ADHD and airline companies

[janny]

Just wondering who everyone prefers to fly with, with ADHD (or similar spectrum disorders) kids.
Im trying to constitute spending an extra £600 to fly Virgin in September just so we can do DTD check-in!!
I dont drive in Florida, so DTD check-in means we have a whole extra day in the parks rather than a whole day sitting in the airport (im sure i dont need to go into the pros and cons for anyone travelling with a hyperactive child lol).

However, the downside is, that we would have to fly from London (an extra £240 for internal flights) and the flights are £400 dearer than a charter from Glasgow. Also, seatback tvs on Virgin vs craning of necks (and possible meltdown due to this) on charter!:erm:

So what im basically asking is, would you pay an extra £600 just to make life more "comfortable" when travelling with your special needs child, or would you take the cheaper option (more spending money!!) and know you could be in for a s**t of a time!??

Ive done both in the past and TBH the Virgin flight was miles better for Vicki, but i would really appreciate others thoughts!

[Mark&Jackie]

Hi Janny

I completely understand where you're coming from. I specifically booked Delta flights because of the seat back TVs. I also booked flights that go through the night hoping (!) that DS9 might sleep for some of the journey - he'll actually have been to school that day and we don't fly until 11.30pm.

I didn't have the option of charter flights, unless I came to the UK first, but I wouldn't travel that distance on a charter with and ADDer - way too risky!;)

good luck
Jackie

[Sean_and_Sue]

Hi Janny - DS, Ben has mild ADHD, plus dyspraxia - which means he can get (amonst other things) very hyped and display some bad behviour - tantrums through to just being so hyper that he would try the patience of a saint.
We flew virgin first time, and they were good - the kids flight packs were a bonus, as were the seatback TV's. Since then, on two subsequent visits, virgin have been out of our price range and we have flown Britania and AA - flying AA again this time. I have to say that I would save the dosh, because I have found that the flights are equally manageable (even with a changeover) if I take certain precautions myself - for a start, Ben has phenergen the night before to ensure that he is able to sleep, despite the excitement - over-tired invariably means poor behaviour - and he also has a dose before travelling - its the minimum dose, it dosn't zonk him out but he stays far more chilled than he would other wise. I also make sure I have plenty to occupy him, plus a selection of snacks that I know won't send him hyper - this year, I have already put together a travel pack consisiting of printed off Disney wordsearches and puzzles, a journal for him to fill in, a suduko and junior puzzle book and various other odds and ends. Laptop comes too, meaning he can (hopefully) watch a DVD, though last time this was passed over in favour of gameboy - we save cash so he can buy a new game at the airport before flying. He can be a huge handful on occasion, but as I said, with a bit a planning he has managed the journey just as well without us having to spend several hundred pounds more, so personally, I would save the cash for spending there:D

HTH

Love Suexx

[Scotsmomma]

Janny...we fly down from Glasgow or Edinburgh most of our trips now...Virgin do have offers on internal flights...some as low as £10 return...at least that would knock something off your price...

[Mark&Jackie]

Janny, I think mytravel might have seat back tvs - it might be a cheaper option for you.

Sue, you've given me some good ideas and I'm going to print some stuff off the internet this evening for DS - 13 hours is a lot of flying time no matter how good the flight is!

thanks
Jackie

[janny]

Hmmm, differing opinions!
Must admit, Vicki did sleep a little bit on the Virgin flight (only coz the plane was near empty though so she stretched over 4 seats!), but not on the TCD flight BUT, she had her dx by the time we flew Virgin and had Melatonin to help her sleep (we all had some in fact :erm: )
The other worrying bit is... if i fly charter from Glasgow, when we land, we have a 3 hour train journey and an hour and a half bus journey in front of us!!
Last year when we flew Virgin, we only had 3 hours to go til we got home, but even then, Vicki was absolutely delerious (sp?) by the time we got on the BA flight ,much to my :blush: :blush: :blush: ...but everyone else on the flight seemed to find it amusing!! :angry: .... bet they wouldnt be laughing if she was theirs!!

Normally i take loads of stuff to keep her amused, gameboys, mp3 players, magazines etc., but she never touches them, so this time, as we are only off for a week, i thought we could maybe do without the "extra" luggage.... maybe not lol!!
Oh dear lord..... think i might go phone the TA, explain the situation and see what options he can come up with!!
Thanks for the feedback!!

[TinkTatoo]

.........I didn't have the option of charter flights, unless I came to the UK first, but I wouldn't travel that distance on a charter with and ADDer - way too risky!;)

good luck
Jackie

We are in the same boat as there are no direct flights that go from Ireland when we want to trvel.

I know where you are comming from Janny and having an extra day in the parks would be worth it (but not £600 worth) also as you said there is the wait around for the connecting flight back to Scotland. We did something similar in 2000 and it was a complete nightmare. It's bad enough having a 2 hour car journey when we get home.

I'd pay extra for the shortest journey option if it saved me a lot of time but apart from that I'd go with what ever is the most convenient for you.

[donnakirby]

i am sure virgin are flying from glasgow next year. hope this helps

[BevS97]

I would go with what ever is the easiest trip home - for us, that is a charter from Newcastle, but it sounds like your trip back from Glasgow is just as bad as your trip back from Gatwick - or that the Gatwick to Aberdeen trip is possibly easier?

Where else can you fly to from Aberdeen? Would a Newcastle Charter combined with a flight to Aberdeen work for you? the Newcastle Charters get into Orlando about lunchtime and get back at 4am - you could be on the first flight back upto Aberdeen and be home fairly easily.

[janny]

Thanks Bev. I looked around at prices for domestic flights and was going to be in the region of £500 to fly anywhere except London or Manchester from Aberdeen.
However, i finally bit the bullet on Monday and booked Globespan from Glasgow. The trip home will probably be the nightmare of all nightmares but i just couldnt constitute the extra money for a (now extended) 10 night holiday!

[BevS97]

Whoops - didn't realise this was an older thread.

I have to say I am thinking of Globespan from Glasgow as well -the prices do go someway to making up for the travel, don't they!

[janny]

I have to say I am thinking of Globespan from Glasgow as well -the prices do go someway to making up for the travel, don't they!

We got an very unexpected holiday grant from the family fund a couple of weeks ago, so that has gone a long way to paying for the flights, and means a few more $$ in my pocket!

[simker]

Family Fund are great. got a fridge freezer and money towards a holiday last year.

Our eldest has ADHD & atypical autism. We found that as long as he was occupied, we were ok. took a game boy & books for him to read. Oh and he fell asleep.

Things will be fine, don't worry, just enjoy.!!!

[Midnight Belle]

As parents of three children the eldest one having ADHD we have found the flight ok on all occasions we have flown with Virgin lots of times and BA with a few charters in between. I personaly found the main problem is when you land and are queing up for car hire. We have an horrendous time with him on each occasion waiting in line for the car hire. As he is extremly tired at this stage and does not care who hears him!! Also on the journey to the villa/hotel he will often fall alseep and then all of sudden wake up shout at us then fall of to sleep again. We are prepared for this now as it happens everytime we go, however this does not stop us from going!!! I am just thinking of your added problem to and from LGW this could be a problem. I would personaly save the extra and fly locally, when we are travelling in and out of Sanford (Charter) (a few years back now) we checked in about 11.00am so no waiting time to check in - we then went for a bite to eat in Sanford, (there is a local market here also) and then we were ready to board at 16.00hrs. Glad we did this as the lines for checking were huge at this stage. You will be fine and just remember you are not alone in overcoming this hurdle.

You will have a great time. :wave: