching people.

If you have a kid that goes into a meltdown if she doesn't have hot food when she wants it, why the heck wouldn't you routinely travel with a wide-mouth thermos that you can get filled with steaming hot food when you're in the terminal before getting on the plane?

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

cruisr

Agreed. This Mom is the problem not the teen. I read the Moms Facebook post which was incomprehensible in some parts. I have no sympathy for her at all and if she does take UAL to court them UA should counter sue. She just seems very self righteous and entitled. Maybe she should have stayed home and donated the money she spent on the Disney trip to the poor. then none of this would have happened.

BlueMilk

I wholly agree that it's disturbing if bad things happen when one is minding their own business. The best of us might lose our minds.

So consider this young adult's perspective. None of the accounts (even those presumptive or speculative) have suggested that she was doing anything other than minding her own business. It was the non-autistic collection of adults in her vicinity that lost their cool.

Did she threaten anyone?

Did she assault anyone?

Did she lose her mind when escorted from the plane by police?

She did not.

She remained calm and composed and appears, to me, to be one individual involved who distinguished themselves with mature conduct.

So, by all means, let's debate the conduct of the parents, UA and the authorities. But please understand that the individual at the centre experienced a very bad day, not of her making.

She deserves a good deal of respect.

channa

Sometimes bad days become good days in the end.

The girl is what, 15? In a few years, she'll be able to purchase her own ari travel, and she'll look back on this and remember United for the airline that it is. And how Delta saved the day.

And if her parents end up with a settlement to their lawsuit, there might be some cash in it as well.

While it was a bad day on that day, it's possible that she'll remember it down the road as the day that made her a loyal Delta customer, and the day that United paid for her college education. Ultimately, a good day in the end.

lupine

Or maybe she'll just figure out that her mom is a jerk, but that she loves her anyway.

kettle1

Steve_19

I think her comments about poverty, in light of what she does for a living, make the situation even stranger. Does she think most people will truly relate her experience to people in actual poverty?

HkCaGu

She was interviewed on KFI-AM Los Angeles during the 1:30-2:00 pm slot on Tuesday. She sounded like a reasonable person appropriate to her education and profession. I did not hear the whole interview, but it sounded like she was frustrated in the FAs inability to understand the medical situation, and that the price of finally getting the hot food was an inaccurate report given to the captain who made the later decision. She was not looking for money, but training of FAs in understanding the nature of autism.

So if one can think from her perspective: Whatever fault she had for not being prepared (or surprised), she had to, in good conscience with professional knowledge and personal experience, and especially with the manifested IGNORANCE of the FAs, declare a threat. Upon accommodation, she also in the same manner declared that the threat had ended (especially if the flight had proceeded to PDX as scheduled). Then on the ground she had to endure the less-than-completely informed paramedics, LEOs, and cockpit crew.

It is reasonable to me that she wanted FAs trained on autism.

Steve_19

That opens a very large door. I believe FA's should have safety training (ex. CPR) for certain, but to be familiar with autism as well as multiple other conditions? It sounds like she wants all FAs to be registered nurses as well.

On the other hand, maybe this would help to increase turnover of some of the more seasoned FAs we get to "enjoy" these days.

halls120

Mom is a jerk, even if daughter doesn't figure it out.

OccasionalFlyerPerson

She had been 'howling' before the hot food was supplied. This is extremely different from your description of the situation, and it's clear that the 15 year did not remain calm and composed. Many, if not most, reports of this story have mentioned this behaviour. E.g.

http://gawker.com/united-allegedly-r...-fo-1703774723

Here the parents admit that Juliette had a meltdown on the plane.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...tism/27123423/

mrboom

The husband seems to be honest while the mother is completely in denial and or changing her version of the story to tailor it to her agenda. Whack job mother. That poor husband and family.

OccasionalFlyerPerson

The mother is being supported by the media. The media appear to mostly be reporting her side of the story, while giving limited or in some cases no coverage to differing opinions.

LETTERBOY

Which is how they usually do things, once they decide what agenda they want to push.