TSA's screening rules are the same at every US airport, and TSA Cares is TSA's free help for travelers with disabilities. Call or send the form at least 72 hours before you fly and ask for an officer trained to help your family through the checkpoint.
“A PSS is a TSA officer who has received specialized training, including how to effectively assist and communicate with individuals with disabilities or medical conditions.”
Passengers with “autism spectrum disorder” and other non-visible disabilities “can be screened without being separated from their traveling companion.”
“Children will not be separated from their parent/guardian.”
TSA Cares is the same program at every US airport. Your airport may have its own help too, like the sunflower lanyards at Denver's airport; look under Related.
Asking for a Passenger Support Specialist doesn't skip the line or the screening. It asks for an officer trained to help your family through it.
Call TSA Cares at 855-787-2227 or send the TSA Cares form at least 72 hours before your flight, and ask for a Passenger Support Specialist. TSA lists “Traveling with a child who has a disability or medical condition” as a reason to ask.
At the checkpoint, tell the officer your child has a disability before screening starts. TSA uses modified screening for children who appear to be 12 and under, and the officers talk with you about how to screen your child.
Kids 12 and under can keep shoes, light jackets and hats on (light jackets come off for the body scanner). If the metal detector beeps, children can walk through more than once, which TSA says is to reduce the need for a pat-down.
