Miami Int’l Builds Multi-Sensory Room for Children With Autism

Winding through busy terminals, waiting in security lines and enduring flight delays are just a few stressful facts of life for air travelers. Imagine, however, navigating these challenges while traveling with a child who has autism and is extremely sensitive to sights, sounds and physical touch. 

Or how about ushering two children with autism into a crowded holdroom as a swarm of irritated arriving passengers sprint to catch their connecting flights? (One large study notes that nearly 20% of families affected by autism have more than one child with the disorder.) 

The bustling crowds, bright displays, overlapping audio announcements and sweeping architecture in airports can easily overwhelm children with autism. One of the first steps in their journey—passing through a TSA checkpoint—is a process some simply don’t understand. A requirement that is tedious for other travelers can prove extremely upsetting for children with autism.   

Many common travel stressors are multiplied exponentially for such families. Sometimes, the challenges are so difficult, they avoid flying whenever possible.

Miami International Airport (MIA) recently took action to help. In April, it celebrated Autism Awareness Month by unveiling a multi-sensory room to make travel easier for young passengers with cognitive or developmental disabilities. The space is dimly lit, with sensory-soothing features such as an aquatic bubble tube, interactive wall puzzles, beanbag seating and a light projector that creates moving images on a wall. 

Located just beyond security checkpoint No. 4 in Concourse D, the room is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The airport uses signage and a local marketing campaign to help spread the word about its new retreat. 

Local Support

MIA worked with the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern Center for Autism and Related Disabilities to design the room’s soothing features. The organization also educated airport staff and provided information that helped get the project greenlighted.  

“For people with autism, preparation for what they’re going to experience is one of the best things that help,” explains Diane Adreon, the center’s associate director. “It’s great for our community to become more sensitive and provide support for people with autism. Airline travel, like anything that is outside of their routine, can be difficult to handle.” 

The project also was completed in coordination with the Miami Beat Team, a group of 15 local business professionals who assist with community service projects. Among other things, the group coordinated fundraising that provided $15,000 for the project. The remaining $7,650 came from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

Three Aviation Department employees who are on the Beat Team spearheaded the multi-sensory room project as an expansion of MIA Instruction & Readiness (MIAair), the airport’s support program for passengers with special needs. Launched in 2015, MIAair provides educational materials and opportunities for passengers with special needs to practice crucial aspects of the travel experience (navigating the terminal, passing through a security checkpoint, boarding a plane, etc.) before their actual travel dates.

Growing Need

One reason MIA and other airports are making such efforts is an increase in the number of children being diagnosed with autism. In the United States alone, one in 59 children has an autism spectrum disorder, according to a 2018 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from one in 68 children just two years earlier. And many, including Adreon, say that statistics understate the issue, because there are more children on the spectrum who have not been diagnosed. 

“Multi-sensory rooms have proven to be a helpful amenity for traveling families at other airports, and MIA wants to be on the forefront of accommodating the needs of all travelers,” says Lester Sola, MIA director and chief executive officer. “Early feedback from users of the multi-sensory room has been overwhelmingly positive, with parents telling us how thankful they are that the airport has provided a quiet, private space for their children to de-stress and prepare for the next step in their airport experience.”

Airport officials are consequently exploring the possibility of opening a second multi-sensory room in MIA’s South Terminal. Multi-sensory rooms can also benefit children and adults with cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, brain injuries, dementia and mental health issues such as stress or anxiety.

For Sola, it’s all about inclusivity and providing travel opportunities to families that may otherwise be hesitant to fly: “The goal of the MIAair program is for everyone to experience the magic and wonder of flight.”