Mom Sends Son With Autism On Flight Solo And Receives This From A Stranger

July 1, 2019

When her 7-year-old son had to fly alone to visit his father, Alexa Bjornson was a little worried.

Her son, Landon, has high-functioning autism, but traveling can be difficult for him. So, she gave her son a note to present to the passenger seated next to him on the flight.

"Today my son took his first flight to Oregon to see his dad," Bjornson wrote in a Facebook post. "I sent Landon with a letter to give to whoever sat next to me saying he has high functioning autism so he might be nervous and ask you 'are we there yet' a lot, and please just make him feel safe and comfortable, with 10 dollars in the note."

Ben Pedraza ended up sitting next to Landon.

At the end of the flight, Pedraza snapped a photo with Landon and sent it to Bjornson with a reassuring message.

kid on plane autism solo
Credit: Alexa Bjornson

"(Landon) did ask if we were there yet several times but he was a great travel buddy. We had a good time and played a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors," Pedraza wrote. "He's a great kid and you're a lucky mom."

Bjornson told KATU she is "so grateful" for Pedraza's kindness toward her son.

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