It may sound like an adventure travel company, but Autism Escapes offers much more than a smooth ride to the traveler’s destination. The nonprofit company, founded by the parents of a child with autism, arranges air travel on private jets for children with autism and their families as a means to visit autism specialists, no matter where they’re located.
"This service should allow families who might otherwise be reluctant to travel with a challenging child to do so without concern for that child's behavior during the trip, and with the knowledge that they and their child will receive the specialized attention needed to make this trip as easy as possible,” says Margaret L. Bauman, MD, director of the MassGeneral Hospital for Children’s LADDERS program. LADDERS is a multidisciplinary center providing expertise in neurology, developmental pediatrics, gastroenterology, and psychiatry/psych-pharmacology for children with autism.
Behavior caused by pain
Autism Escapes was inspired by the personal experience of its founders, Lori and Paul Abend, two New Jersey physicians who are the parents of a 10-year-old son with autism. Despite being treated by a local physician, their son, Michael, was experiencing daily severe episodes of abdominal pain for years.
“Because his verbal skills are limited, he would express his pain by exhibiting aggressive and self-injurious behaviors,” says Paul. “It was like a catch 22; we knew that Michael’s behaviors were caused by pain, but his extreme behaviors prevented us from traveling to get the expert second medical opinions we so desperately needed.”
In desperation, Paul placed a call to Tim Buie, MD, a gastroenterologist and autism specialist at LADDERS. Buie agreed to review Michael’s records and consult with the Abends by phone as a professional courtesy. After listening to Michael’s symptoms, Buie recognized what was wrong, and made adjustments to Michael’s medications. Today, Michael is happy and pain free.
Helping other families
Though the story could have ended there, the Abends’ experience got them thinking about other children with autism who were suffering, whose families had not yet been able to see or talk to the right specialists because of travel constraints. They began researching the idea of creating an angel network utilizing donated hours on individual and corporate private aircraft. They eventually connected with Toni Drummond, of EmreAir Solutions, a private charter company operating out of Teterboro and Morristown airports in New Jersey. When first approached with the concept behind Autism Escapes, Drummond says she was overflowing with both emotions and ideas on how she could contribute.
“If we could help even just one child through such a great cause it would be worth all our efforts,” Drummond explains. “I knew immediately that EmreAir could really help make a difference.”
After much hard work, Autism Escapes literally got off the ground in May of 2009. Two patients with autism and their families met with the Abends and a behaviorist at the Morristown Municipal Airport, and arrived at the Hanscom Air field in Massachusetts less than an hour later. They were then taken to LADDERS to meet with the specialists, including Dr. Buie – a meeting the Abends had so eagerly awaited.
"We in Boston are very fortunate that, for most conditions, there is a nationally known expert that we can seek out for care in one of our wonderful hospitals like Mass General,” said Buie. “Autism Escapes gives children with autism an opportunity to come to a specialist who is not in the neighborhood and be a part of their care and evaluation. We can extend our reach of care and expertise to a larger community of children in need."
