I recently flew to California with family and my mom wanted to see if I could find our gate in the airport by myself. She didn’t think I could, but I did. Several years ago, when I first came to Bloomington, I learned how to use the city bus system on my own. That took several months but I was able to learn specific routes eventually. The staff at the postsecondary support program for young adults with autism taught me how to navigate the city by learning the names of the streets and using physical landmarks such as specific buildings and mailboxes rather than direction to find my way around. This has been very helpful as a strategy for me to learn to navigate a new environment because of the difficulty with visual-spatial information due to a specific learning disability.
My parents were a bit nervous to have me navigate an airport and show them the way, particularly when I had never been before and an airport offers so much potential for getting lost. However, I was really excited to try. Before I even got to the airport, I had outlined all the steps to getting through an airport in my head:
- Check Luggage
- Show ID
- Tag and Weigh Luggage
- Get Through Security/Show ID
- Get Coffee/Snack and Find the Bathroom
- Go to Gate
- Board Flight when Seating Group is Called.
I knew if I could outline the steps in my head beforehand, I would be less anxious. I usually don’t like crowded places because they can be overstimulating, but I took everything step by step and sometimes I would tell myself that I have been to crowded places before and survived. When we were going through security, which was the most difficult part, I just told myself to imagine that I was standing in a long line for a ride at a theme park instead of airport security. I had been in long lines at theme parks lots of times. After a few minutes, we made it through security and then it was just a matter of reading the signs hanging from the ceiling and finding my way. I liked it. It felt like a game. Kind of like a scavenger hunt.
I have always loved a challenge and learning new skills. I think it’s important to stretch young people with autism and developmental disabilities beyond their comfort zone and give them a chance to grow in their level of independence and even fail a few times and learn to get back up and give it another try. My parents were there the whole time, but they let me mostly oversee the whole process because they wanted to see (with appropriate safeguards in place) how much of an airport I could actually navigate. It turned out it was a bit easier than expected. I wouldn’t mind going back and practicing a few more times in the event I were to ever go alone. I wasn’t scared. I was glad I had the experience. It made me feel confident that I can be more independent away from them.
Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and are intended for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the official stance of IRCA and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, educational, or therapeutic advice.
Nassim, A. (2023). Adventures in an Airport. https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/articles/adventures-in-an-airport.html