The Autistic Me

I am not going to fly when I have any chance to avoid it. I hate the experience. The planes are like crowded city buses, but instead of being able to take a break at any stop along they way — something I have done in the city — you are stuck in the same seat for hours. You can't get off and wait for ten minutes for the next bus; I need a pause to catch my breath sometimes. I've gotten off the train in Minneapolis when it was too crowded, noisy, smelly, or in some way just not the place I should be. I wait until I'm ready to continue on my way. Planes are not like that. Today I had to tolerate the smell of Corn Nuts, chomping gum, and perfumes. I wanted off the plane. The flight left me feeling horrible, with a headache and my eyes bothering me. I cannot do this to my mind and body many more times. I hate it too much. It takes every once of energy I have to not scream in agony.

The following is the latest in a sudden "bubble" of stories about autism and access to spaces: churches, schools, and now airplanes. I have kept only the major sections of the story and suggest reading the ABC report. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5238571&page=1 Autistic Boy and Mom Kicked Off Plane Mother Says Flight Crew Should Have Been More Understanding By STEPHANIE DAHLE and JONANN BRADY June 25, 2008 —  There were no weapons on board or concerns about terrorism, but an American Eagle flight about to take off from the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., airport was turned back to its gate on Monday to remove two passengers.  The culprits? An upset, autistic toddler and his mother.  By all accounts, two-year-old Jarret Farrell wasn't a happy traveler. But his mother, Janice Farrell, who said she tried everything to calm her son, believes there was no reason for the airline to kick them off the plane. Okay, so far the headline and the story make a clear case for n...