Traveling for people with disabilities

Hi again all - this past month I did some traveling for a cousin's wedding. As I was making my plans, I began to think about travel advice for people with disabilities.

One big concern is rental cars. When traveling, you always have to make reservations ahead of time for adaptive equipment in rental cars. Not only do you have to make that reservation, you have to confirm it, and call the specific office of the rental car company where you will be picking up the car to confirm the adaptive equipment.

Even then, that equipment is not going to be guaranteed. That happened to me once, so I think you should be prepared. Also ask the rental agency ahead of time if the shuttle bus that takes you to and from the airport is accessible, or if it isn't, if they'll have a car take you to and from the airport. Some booking agencies may call you ahead of time if you request adaptive equipment to confirm it, which can be a nice bonus.

However, to avoid problems, I would suggest you arrange a flight to arrive no later than the early afternoon. That way, if the rental car agency doesn't have the equipment set up for you, there will be time for them to get the person who sets it up on site, if that person isn't there.
Get there an hour or two before you need the car, if possible, to be sure they have the car's equipment hooked up. Or, you can buy portable hand controls to hook them up yourself - but you need to have your own insurance worked out for this beforehand.

As for flying - if you need an aisle chair, you need to get the gate 45 minutes early. If you have a layover and you have any kind of physical disability, you should allow for at least an hour between connections. This is because you will be the last person to be taken off the flight, even if your next flight is leaving minutes after you land - the flight attendants usually can't make everyone on the plane wait for you to have an aisle chair brought up.

Let someone at the desk by your gate know as soon as you can that you will need an aisle chair. Most airlines contract out the aisle service to the airport, so you need to get there with enough time for the airline to call for the chair.

When arranging the seating for your flight, let the ticketing agent know that your companions need to sit next to you in case you need to reach the overhead compartment or need assistance on the flight.

There may be some issues with the use of an aisle chair, such as awkward questions from the people escorting you as you are sitting in the aisle chair. Just be prepared ahead of time for this kind of thing.

If you can transfer all the way to the window seat, do it, so no one bumps into you. And try to go to the bathroom ahead of the flight, of course. Consult your doctor before flying, because blood can pool in your feet, causing problems. Your doctor may say you need to consider hose or long socks for protection and to constrict blood flow.

When you go into an airport, it's important to know your rights. You should know that it's within your rights to bring medical equipment on the flight. For people who catheterize, you can bring your tube of lubricant. It might be necessary to explain this to the security staff, who may not be familiar with the medical equipment allowances.

Take all of your catheters or lubricant or alcohol swabs and put them in see-through plastic travel bags. Security told me once it helps you and it'll help them, so they know what you have and it's right there in front of them. A security person at Raleigh's airport told me that although my lubricant was more than 3 ounces, it was okay because it was medical equipment.

If you use a wheelchair, it's extremely likely you'll be searched. So be prepared to be patted down. Typically, you will be put at the head of the security line. Your companions can come along with you.

Obviously for international travel, be sure to get there a lot earlier, at least three hours. Different countries have different processes for screening people with disabilities. In Toronto, I had to go through a special services area on the other side of the airport, and then I had to be escorted to my flight.

Often you have to gate check your wheelchair. Wait until you see your medical equipment, like a wheelchair, go underneath the plane into the storage area for gate-checked items so you know it's on the flight. I have heard about people having their wheelchairs left behind in the airport at the gate, as it went forgotten.

You should either wait to see it taken to the gate-check area or have a companion wait to watch it being put in the right place. If anyone questions this, try to be insistent, or what I do is tell them I've known people whose chairs were left behind - this often evokes such a reaction that they will do everything they can to help you.

I think I've had enough traveling for a while. I went all the way out to Seattle, and my flight was canceled twice on the way home. Let me know in the comments if you've had any good or bad traveling experiences, or have some ideas not noted here.