Jenni 'JWoww' Farley Says She Once Had to 'Lock' Son in Airport Bathroom, 'Hog-Tie' Him When First Processing His Autism Diagnosis

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3 days ago

Jenni 'JWoww' Farley says she once had to "lock" herself and her son in an airport bathroom and "hog-tie" him while she was first processing her son's autism diagnosis
The 'Jersey Shore' alum remembered a flight home from Florida with her son, who had just been diagnosed with autism, and shared that she didn't have the tools to de-escalate the situation at the time
Farley has since gotten involved with the organization KultureCity, which aims to train staff at venues and certify venues that have sensory-inclusive modificationsJenni 'JWoww' Farley is sharing some of the challenges she experienced when first processing her son's autism diagnosis.
The Jersey Shore star, 40, appeared on this week's episode of Kylie Kelce's podcast, Not Gonna Lie, and spoke about how she and Kelce are both involved in the autism community. Farley first discussed how she is on the board of KultureCity, an organization that outfits sensory rooms that are at NFL stadiums.
"I got involved because my son was diagnosed and I needed help," Farley said of joining KultureCity. "The irony is, there's so many ironies in my life, but when my son got diagnosed with autism by six doctors, and I know at one point they really did not wanna diagnose him because they were scared s---less."
"Like, if we get this wrong, this girl's all over television. And they got it right, but it's nerve-wracking for everyone. But after I got his diagnosis, I did not know what to do besides he needs ABA," the mom of two said of Applied Behavior Analysis, a type of therapy. "He needs ABA forty hours a week. He needs speech and OT and all this stuff."
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Farley said she was overwhelmed with her son's diagnosis and wanted to get a second opinion, so she flew with her son Greyson to Florida. Unfortunately, there was a delay on the way back, and she didn't have TSA pre-check at the time.
"And [Greyson] decided to not like that, and he tried to run through TSA. And when I tried to stop him, he ripped my glasses off and broke them, and he head butted me," Farley recalled of the experience, which she said was about eight years ago.
"And it was a very emotional and very real moment that I had with him. And through all his diagnosing, nobody explained to me sensory issues and sensory processing. And I had no idea, because he really wasn't on a flight before that, that he didn't like lines, and he didn't like waiting, and he hated delays."
She explained that because her son was non-verbal, he wasn't able to tell her that he was having sensory processing issues and didn't like the situation they were in.
"And I remember seeing everybody's phones go up, and everyone's recording, JWoww with her son, who is throwing a tantrum in the airport, and I just remember crying," she said. "And I remember I finally get through TSA, and I'm bawling, and I have scratches, and my son's crying, and I can't get him in his car seat. And we're having this moment, and I just wanna get on the plane or hide."
Farley said she then went to the gate agent, who just kept telling her that there's nothing they can do and that the flight is still delayed. She said she was begging them to help her, but they kept repeating that they couldn't help.
"So I was able to lock myself in a bathroom with him and get him figured out and lock him in his stroller. I was hog-tying him at one point just to calm him down," Farley said. "And we got on the plane, and he passed out. I remember all the looks, he just got diagnosed. I was [like] I don't wanna talk about his diagnosis."
When they got back home, Farley said she posted a "Karen" post on her personal Facebook and went off about the situation. One of her friends saw the post and connected her to KultureCity, which gave her tools to use while she was flying with Greyson.
"They remade a whole bedroom of mine into a sensory room for Greyson," said Farley. "They explained to me his diagnosis in a way that the hospitals didn't. That there are gonna be challenges with lights, and lines, and feeling overwhelmed, and that he might need headsets, or fidget spinners, and the hospitals don't tell you that when they diagnose."
"And I just started crying, and I asked them, 'Well, what can I do to be a part of your group? I wanna help.'"
The mom of two said that her goal now is to make sure airports and TSA agents not only understand sensory problems and how to de-escalate them, but also to create sensory rooms at airports so other moms who have kids with autism can have a safe place.
Read the original article on People