engineer-pearl: aishalla: greencarnations: can you spot why i want to punch a thing for anyone w

engineer-pearl:

aishalla:

greencarnations:

can you spot why i want to punch a thing

for anyone who’s autistic and wants a few flying tips, here’s what’s helped me:

• ensure everything that will make the journey easier is ready to go beforehand. charge all your devices and load them with your current favorite songs, new episodes of podcasts you enjoy, tv shows, etc 
  
• outline a routine for yourself for maximum fun in advance for when you’re at the airport. for example, rather than buy a book or magazine in advance, i wait until the airport so i can spend a half hour or so browsing because book shops make me super happy
  
• grab a pack of hard lollies to suck on while taking off and landing! for some people this helps with ear popping (i find it helps me a lot) but i also find just having something delicious to focus on and capture my attention while taking off and landing helps handle my anxiety
  
• if ear popping really bothers you, try earplanes! if your airport has a pharmacy they’ll be available there, otherwise you can get them from most pharmacies or even from amazon.
  
• try grabbing a window seat, because it means you only need to sit next to one person and you don’t get everyone on the plane brushing past you (alternatively, consider an aisle seat if having an occasional walk up and down the aisle will help you to relax, because then you don’t need to worry about asking to get past others)
  
• if noise bothers you, bring a pair of noise cancelling headphones to use with a device so you can block out noise, and see if you can grab a red eye flight because passengers are typically asleep so there’s much less talking and movement in general (plus they’re cheaper, so it’s a win-win)
  
• if smells bother you, have a pleasant smell on your wrist or a pleasant smelling object you can sniff when they’re cooking airplane food, or go for red eye flights and shorter flights which usually mean there won’t be any cooked meals
  
• stewards will usually come through to check that your seatbelt is fastened and that your devices are off and in airplane mode for take off and landing, so i make sure those are the first things i do when i’m on the plane so i don’t get people leaning over to help me fasten my seatbelt and junk
  
• a pack of cleansing wipes for your face and hands from the airport pharmacy can really help with that ‘ugh confined space with too many germy people’ feeling
  
• check to see what food is offered on the plane in advance to ensure you’re not stuck on a plane with nothing you can eat due to textures/smells/etc! i hate cooked plane food so i usually grab a sandwich and some pretzels from the airport before i get on the plane
  
• if you have meltdowns print some cards for stewards to let them know how best they can help if you have one (for example, if a blanket or a water would help, etc)

hope some of this helps!!

(note: a lot of the items i mentioned can be grabbed for cheaper than at the airport, just check what you’re allowed to bring into the airport beforehand because everywhere has different rules!)

NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES: BROWSE AHEAD OF TIME!!!
Okay, so here’s the thing, not all noise cancelling headphones are alike. I found this out when I was overloaded by putting on a pair.
I’m no noise-cancelling headphone expert, but I do know that you should know how they cancel the noise before you get them. Is it the electronic white noise? Is it done with increased air pressure (those are the ones that caused a pretty near breakdown - I took them off quickly and recovered by the time we got to the other side of the store so I could sit and breathe a moment, but still), or do they do it by being oversized and mushy, so they absorb the sound before it gets to your ears?
This is IMPORTANT information, especially since these headphones are always referred to as “noise cancelling” with no mention of the means.

(Note: I’m not autistic, but I do have sensory processing difficulties.  I’m also a self-declared geek who enjoys explaining technology…)

If you read carefully, you usually can tell the difference.  Technically speaking, these headphones fall into two categories: noise canceling and noise isolating.  (I know, it is easy to mix up.  And they are sometimes marketed deceptively/incorrectly labeled to boot.)

Noise canceling headphones use “active noise cancellation,” that is, they create more sound to cancel the exterior sound.  Since sound is ultimately pressure waves, these headphones create extra pressure on your eardrums.  Most people don’t notice it, but it’s really common for people with sensory processing difficulties to find it very difficult to tolerate.  Some people also experience this as a low-level hiss, buzz, or hum.  The easiest way to tell that you’ve got a pair of noise canceling headphones is that they will have either batteries (replaceable or rechargeable) or an external power plug.  (Note: USB headphones can draw power over the USB port, so this trick doesn’t work for USB headphones.)

Noise isolating headphones use some form of sound insulation (usually some sort of foam) to decrease the amount of outside noise that makes it to your ear.  These are often large and bulky because of the size of the sound insulation.  You can also find noise isolating headphones that look like earbuds and function as a combination of earplug and headphone  (these are my favorite kind).  Noise isolating headphones do not have batteries or an external power supply.

To summarize: If it has batteries, needs to be charged, connects to a power plug, or is labeled as “active noise cancellation,” then proceed with caution.