It is rare for kids to travel alone. However, seven-year-old Landon Bjornson has proven to the world that he is brave enough to fly solo despite having autism.
Alexa Bjornon, Landon’s mother, sent her seven-year-old son from Las Vegas to Oregon.
Landon’s mom already arranged that he would be meeting his dad at the airport upon arrival. Alexa is not worried that Landon may be scared while on the flight. She is more concerned that Landon may be annoying to his seatmates.
The seven-year-old has high-functioning autism and has this tendency to ask too many questions to the person sitting next to him. And without Alexa around, he might be a ‘burden’ to fellow flight passengers.
After much thought, Alexa finally came up with a solution to this possible problem. Before Landon board the plane, she let him carry a note that he had to present to the passenger sitting next to him. Together with the message is a $10 as her way of saying thank you for accommodating her son.
“I thought, how do I make it so whoever’s sitting next to him won’t look at him as a burden but more of like, I can help this kiddo get through the day,” Alexa shared during an interview.
Luckily, Landon’s seatmate, Ben Padraza, had been very understanding to him.
Before the flight landed, Ben took a snap with Landon, who is cozying with him.
In the photo, Ben introduced himself to Alexa as Landon’s neighbor. He further confirmed that yes, Landon asked him if ‘we were there yet’ several times. In the end, Ben reassured the mom that her kid has been doing fine and had been a ‘great travel buddy.’
‘He’s a great kid, and you’re a lucky mom,” he wrote.
So what have Ben and Landon been doing during the flight?
In an interview, Pedraza shared that they were sharing jokes. “We were cracking jokes, and after a while, he asked me to quit making dad jokes,” he said during the interview.
It was Alexa and Landon’s lucky day. Ben is a good man who had been Landon’s kind seatmate. Further, he does not want to take the $10. Instead, he wanted to donate it to Autism-Society.org.
Alexa cannot help but share how happy she was when Landon arrived safely in Portland. She shared her happiness with her followers on Facebook.
It turned out that her story has drawn in thousands of likes and shares. It got viral online!
“I am so grateful to this individual, and that there are still kind people in the world who make a difference like I try myself to do as well. Thank you so much Ben!!!!” she wrote together with the photo of Ben and Landon in the plane.