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83 Maiden Lane, New York City, NY 10038
ph: 212.780.2500 1 fax: 212.780,2353
TTY: Dial 711 and ask for 212.780.2500
www.ahrcnyc.org
Laura J. Kennedy, President
Gary Lind, Executive Director
Dear families,
We are thrilled to tell you about an exciting oppportunity for you and your son or
daughter. Wings for Autism is a structured and supported "rehearsal" for airport
travel for students with intellectual disabilities and autism. This event is sponsored by
a collaboration of The ARC of the United States (AHRC NYC is a member of the ARC),
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Delta Airlines. Past Wings for
Autism events have taken place at Chicago Medway International, San Francisco
International, and LAX with great success.
Wings for Autism's success lies in its ability to provide school age students with a
realistic experience regarding travel. It prepares the students by providing them with
familiarity and an awareness of what to expect before getting on a plane. It helps them
become desensitized to the potentially difficult and often complex aspects of airline
travel. As a result of this experience, it has helped both students and families travel
more enjoyably and with ease. It also helps families to know what obstacles might lie
ahead and provide them with strategies and techniques.
Therefore, on Saturday, April 18th, 2015, we are delighted to invite you, your son or
daughter and their siblings, to join us and some of the staff from your child's school,
to LaGuardia Airport, located in Queens New York, to embark on our journey. There is
no cost to families and your on-boarding process will commence at noon. At least one
family member must accompany the student in order to participate.
Your excursion will encompass of all of the routine travel activities that a passenger
experiences prior to and including boarding a plane. Such activities will include
obtaining boarding passes, going through security, and boarding the airplane. Your
plane will not take flight.
Wings for Autism is designed to help our students, their families, and airport/airline
personnel understand how to improve the travel process through a structured,
accommodating introduction to the on-boarding process and to provide our students
with a rewarding yet educational experience. Even if you have traveled before, this
event can help with future travel or trips to new places.
All students and their family members are invited to participate in Wings for Autism.
If you are interested in particpating in this exciting event, please complete the bottom
part of this letter and return it to your school with the necessary information. We will
subsequently register your family's name with the ARC of the United States attesting to
your participation in this exciting event. Wings for Autism will take place in the
afternoon of the 18t and your specific "departure" time will be provided closer to the
actual date to ensure that each family receives adequate support.
Please inform your school's principal as soon as possible and feel free to contact John
Goodson, AHRC's Education Department Director of Staff Training at
[email protected] if you have any concerns or questions. Please know that
more details will be forthcoming but we are trying to assess interest.
Once again, this program has been held at different airports across the country with
great success. We hope you will join us on this outing and as a result, you and your
family members will benefit and experience ease and comfort with airport-based travel.
I am looking forward to participating with you on the 18t of April.
est regards,
/ Christina Muccioli
Director of Education, AHRC New York City
cc. Gary Lind
Laura Kennedy
Please respond by Friday, March 20th, 2015.
I am interested in having my son/daughter participate in Wings for Autism
Total number of family members that will be participating (including student)
Name of child:
Name(s) of parent(s) and siblings: