Mom Shares The Sweet Note A Flight Attendant Wrote Her After Her Autistic Son Had A Meltdown During Their Flight
This flight crew showed her family compassion that went beyond anything they could have imagined.
Aleksei Potov | Shutterstock I think we can all agree that flying is hard no matter how old you are. Kids have an especially difficult time on planes, and, for neurodivergent kids, the challenge is even greater. Rochelle Johnson, known as @iambeauticurve on Instagram, is a mom to two kids, ages 4 and 8, according to Elise Solé from TODAY. Based on that information alone, flying already sounds like it must be a nightmare for her. Adding rude passengers into the mix certainly doesn’t help anything.
In a July 29 post on Instagram, Johnson shared what happened when her 8-year-old autistic son Creed had a meltdown on a flight. Johnson said they were traveling from Atlanta to Jamaica for a destination wedding. “Creed was having a hard time regulating, melting down every 10 minutes on the flight from ATL to Montego Bay,” she said. “He normally flies with no issue but this flight was completely different for whatever reason.”
Unfortunately, not everyone around the family was willing to be patient with Creed. “What we couldn’t manage was the super intolerant passenger seated in front of us, who made a scene, complained about Creed, and caused a commotion that escalated things even more,” she continued.
Luckily for her, the flight crew showed her family support and kindness.
After dealing with her son having a mid-flight meltdown and the woman in front of them not being very understanding, the frazzled mom got a surprise from one of the flight attendants.
“Just when it was becoming a real situation, Delta Crew 1997 showed up,” she said. “They cared. They were patient, warm and human, and that changed everything. They even handed us a handwritten note (and cookies) just to say they were glad we were on board, and that we were always welcome. It may have been a small gesture to them, but it meant so much to us.”
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The kind gesture truly touched Johnson and her husband, Mike.
Johnson told Solé that she explained to the problematic passenger sitting in front of them that Creed was on the autism spectrum and they were doing their best, but it didn’t have much of an effect. Instead, the woman insisted on being moved to a different seat and started an argument with a flight crew member who tried to smooth things over.
Instead of taking the side of the annoyed passenger, though, Mike said it was clear that the flight crew “had our backs.” At the end of the flight, one flight attendant passed Johnson the note written on a napkin and cookies.
“Hopefully you had a pleasant travel experience today,” the flight attendant wrote. “It was a pleasure having you on board. I want to personally apologize for the passengers around you who lack empathy and compassion. You are always welcomed here with us and we are always happy to provide assistance in any way we can. I hope you enjoy your trip.”
The flight crew showed the importance of inclusive and kind behavior.
The Special Olympics said that one of the biggest reasons that inclusion is important, as was evidenced in Johnson’s story, is that it “cultivates empathy.” They added, “When all people are included in all aspects of society, we’re more likely to see the person rather than focus on their disability.” The flight crew’s inclusive behavior made it clear that treating Creed with kindness was nothing out of the ordinary or some kind of exception. Rather, it was the norm.
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Inclusion is not something that should just be present when there’s someone there who needs it. Instead, it’s a mindset that people can adopt permanently. The flight crew exemplified this, while the rude passenger showed the exact opposite.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
