On Oct. 21, the Central Coast Autism Spectrum Center (CCASC) partnered with the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport to put on the “Able to Soar” event.
The partnership is intended for people with autism and their families to practice all the steps of getting on an airplane from going through security, waiting for the plane and boarding. According to the airport’s Facebook page, a total of 30 participants attended the event.
The SLO Regional County Airport reached out to the CCASC to initiate “Able to Soar.”
“I will give the airport a lot of credit,” Executive Director of the CCASC Carly Spears said. “They ran a great program, very inclusive. They did a lot of research to make sure that the program would go well.”
CCASC board member Mercedes Meier has a son with autism who was in attendence. She said that a barrier to traveling can include not having familiarity with the travel process. With her son, Meier and her family like to practice things that are new to him.
“New experiences, new places, new environments can be stressful for him and difficult to maneuver through, and the airport is one of those things you can’t practice,” Meier said. “Really, the only time you do it is when you’re actually going somewhere, so this was an opportunity to get comfortable in the environment.”
During the event, the participants were walking through the airport alongside other travelers. They went through the TSA security line using fake boarding passes.
Throughout the event, participants were confronted with multiple scenarios that occur every day in an airport. While going through security, a backpack was pulled to the side by security for having a water bottle. They dumped the water out and put the cap back on.
“We were explaining, ‘This is what happens if they see something in your bag that they need to check’,” CCASC Board Chair April Lewallen said. “Which was a great test because, you know, when you go to an airport, you follow their rules no matter what.”
The plane participants were supposed to board got delayed, so another pilot offered the group to board his plane.
Meier said she thinks it would be fantastic to do more of these types of events in the future.
“I think these types of inclusive activities are wonderful for our autistic community, but also for our general community,” Meier said. “This area is a wonderful destination for other families coming to visit and to know that we are open to accepting and be inclusive for all kinds of families I think makes our community that much more valuable.”
Lewallen said she thinks this program would be beneficial for other transportation stations as well, including the train and bus stations.
“If there are different modes of transportation, the families can experience that, the child can experience it, and we can see how they react,” Lewallen said.
The CCASC has not started planning collaborations with other transportation stations.
“The first step is really to just reach out to people that you know in different organizations for transportation, or even jury duty or anything of that nature,” Spears said. “So we will start there, reaching out to anyone that we know
The CCASC puts on other events such as climbing at The Pad, surfing and horseback riding, in addition to hosting Zoom meetings for parents and caregivers.
Meier said going through “Able to Soar” made her more confident to travel on a plane. She hopes to try a short flight with her son next.
“I think that could open up, obviously, a ton of opportunities for us as a family,” Meier said.