Airport Awareness Book
In November 2008 we were contacted by Katy Gough, a Press Officer at Manchester Airport who was writing an Autism friendly guide book specifically designed to help the families of children and young people with Autism who would be using the airport for travel.
Katy herself has a younger sister with Autism so knows through personal experience the mountain of problems faced by families travelling abroad each year with youngsters who have social and communication difficulties. She managed to secure funding and the backing of her Senior Management and developed what we think is a fabulous book and a really useful tool for helping ASD travellers prepare for what’s in store once they get to the airport.
It is bright and cheerful and easy to read with plenty of pictures and simple explanations designed to take the fear out of necessary situations such as passport control, security, customs and the inevitable boarding and disembarking of aircraft. There are games and puzzles as well as "did you see or hear?" sections plus plenty of space on the Worry Pages for the children and young people to write or draw their worries onto. This gives prior warning to parents and precious time to work through troublesome situations before they actually happen. Many of our families used the book over the summer and believe it to have made the difference between a relatively calm journey and an absolute nightmare.
The book is free of charge and available from us (whilst we still have some left), directly from Katy at the Airport or as a pdf download here.
The book has an issue number so that the photographs can be regularly updated to include changes in uniforms and settings and will therefore always be as current as possible.
It was a real pleasure to be involved with the project and we are delighted that our logo appears on the inside jacket of the book. Katy’s hard work and dedication has not only helped to raise awareness of the real problems air travel brings for families with ASD but has also provided a moveable template which can (and should) be adapted for every Airport in the country.
Katy Gough
Press Officer
Manchester Airports Group
6th Floor Olympic House
Manchester Airport
Manchester
M90 1QX
Tel: 0161 489 3446
