20 year old AS son wants to travel from AU to US. Help!

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Thank you so much for your comment!
I do want to let him go (I guess) but I want to welcome him back in one piece too!

That autism card looks like the people that wrote it were ret*d! I mean some stuff CLEARLY seems to show they don't understand autism, and other stuff is written as definite, or absolute and chronic when is not any of that! I mean I don't think all that stuff applies to ANYONE here! Some of it probably applies to NOBODY here.

Also, some stuff is better NOT said unless needed.

STILL, the asperger traveler should be simply be able to tell the people concerns. Write key points in some kind of code to make sure you cover relevant things. Do NOT write out more than code, because some idiots INSIST on reading, and are likely to just take the page, and they will almost CERTAINLY misunderstand. GRANTED, this is MY experience, and yours may vary, but you should still listen because I am talking about things that MANY DO do!

BTW RE: Idioms... You CAN often get a list of popular ones, and foreign languages have ones foreigners are NOT expected to understand. Some British ones are ones I didn't easily understand at first, etc... HECK, English has gotten to the point that you almost have to GUESS at things! What does BAD mean? Sometimes, It means GOOD! Sometimes FAT would be spelled PHAT and is a compliment or good. To say to NOT NOT do something sometimes means it shouldn't be done. I wonder if any other language has been trashed as much.

Another thing, according to Paul Hogan, some Americans get australia and Austria mixed up. THEY may even compliment him on his english. 8-(

Steve

Would sunglasses and a hat work. Luckily light isn't an issue for me.

Yes, that could help.
Except he won't wear them together.
Either a hat.
Or sunglasses.
One or the other.
And never inside.
That would not do at all!

For ME, the hat would work best. Most of the problem for ME on light is FLICKER! But YEAH, they both look odd, and aren't considered proper, inside. 8-(

Steve

Word of warning. It is not uncommon for airlines to refuse passengers with disabilities they don't believe 'safe' to travel or can't get liability cover on.

LAX is a complete nightmare. I had a panic attack and bordered on a nervous breakdown before I worked my way out of that place. Careful planning and memorization of his specific route might help your son, but LAX is ever changing. My suggestion is, if its at all possible, switch to a different airport.

LAX is not that bad. I have family in LA and I've been through there about 10 times; it's just an airport. I'd say you have nothing to worry about, if your son is 20 (which is how old I am), he'll be able to take care of himself unless he is low functioning. LA is big but that's what maps are for.

Actually, LAX is probably one of few airports there that handles international flights.

And I went through 2 or 3 terminals there(They have 7 or 8 as I recall) that did NOT constantly change. You want confusing? Go to OHARE! YIKES!! !!

Anyway, the closest airport to LAX may be burbank(AKA Bob Hope or pasadena). It isn't international though. Even OC(AKA John Wayne) isn't international!

Steve

No, he is not low-functioning, so maps are a good idea. Someone also told me certain area's of LA are dangerous and should not be entered into.
I don't suppose anyone knows what the area of Camarillo is like?
And how far it would be from the airport.

LA is HUGE! There is the CITY of LA, which probably isn't that big, but LA county is one of the largest areas in the world that is smaller than a state, and it has a lot of "unincorporated cities". Apparently, camarillo is ok. If you stay in areas that have a nice mix of people/homes, or predominantly white english speaking areas that are reasonable, you will probably be fine, regardless of where you are in the US. That may sound racist, but truth is truth.

If you want good details, it may be a good idea for him to ask the person he wants to visit. Hollywood used to be a good upper middle class/upper class area. NOW, it is split up into lots of areas, and really NONE can hold a candle to what it used to be. They range from a trash heap you should STAY AWAY from, to others that are decent and may even appear high class. Part of it is now an area called beverly hills!

BTW Get a GPS system! It really WILL help!

Steve

Last edited by SteveK on 27 May 2007, 10:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It all sounds so confusing Steve, even to me.
He seems to think his friend is in a good area.

Can you explain the GPS a little more?
Sorry, I'm not up with it.

Apparently I was wrong about camarillo. It SHOULD be a good area.

GPS=Global Positioning System. You can probably even get one in AU, just make sure it has maps for the US. They use satellite triangulation to determine where you are, and allow you to basically have IT navigate. At this point, you SHOULD be able to get a NICE one for maybe $300US. Major car rental places like hertz, avis, budget offer it free, or as an option for like $10 a day.

It is like having a patient navigator sit beside you and show you the map, and call out turns. So a neurotic outing can become pleasant. And it should work in nearly every part of his visit. I've only had trouble under the metro tracks in some parts of chicago!

Steve

Okay, thanks for that great advice.
I will look into it for him.

Good maps are a MUST, too, and very good ones for the 'Basin' area are available. I always check air photo websites to scout out places that I will be traveling into to see how things are wired together and if there is anything interesting that might be worth checking out before I leave. http://maps.google.com is a good one.

Anyways, directions between LAX and Camarillo, CA (A very nice suburban area between Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara, I have friends whom live in Thousand Oaks) are pretty easy, Take I-105 (Glenn Anderson/Century Freeway) a short distance eastward from the LAX terminals (it is south of the terminals) to I-405 (San Diego Freeway) north, then I-405 north to US 101 (Ventura Freeway) in the San Fernando Valley and then US 101 west to Camarillo. It should take a couple of hours max, depending on traffic. These are WIDE freeways, 4 or 5 lanes in each direction the whole way and it might be a good idea for him to study their course and interchanges from the air photos. The interchanges are complex, but are also pretty well marked. (The next major interchange on I-105 east from LAX (I-110/Harbor Freeway) is mind-blowingly big and complex!)

I would DEFINITELY contact car rental agencies, too, many won't rent to those under 25YO or require special deposits, agreements, etc before they will rent to those under 25.

There are OODLES of fun touristy things that your son and his friend will likely do during that week. It is an amazing metro area. The USA itself is an incomprehendably vast and varied nation and you can spend a lifetime of visits and not even scratch its surface.

Oh yea, tell him to brush up on non-metric measures, learn USA coins (they don't have numbers for denominations) and to remember to drive on the right!

Good luck and ENJOY!

Mike

Thanks Mike, that all sounds great.

Except he doesn't drive. I hope public transport to the area he is going to is accessable.
Good advice about the measures and money. I wouldn't have thought of that sort of thing.