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20 Teaching Airport Personnel about Children with Autism
Background: Families of children with autism frequently avoid air travel because of prior negative experiences with airport personnel secondary to the child's behavior. Airports seek compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Access for children with autism falls within this purview
Objective: To assess the knowledge of autism among airport personnel before and after an educational intervention.
Design/Methods: In collaboration with the ADA liaison at the Philadelphia International Airport, we designed a multi-faceted initiative to improve access for families with children with autism. At part of this initiative, a developmental pediatrician and a child psychologist conducted a 30-minute educational session on autism during an annual ADA training for airport personnel. Participants were invited to complete the Practical Knowledge about Autism Questionnaire (PKAQ) Airport Workers Edition pre- and post- session. The 10-item questionnaire assesses four basic areas of autism: general perception, language, stereotypical behaviors, and social skills.
Results: The sample included 131 participants; 31% were 20-30 yrs, 13% 31-40 yrs, 24% 41-50 yrs, 32 % 50+; 43% were males; 45% were African American, 31% White, 8 % Hispanic; 44 % had worked at the airport <5 yrs, 36% 6-10 yrs, 20% >11 yrs; 34% worked security, 18% gate, 12% curbside, 10% check-in, 26% worked at multiple sites. A third of participants had learned about autism from airport training, a third from family or friend, more than half from media. The educational session resulted in a significant increase in the number of correct answers (p< 0.001). For example: Children with autism usually make eye contact: Correct answer NO: 11% pre vs. 87% post. Children with autism can communicate wants and needs easily: Correct answer NO: 58% pre vs. 85% post. Children with autism should be given medication to relax themwhen they travel: Correct answer NO: 23% pre vs. 72% post. Children with autism may repeat what they hear: Correct answer YES: 51% pre vs. 92% post. Older workers with more years of experience obtained a lower score on the posttest knowledge score. Overall, airport personnel showed great interest in learning more about autism.
Conclusions: This study revealed airport personnel is in need and interested in education about autism. A brief educational intervention was effective increasing autism knowledge among the airport personnel.