Jump to content

Customer service

Beerball

By Beerball
in Off the Wall Archives

 Share

Recommended Posts

Keukasmallies Veteran

Keukasmallies

Posted
Posted

Airlines receive a ton of grief, but the many things they do to assist people are rarely mentioned. My wife needs wheelchair assistance when we fly (one trip a year) and the service personnel are outstanding. Thanks to all the United Airlines terminal customer attendant staff!!

UConn James All Pro

UConn James

Posted
Posted

Or someone could[should] accompany him.

My nephew is severely autistic and he goes nowhere alone let alone one of the world's largest airports.

 

I don't have a formal diagnosis, but I've been told by a few people in the know that I have Asperger's, a high-functioning form of autism (well, it's all called autism now under the DSM-V... wrongly, I think, and as a recent brain study has highlighted. There is a major difference b/w Asperger's and traditional autism). It's not a "mental health" thing (by itself... tho often there are co-occurring conditions) it's an actual difference in brain structure and functioning.

 

JiA, that's really not how autism works. It's not that simple. And, from the article it sounds as if his mum *does* accompany him. Auties and Aspies are extremely detail-oriented and change from routine varies from difficult to impossible. Plane travel is stressful even for neurotypicals. For an Autie, small things can cause MELTDOWN. I haven't had one in a number of years, and it's very hard to explain what it's like, but suffice to say it's not something that can be controlled, and therefore you have to do your best to avoid its triggers. How awesome is it that this carrier has strived to make this kid's trip easier and to set things on the Right Track by providing stability of experience that's not *terribly* inconvenient, given some planning? In the UK & Australia, they're really beyond our understanding, acceptance and accommodation with campaigns and how it's been shown in the culture/media/teevee... but we're getting there, bit by bit.

Marv's Neighbor All Pro

Marv's Neighbor

Posted
Posted

I don't get thru LHR very much but it's always changing, and if you're making a connection, can be stressful. That's a great story. The fact that they can steer him around the changes is amazing.

 

I try to avoid it because of their excessive departure tax. Last check they were up in the $160 range, just to leave on a trans-atlantic flight. God Save the Queen!

UConn James All Pro

UConn James

Posted
Posted (edited)

I find the term "neurotypical" offensive. I prefer non aspie/autie, thank you.

 

Sorry, I don't use it pejoratively. I suppose I could write "normal" but what does that even mean these days? Neuro- meaning brain and typical meaning... well... typical/"normal" I don't really see what's offensive about it. It's a word.

Edited by UConn James
Johnny Hammersticks Hall of Famer

Johnny Hammersticks

Posted
Posted

Sorry, I don't use it pejoratively. I suppose I could write "normal" but what does that even mean these days? Neuro- meaning brain and typical meaning... well... typical/"normal" I don't really see what's offensive about it. It's a word.

 

 

Just funnin with ya UCONN :thumbsup:

 

Is inability to detect dry humor and sarcasm part of Autism Spectrum Disorder?

UConn James All Pro

UConn James

Posted
Posted

Just funnin with ya UCONN :thumbsup:

 

Is inability to detect dry humor and sarcasm part of Autism Spectrum Disorder?

 

Well... yes.

 

Generally speaking, things are taken literally. As the oft-used example goes, if you say, "I'd like to put something on the table..." an Aspie/Autie might wait for you to physically put something on the table. Now, you learn these things, and you're like, 'Oh, she wants to say something' but still sometimes you get tripped up. I'm really good with language, so I understand and I have a very wry/dry sense of humor, but I remember that it took me awhile as a kid to 'get' sarcasm. And without a vocal or nonverbal context, it's sometimes difficult for me to detect it. In your above comment, there's no indication of sarcasm, so I took it as literal, by default. It took a forever for me to be able to ride a bike, too, but that's another story. :D

 

Sorry, the video above went to a different link.

 

Here's the one intended. (But the original link is a nice little video, too. I'm like her male counterpart.)

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIdazntSFKE

Just Jack Hall of Famer

Just Jack

Posted
Posted

I don't have a formal diagnosis, but I've been told by a few people in the know that I have Asperger's, a high-functioning form of autism (well, it's all called autism now under the DSM-V... wrongly, I think, and as a recent brain study has highlighted. There is a major difference b/w Asperger's and traditional autism). It's not a "mental health" thing (by itself... tho often there are co-occurring conditions) it's an actual difference in brain structure and functioning.

It was thought I had it, so I was tested and the diagnosis was Social Anxiety with OCDs. But I really do think I'm borderline Asperger based on symptoms.

 

For an Autie, small things can cause MELTDOWN.

I had a mini-meltdown at this years TBD home opener tailgate. One person definitely saw it, because they saw me doing something and jumped in to help, but I didn't want anyone's help. I'm not sure how many others saw it and knew what was going on.

Jim in Anchorage All Pro

Jim in Anchorage

Posted
Posted

Well... yes.

 

Generally speaking, things are taken literally. As the oft-used example goes, if you say, "I'd like to put something on the table..." an Aspie/Autie might wait for you to physically put something on the table. Now, you learn these things, and you're like, 'Oh, she wants to say something' but still sometimes you get tripped up. I'm really good with language, so I understand and I have a very wry/dry sense of humor, but I remember that it took me awhile as a kid to 'get' sarcasm. And without a vocal or nonverbal context, it's sometimes difficult for me to detect it. In your above comment, there's no indication of sarcasm, so I took it as literal, by default. It took a forever for me to be able to ride a bike, too, but that's another story. :D

 

Sorry, the video above went to a different link.

 

Here's the one intended. (But the original link is a nice little video, too. I'm like her male counterpart.)

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIdazntSFKE

Thanks for posting on this UConn for I know nothing on the subject and I am now getting some grasp. So if I said I was working on a project, and it was going well, then "the wheels fell off." you would literally think a wheel fell off?
run dat back RFA

run dat back

Posted
Posted

Airlines receive a ton of grief, but the many things they do to assist people are rarely mentioned. My wife needs wheelchair assistance when we fly (one trip a year) and the service personnel are outstanding. Thanks to all the United Airlines terminal customer attendant staff!!

 

Meanwhile at Delta.... http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/delta-airlines-admits-fault-wheelchair-scandal-article-1.1412843

ExiledInIllinois Hall of Famer

ExiledInIllinois

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am not doubting that this man is not high functioning but, what kinda of changes exist @ an airport? Airports seem like some of the most standardized places on earth. Can't a lot of people be considered OCD given the hectic world we live in? Almost everbody hates change. What's the world going to be like when everybody is considered different? When non-typical is typical? People in general hate change... We all have our routines. Yeah, I am not gonna blow a gasket if I can't get the same seat all the time... But how does one navigate TSA rules? Is that what they mean by change? Even though the rules seem pretty basic and standardized... Though I don't travel much... But, come on, isn't this just life? Maybe people are trying to be too perfect?

 

I just took the Aspie Quiz and clocked in @ 108. 110-200 is neuro-typical... Oh boy! LoL... Go ahead and feel free to joke @ my expense. :-)

 

 

 

 

My wife hates Delta. I mean HATES them. She traveled from CA to FL and took her violin as a carry on. On the way back hey refused to let her take it as carry on. Flat our refused. Told her she'd have to check it. She said no way. Ended up getting flight on American.

 

I guess that kinda explains what I was asking. This would be a major problem. A violin would be something personal that somebody would want to protect.

 

Yet... Didn't gangsters carry violin cases?

 

"What? Hey Tony! Mama wants me to go to violin lessons!"

 

;-) :-P

Edited by ExiledInIllinois
UConn James All Pro

UConn James

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am not doubting that this man is not high functioning but, what kinda of changes exist @ an airport? Airports seem like some of the most standardized places on earth. Can't a lot of people be considered OCD given the hectic world we live in? Almost everbody hates change. What's the world going to be like when everybody is considered different? When non-typical is typical? People in general hate change... We all have our routines. Yeah, I am not gonna blow a gasket if I can't get the same seat all the time... But how does one navigate TSA rules? Is that what they mean by change? Even though the rules seem pretty basic and standardized... Though I don't travel much... But, come on, isn't this just life? Maybe people are trying to be too perfect?

 

I just took the Aspie Quiz and clocked in @ 108. 110-200 is neuro-typical... Oh boy! LoL... Go ahead and feel free to joke @ my expense. :-)

 

I got a 73 on that Neurotypical distinction, and a 139/200 on the Aspie score and so it says, "You are very likely an Aspie." ... Any diagnosis or even a 'Hey, I think I might have X' requires a lot more than a multiple-choice 'Strongly Agree-Agree-Disagree-Strongly Disagree' test, tho. It includes any number of things like eye contact, facial-emotion recognition (I am terrible at this other than the obvious ones like a big smile = happy/laughing), if there were developmental delays, social interaction problems, problems with sensory stimuli (e.g. clothing tags or bunches, light levels, loud noises, etc. I enjoy food shopping, but.... it drains me). Food pickiness and eating issues (I've gotten a LOT better at this with age, but I'm still 165 lbs at 6'). Touch issues (I've been trying to get better at this and my young nieces and nephew now have been good at helping with this wrt hugging, piggybacks, etc.). Personal relationship effects (often, few friends (but the friends you do have are GREAT friends) or romantic relationships.) So-called "Special interests" where the Autie/Aspie is savant-like in particular areas or microcosms of particular areas (Me: Shakespeare, teevee antennas, cooking, stonework). ASD and other close signature conditions also tend to run in families, and I have that in spades from my mum's side of the family.

 

I've seen that the self-diagnosis accuracy rate for Asperger's/HFA is a title less than 20 percent. It's like the whole thing of the med student who comes to believe they have every illness and our hypochondriac society. As I mentioned, I've gotten it separately from a few people who have familiarity (a recent s-i-l who has a master's in SW and worked with autistic people for years, and a retired nurse among them) that I am definitely on the spectrum and most likely traditional Asperger's. But the utility of getting a diagnosis this late in the game is negligible and mostly for a person's own edification; it's getting a Dx when a person is young that is important for school planning, behavioral therapy, etc. I'm open to it, but I don't know... and it can be expensive. Anyway, as the saying goes, if you've met one person with autism, you've met ONE person with autism, b/c it's like an a la carte and no two are the same.

 

JiA, that's an example. Now, *I* would know it's not actual wheels falling off b/c we do learn through experience, but there are things like that which occasionally trip up.

Edited by UConn James
ExiledInIllinois Hall of Famer

ExiledInIllinois

Posted
Posted (edited)

Interesting UConn... Thanks for posting and being open about it! Hope things can work out for you! You are the one who said they have problems going between Daylight Savings and Standard Time? Right? Is that a big thing with Aspies?

 

Again... Wishing you all the best... Quite a "hair shirt" to endure! I can't imagine what the severe autistic have to endure. That is reason they withdraw from the stimuli of the world?

Edited by ExiledInIllinois
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...