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Speaker 1: Welcome to Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide?

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Speaker 1: Hosted by Tony Mentor, broadcasting from the heart of Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee.

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Speaker 1: Join us as our guests share their raw, powerful stories.

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Speaker 1: Some will spark laughter, others will move you to tears.

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Speaker 1: These real life journeys inspire, connect and remind you that

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Speaker 1: you're never alone. We're igniting a global movement to empower

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Speaker 1: everyone to make a lasting difference by fostering deep awareness

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Speaker 1: on wavering acceptance, and profound understanding of autism and mental health.

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Speaker 1: Tune in, be inspired, and join us in transforming the world,

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Speaker 1: one story at a time. Hi, I'm Tony Mantur. Welcome

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Speaker 1: to Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide.

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Speaker 1: If these conversations resonate with you, I invite you to

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Speaker 1: tap follow. It helps us reach more people who may

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Speaker 1: need to hear them. Thank you for being here. Joining

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Speaker 1: us today is Cheryl Bischoff. She's the owner of Here

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Speaker 1: I Go Travel, a company with a powerful mission making

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Speaker 1: travel accessible, thoughtful, and empowering for autistic individuals and their families.

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Speaker 1: Instead of travel barriers, she saw an opportunity to create

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Speaker 1: structure and personalized support so every traveler can explore the

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Speaker 1: world with confidence. She has a great story. So before

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Speaker 1: we dive into our episode, we'll be back with an

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Speaker 1: uninterrupted show read after a word from our sponsors. Thanks

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Speaker 1: for joining us today.

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Speaker 2: Great glad to be here for our.

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Speaker 1: Listeners who may be discovering you for the first time.

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Speaker 1: Could you share a little more about what you do

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Speaker 1: and what drives your work.

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Speaker 3: So I am Cheryl Bischoff and I own here I

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Speaker 3: Go Travel Company or full service custom travel agency, and

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Speaker 3: we assist many people across the country and their travels,

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Speaker 3: whether domestic or international, and all sorts of travel styles

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Speaker 3: from cruises to all inclusive resorts to backpacking. Whatever their

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Speaker 3: desires are is what we assist with.

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Speaker 1: I understand your travel agency also specializes in supporting autistic

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Speaker 1: individuals when it comes to planning their travels. Correct.

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Speaker 3: Yes, So a couple of years ago I was approached

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Speaker 3: by one of the travel vendors Sandal's Beaches Resorts, and

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Speaker 3: they asked if I would be interested in getting a

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Speaker 3: certified Autism travel professional designation, and I jumped at the chance.

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Speaker 3: So I pursued that certification, went through the training, and

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Speaker 3: then I began to wonder, what can I do with

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Speaker 3: this training right, How can I apply it? How can

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Speaker 3: I really assist people with unique needs in our own travels?

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Speaker 3: And so I began to pursue really an airport practice

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Speaker 3: event where we can invite people out of the community

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Speaker 3: into the airport, into an actual airport for actual experience.

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Speaker 3: So we come into the terminal, we get a boarding pass,

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Speaker 3: We proceed to tsa checkpoint. We go through the security checkpoint,

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Speaker 3: and we go to the gate. We experience listening to

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Speaker 3: the announcements being called up.

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Speaker 2: For our turn.

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Speaker 3: We scan our boarding passes, we go down the jet bridge,

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Speaker 3: we get onto the plane, We find our seats and

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Speaker 3: we buckle up. We get to tour the plane, We

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Speaker 3: get to look at restrooms, We get to really talk

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Speaker 3: about the experience and see what it's like to sit

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Speaker 3: in those otherwise very claustrophobic environments right with a lot

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Speaker 3: of other people. So this really gives us a chance

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Speaker 3: to get in there and give it a try and

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Speaker 3: see if it might be an option for the participants.

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Speaker 1: Dubai is often mentioned as having a great travel system

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Speaker 1: for autistic individuals. What's your understanding of that and how

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Speaker 1: does the work you do compare to what's available there.

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Speaker 3: So let me just say that when I started my certification,

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Speaker 3: it was only offered to people, and it was only

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Speaker 3: offered to two segments of people. It was offered to

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Speaker 3: medical professionals and it was offered to travel professionals. Okay,

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Speaker 3: since I got certified, that program has completely blown up

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Speaker 3: and grown and now they certified places, and now they're

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Speaker 3: certifying entities and they're certifying entire cities.

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Speaker 1: Okay, all right.

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Speaker 3: And so Dubai was the first airport to get certified wow,

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Speaker 3: meaning that their staff sufficient number of staff had gone

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Speaker 3: through this training process and could assist travelers at various

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Speaker 3: points within the airport. And now we have an airline

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Speaker 3: that has gotten certified. Now we have destination that are certified.

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Speaker 3: So now we know when we travel, if we can

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Speaker 3: hit those airports, if we can hit those airlines, if

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Speaker 3: we can hit those destinations, that we're going to have

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Speaker 3: people that have been trained and are prepared to assist.

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Speaker 1: Can you tell me some of the steps that you

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Speaker 1: had to go through in order to get certified for

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Speaker 1: autistic travel?

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Speaker 3: So it's a series of trainings that we have to

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Speaker 3: go through and testing. So we do receive certificates upon

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Speaker 3: completion that shows we've been through this process.

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Speaker 2: And so it's really.

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Speaker 3: Learning from others and what they know and how we

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Speaker 3: can assist in our roles.

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Speaker 1: In your experience. What are some of the factors that

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Speaker 1: make travel autistic inclusive beyond meeting just accessibility standards.

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Speaker 3: So what we really want to try to do is

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Speaker 3: take so everyone's unique and they what they will present with.

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Speaker 3: But we want to hit the big ones, right, So

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Speaker 3: we want to hit sound, noise, pollution, we want to

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Speaker 3: hit light, We want to hit places to reset and

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Speaker 3: a little bit of desensitization to that process. And so

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Speaker 3: when I do the Airport practice event, I do a

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Speaker 3: full terminal tour and we look for those areas where

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Speaker 3: we can get away and get away from those announcements.

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Speaker 3: And more and more airports are offering sensory friendly rooms

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Speaker 3: where they can expect low lighting, less people and not

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Speaker 3: hear all those announcements and so on. We really work

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Speaker 3: on smells airports and getting on an airplane and the

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Speaker 3: jet fuel and all of that can be a big

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Speaker 3: sensory overload. So we really work with our participants on

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Speaker 3: how to mitigate those issues and what tools in the

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Speaker 3: toolbox can they use to combat those while they're traveling.

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Speaker 1: Now that the number of certified organizations has grown, has

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Speaker 1: that made the process smoother for you? Or are there

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Speaker 1: still gaps you're navigating?

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Speaker 3: I don't know that it's made it necessarily easier. It

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Speaker 3: depends on how open the traveler is to their destination

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Speaker 3: and if they would like to pursue maybe a city

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Speaker 3: and entire city that.

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Speaker 2: Is on board, right and just knowing.

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Speaker 3: That the community is aware of that. And so one

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Speaker 3: of the things we look at is what community do

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Speaker 3: we want to take this event to next? So when

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Speaker 3: we started, we started in Wichita, Kansas, and now we're

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Speaker 3: looking at where to go next, and so we look

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Speaker 3: at Kansas City, who is bringing in FIFA for twenty

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Speaker 3: twenty six. You're going to be hosting over six hundred

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Speaker 3: thousand visitors over a little over thirty day period, and

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Speaker 3: so we talked about how can we bring in community

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Speaker 3: members to practice in their airport and also give their

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Speaker 3: airport staff an opportunity to prepare for the influx of

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Speaker 3: visitors into their own community.

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Speaker 1: Parents are protected by nature and that often intensifies when

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Speaker 1: raising a neurodiverse child. How do you build trust with

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Speaker 1: those families and reassure them that with your certification and experience,

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Speaker 1: their trip will be handled with care and understanding. Completely

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Speaker 1: different from someone that has no knowledge of autism.

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Speaker 3: I think that just comes with time and experience and

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Speaker 3: through testimonials of past travelers, and so being certified and

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Speaker 3: really having an ear for what the needs are means

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Speaker 3: that I'm on the lookout for how I can assist

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Speaker 3: them with their travels. So I have tools in my

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Speaker 3: toolbox that some people may not even know exist. And

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Speaker 3: I'll give you an example. TSA has a program called

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Speaker 3: TSA Cares. I go in, I take my client's flight information,

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Speaker 3: and I go in and I register them so that

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Speaker 3: the TSA knows exactly what day and time they're coming

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Speaker 3: to the airport, and I can list any special needs

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Speaker 3: or requirements that they have. The TSA will meet them

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Speaker 3: on one side of security and take them all the

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Speaker 3: way to the other side of security like a personal guide,

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Speaker 3: and the TSA will assist with whether they need alternative

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Speaker 3: screening methods, you know many of them. Many people cannot

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Speaker 3: allerate being touched.

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Speaker 2: If they should happen to be picked.

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Speaker 3: To be padded down, this might be an issue, So

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Speaker 3: we need to make everybody aware and with the TSA

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Speaker 3: guide it can really slow down the process and really

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Speaker 3: open it up for more Q and a time and

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Speaker 3: what can we expect and how can we handle this?

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Speaker 3: In general, we cannot impede the TSA and they still

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Speaker 3: must do their job and make sure that everyone passes

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Speaker 3: through security and that they feel you are safe to fly.

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Speaker 3: There are lots and lots of ways to help you

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Speaker 3: through that.

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Speaker 2: I'll tell you one example of many I have many, Tony.

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Speaker 3: We could sit here all day the TSA when they

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Speaker 3: take a wand to you and they're looking for metallic

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Speaker 3: objects and it beeps if it has a hit. That

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Speaker 3: wand can be set to vibrate only so that it

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Speaker 3: doesn't have the sound effect and it still notifies the officer.

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Speaker 2: If they need to look at something.

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Speaker 3: More So, these are things that people just maybe are

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Speaker 3: not aware of. I'm trying to get awareness out there

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Speaker 3: that there are helps and assistants out for them all

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Speaker 3: along their trip, all along their trip. And honestly, when

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Speaker 3: I started the Airport practice event, it was with a

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Speaker 3: autism focus, but it really blossomed into blind, low vision

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Speaker 3: community mobility issues.

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Speaker 2: Anyone in wheelchair.

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Speaker 3: We've worked with cystic vibrosis, We've worked with cerebral palsy,

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Speaker 3: anyone who has something that they're just unsure of. How

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Speaker 3: am I going to travel with this compression vest? Is

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Speaker 3: it okay if I bring it or not? So when

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Speaker 3: we have our events, we invite that community in and

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Speaker 3: we ask them to bring those things that they question

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Speaker 3: so that they actually practice with them and see what's

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Speaker 3: going to be needed to get that through.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it makes total sense. As you know, autism is

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Speaker 1: not a one sized, fisole experience. Each person has unique

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Speaker 1: sensitivity strengths and challenges.

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Speaker 3: Yep.

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Speaker 1: Like you mentioned earlier, sometimes there are visible signs that

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Speaker 1: someone may need additional support. Yes, With autistic individuals, unless

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Speaker 1: their support needs are more significant, it's often not immediately apparent.

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Speaker 3: Yes.

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Speaker 1: How does that dynamic change when you're supporting an adult,

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Speaker 1: for example, someone in their mid thirties, yes, who may

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Speaker 1: function more like an early teenager in certain areas. How

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Speaker 1: you navigate that, especially when others may see an adult

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Speaker 1: and not immediately understand the level of support that person needs.

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Speaker 2: Yes, so very good question.

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Speaker 3: I'm glad that you brought up age because, as we know,

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Speaker 3: children with autism become adults with autism. We don't have

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Speaker 3: an event that's geared just towards children.

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Speaker 2: I will say we've had.

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Speaker 3: Events where only children have come, We've had events where

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Speaker 3: only adults have come.

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Speaker 2: We just do an invitation. We see who is interested in.

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Speaker 3: Joining us and would like to learn and practice, we

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Speaker 3: bring them in. So we do serve all ages. And

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Speaker 3: one of the programs that's in place is the Hidden

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Speaker 3: Disabilities program, and I don't know if you're familiar with that.

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Speaker 3: It's called the Sunflower program. Some of the airports participate,

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Speaker 3: some do not. Hopefully, over time and with more awareness,

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Speaker 3: this will come to every airport. But our airport here

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Speaker 3: in Wichita has the Sunflower program. You walk in, you

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Speaker 3: can go to the information desk and you can get

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Speaker 3: a Sunflower laniard. You can get a bracelet, you can

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Speaker 3: get a pin or a sticker, something that just identifies

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Speaker 3: you as you go through the airport experience. And those

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Speaker 3: staff have been trained for what that means. It means

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Speaker 3: I have something hidden that you cannot see openly or outwardly,

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Speaker 3: that I may need extra assistance.

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Speaker 2: And so we talk.

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Speaker 3: With our participant hence before we go through about identifying

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Speaker 3: or not identifying. As we all know, identifying is not required.

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Speaker 3: You do not have to identify. But I recommend identifying

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Speaker 3: on a travel day, either through a lanyard or something

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Speaker 3: that just sends a message. Now to our participants, I

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Speaker 3: prepare lanyards they can choose to identify or not. I

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Speaker 3: have little cards made up that say something as basic

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Speaker 3: as please be patient, or I'm sensitive to touch, or

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Speaker 3: I'm sensitive to noise, or I need extra time processing.

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Speaker 3: So if you're providing direction to me, I may need

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Speaker 3: a moment, or I may be non verbal. If it's

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Speaker 3: at all possible, I do recommend identifying for a travel day.

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Speaker 3: As soon as you get on the plane you want

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Speaker 3: to take that off, fine, But when you're in the

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Speaker 3: airport working with staff trying to get through, I do

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Speaker 3: recommend it.

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Speaker 1: That makes total sense. Have you seen where it's been

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Speaker 1: used and work, Because let's face it, traveling can be

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Speaker 1: very stressful.

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Speaker 3: I will say I do talk with the participants about

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Speaker 3: how travel days are a higher stress level for every

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Speaker 3: single person. It does not matter if you have autism

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Speaker 3: or you do not have autism. A lot of people

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Speaker 3: are late, hungry, tired, you name it. It's more stressful

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Speaker 3: than sitting on your sofa watching your favorite movie and

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Speaker 3: your sweats. Right, you got up at four am, you

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Speaker 3: didn't sleep well last night, You're exhausted, and you're trying

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Speaker 3: to move twelve people through the airport. It's just a

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Speaker 3: high stress level. Just sharing that with them and understanding

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Speaker 3: everybody's at a higher stress level helps them to relax

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Speaker 3: and calm down. I will tell you that through the

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Speaker 3: course of an event, I will watch the participants relax

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Speaker 3: more and more as we go through and really feel

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Speaker 3: empowered by the end that this could be something that

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Speaker 3: they could accomplish.

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Speaker 1: Do you stay with them through the entire airport process

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Speaker 1: or is your role more about preparation. How do you

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Speaker 1: assess when they're confident and support it enough to manage

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Speaker 1: that experience successfully on their own.

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Speaker 3: So, first of all, we will never know how their

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Speaker 3: actual flight day will go. I won't be there holding

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Speaker 3: their hand. But what I am doing is trying to

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Speaker 3: have it be familiar. I've done this before. Now we

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Speaker 3: are in an event airport, and I cannot guarantee how

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Speaker 3: you might react when you get to your destination airport

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Speaker 3: or when you get to a layover airport. I do

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Speaker 3: recommend for first time flyers, if at all possible, to

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Speaker 3: choose NonStop destinations for that first attempt.

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Speaker 2: So I can't.

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Speaker 3: Guarantee, can't guarantee, but I am trying to prepare, and

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Speaker 3: I do send home with each guest preparation materials, tangible

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Speaker 3: ways that they can prepare for their travel base, tangible

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Speaker 3: destinations they can choose that are NonStop from where we're

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Speaker 3: having that event, from where they live now, if they

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Speaker 3: are trying to get to say medical care, or if

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Speaker 3: they're trying to get to a family reunion, where they're

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Speaker 3: really not able to pick the destination, so they may

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Speaker 3: end up with a layover, or they may end up

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Speaker 3: with longer flights than.

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Speaker 2: Maybe is ideal.

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Speaker 3: But by having gone through it before, the hope is

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Speaker 3: you will desensitize a little.

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Speaker 1: Before they go to the airport and they're talking to

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Speaker 1: you about the travel, What is the process that you

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Speaker 1: go through preparing them and getting them ready to travel.

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Speaker 2: Are you talking about an actual flight date or.

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Speaker 3: A practice event?

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Speaker 1: Yes, an actual travel date. They come to you and

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Speaker 1: say I want to travel on this day in time,

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Speaker 1: they get the ticket. Once they have committed, what is

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Speaker 1: your next step?

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Speaker 3: So I do all of their travel arrangements for them

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Speaker 3: for as much door to door service as.

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Speaker 2: I can offer.

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Speaker 3: Now, some don't need every single thing that I offer,

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Speaker 3: and they can certainly refuse that service.

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Speaker 2: I don't need picked up.

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Speaker 3: I have a friend who can drop me off or

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Speaker 3: whatever that might be.

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Speaker 2: But in lieu of flying with them, which I will not.

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Speaker 3: Be able to fly with every participant, But having gone

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Speaker 3: through the practice with them and them knowing exactly what's

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Speaker 3: going to happen, really learning that TSA can meet them

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Speaker 3: at the curb outside of the airport and take them

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Speaker 3: all the way to the gate is really their liaison.

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Speaker 3: And as we know, there can be a lot of

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Speaker 3: really identifying with a person like as your anchor, like

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Speaker 3: having that person as your anchor. As you go through

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Speaker 3: this process, I can't guarantee that it's not without higher

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Speaker 3: stress because it still maybe you know, I can't guarantee

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Speaker 3: there won't be hiccups to the day, but we try

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Speaker 3: to coordinate timing, and I will say timing it's a

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Speaker 3: catch twenty two, right, So this is the group that

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Speaker 3: I would say, come early to the airport, give yourself

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Speaker 3: extra time so that if you need time to.

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Speaker 2: Reset, you can This is also the group that might.

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Speaker 4: Get really really bored if they have more in an

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Speaker 4: hour to sit in a gate. So we really have

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Speaker 4: to talk through that and what's available in that airport

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Speaker 4: for them. For children, it might be a playground area,

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Speaker 4: or if it's an airport that has when it might

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Speaker 4: be a sensory room. We're seeing those more and more.

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Speaker 1: In a field that's constantly evolving. Where do you see

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Speaker 1: the biggest opportunities for improvement to better serve families and individuals.

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Speaker 3: I do believe that more sensory rooms are needed, that

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Speaker 3: we don't need those in just the large airports, and

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Speaker 3: so having even a small area that's available is great.

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Speaker 3: Having more and more people trained and sensitive to the

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Speaker 3: travel needs. And I've heard the stories, Tony, you know

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Speaker 3: in this industry. I've heard what they've gone through, and

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Speaker 3: not just their own travel days, but also what's happening

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Speaker 3: in their homes when they're deciding to leave a loved

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Speaker 3: one behind with a caregiver while they go on some trip,

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Speaker 3: and then the family is separated. That family member did

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Speaker 3: not get to experience or have that memory or be

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Speaker 3: in the photos with them from their trip. And so

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Speaker 3: I really want to mitigate that as much as I can.

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Speaker 3: Can I reach every single person?

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Speaker 2: Maybe not? Can I reach some?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? I know that I can.

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Speaker 1: In travel, we often hear about what went wrong, delays,

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Speaker 1: mix ups, things that didn't work out. What is a

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Speaker 1: moment you've experienced that reminded you why this work matters

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Speaker 1: so much to you?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, really, just having those families that stay together, that

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Speaker 3: give it a try for the first time, and it

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Speaker 3: can be something small and unexpected. So at one of

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Speaker 3: the practice events we had in the airport, one of

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Speaker 3: the families went through and at the very end they

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Speaker 3: said that their child had never ridden an escalator and

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Speaker 3: he was about ten, can't write an escalator And they

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Speaker 3: stood at the escalator and tried and tried and tried

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Speaker 3: until he rode the us And that wasn't even the

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Speaker 3: goal of the day. But yet it's part of the

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Speaker 3: airport experience, right. We have moving walkways in the big airports,

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Speaker 3: we have escalators and elevator options too. But it was

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Speaker 3: just watching them bry or feeling empowered to try.

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Speaker 1: You brought up first time airport experiences. What would you

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Speaker 1: say to a family with an autistic child or an

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Speaker 1: autistic adult who feels like travels simply isn't possible for them.

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Speaker 1: How do you help them find the confidence to give

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Speaker 1: it a try.

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Speaker 3: So as for as many airports as I can bring

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Speaker 3: this to, and for as much community as I can reach,

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Speaker 3: I will do that. I'm always looking for people within

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Speaker 3: the community that have access to these families, whether it

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Speaker 3: be providers, community resources, that sort of thing, where we

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Speaker 3: can get the word out we have an event coming

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Speaker 3: up near you and we'd like you to come try Now.

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Speaker 3: There may be some that will look at that and

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Speaker 3: say Nope, can't do it.

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Speaker 2: There will always be.

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Speaker 3: Some that say, yes, we can do that. I do

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Speaker 3: try to bring in volunteers from the provider community for

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Speaker 3: the event as support staff to assist if anyone should

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Speaker 3: have a meltdown, and so far has not happened.

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Speaker 2: We haven't had a.

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Speaker 3: Participant that didn't complete the day. But did someone look

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Speaker 3: at it and say no, I don't even.

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Speaker 2: Want to try? Possibly? Possibly, But I.

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Speaker 3: Want to be there for the ones that say no,

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Speaker 3: I think I think we're ready. Let's try this.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, So, how do people find you?

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Speaker 2: Good question?

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Speaker 3: So we just had a volunteer launch our website this year. Awesome,

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00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,080
Speaker 3: very exciting years in the making, and so.

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Speaker 2: We do have our www.

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Speaker 3: Dot navigateevents dot org. We did claim Navigate Events on

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Speaker 3: Facebook and on Instagram. So we're starting to build that

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Speaker 3: social media presence, and we're starting to build the website

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Speaker 3: to give people a place where they can register to attend,

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Speaker 3: where they can find out what city we're going to

394
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Speaker 3: be at next and when it will be.

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Speaker 2: That's all in the process.

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Speaker 3: And I will say when I started this event, and

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Speaker 3: as I've gone through, we've done probably four now, and

398
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Speaker 3: I say every event we have, I always say, this

399
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Speaker 3: is my first time to the rodeo, cause you know

400
00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,159
Speaker 3: that phrases ain't my first time to the rodeo. Like, No,

401
00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,280
Speaker 3: we are still very much forging what this looks like,

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Speaker 3: how to get it accomplished, who to invite, you know,

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Speaker 3: how to get them registered, which up to this point

404
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:35,760
Speaker 3: has been contacting me, reaching out to me and I

405
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:38,240
Speaker 3: will get your name and number, I'll get your email,

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Speaker 3: I'll email you the information, what time to meet, all

407
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Speaker 3: of that. But we're trying to automate that a little

408
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Speaker 3: bit more as we move into other other communities.

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Speaker 1: Have you ever worked with someone on the spectrum who

410
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:55,120
Speaker 1: initially said I can't do this, but with support and encouragement,

411
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Speaker 1: they were eventually able to say, hey, I did this.

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Speaker 1: Can you describe what shifted for them in that moment

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Speaker 1: and what did you see in them that showed you

414
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:09,000
Speaker 1: they were capable even before they believed it themselves, And

415
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Speaker 1: what did this show you for the potential that you

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Speaker 1: have to keep doing this and helping more people in

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Speaker 1: the future.

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Speaker 3: So one of the things we talk about during our events. Now,

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Speaker 3: first of all, our guest we call a VIP, and

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Speaker 3: then someone who can come with the VIP to just

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Speaker 3: assist and be alongside them would be a chaperone. So

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Speaker 3: we asked the chaperone what motivators are for your VIP.

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Speaker 3: So we asked them to bring motivators favorite whatever, stuffed animal,

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Speaker 3: favorite book, favorite blanket, something that comforts and motivates, so

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Speaker 3: that we can use that, We can leverage that to maybe.

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Speaker 2: Get them through a rough situation.

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Speaker 3: So what are some of the rough situations?

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Speaker 4: Right?

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Speaker 3: Maybe walking through the metal detection at the TSA checkpoint.

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Speaker 3: So if we can get the chaperone on the other

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00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,680
Speaker 3: side with a favorite stuffed animal, here they come. They

432
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,040
Speaker 3: just walk right through. We just have to work strategically

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Speaker 3: each of those scenarios. I will tell you one of

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Speaker 3: the purdles that I was maybe not expecting was the

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00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,160
Speaker 3: feel of the jet bridge under their feet. That when

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00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,000
Speaker 3: you go from the terminal onto the jet bridge, now

437
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,920
Speaker 3: you're not on terra Firma. Now jet bridge is a

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00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 3: little bit bouncy, and so we have to really work

439
00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:31,880
Speaker 3: through that and talk through that and get them all

440
00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:34,520
Speaker 3: the way down to the jet bridge and to the door.

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00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:39,359
Speaker 3: We really just talk through that individually with our participants

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Speaker 3: and how we can do that.

443
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's great. Now, what would you like to leave

444
00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,479
Speaker 1: our listeners with that? You think is very important that

445
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,920
Speaker 1: they hear about what you were doing and how you're

446
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,080
Speaker 1: trying to help those within the travel industry understand the

447
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,119
Speaker 1: needs of the autistic community.

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00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,720
Speaker 3: So I think the biggest thing that people need to

449
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:04,280
Speaker 3: know is that travel is no longer a luxury. It

450
00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:09,479
Speaker 3: is vitally important in keeping people connected with family. It

451
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,680
Speaker 3: connects them with job opportunities, it connects them with medical care,

452
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,879
Speaker 3: and it connects them with world experiences. We want to

453
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,720
Speaker 3: keep families together, We want to keep people gainfully employed.

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Speaker 3: You know, when it's time to go to a conference

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Speaker 3: or time to go to another city for training. We

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00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,080
Speaker 3: want them to have that capability.

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00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's great. Now, can you tell us what is

458
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,160
Speaker 1: needed to help bring this to other communities around the country.

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00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,639
Speaker 3: And if anyone listening is interested in bringing this to

460
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,440
Speaker 3: their community, I'd love to hear from you. My contact

461
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:43,640
Speaker 3: information is on the website, and we really need two

462
00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:48,000
Speaker 3: things to have a successful event. We need sponsorship. We

463
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,560
Speaker 3: always keep this free to the participant, and then we

464
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:55,800
Speaker 3: need participants. So I have the necessary connections with airports

465
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,280
Speaker 3: and TSA staff. I can take this anywhere I want

466
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,440
Speaker 3: with it in the US, and we're ready to take

467
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,920
Speaker 3: it to new communities. But we need those two things.

468
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:10,840
Speaker 3: That's what we're lacking. We need sponsorship and participants. By

469
00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:14,480
Speaker 3: keeping the participant number high, it really sends a message

470
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:17,000
Speaker 3: to the airport that it's needed and wanted.

471
00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,239
Speaker 1: Oh, I believe you a one hundred percent correct. It

472
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:23,919
Speaker 1: is something that is definitely needed and wanted for sure.

473
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Speaker 3: Yes, yes, And I will say I think people think

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Speaker 3: that maybe travel is the least of our worries when

475
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:35,600
Speaker 3: it comes to autism, But in my world, I feel like.

476
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Speaker 2: This is an area of expertise where I can.

477
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,720
Speaker 3: Touch a life. I can't fix autism. I can't help

478
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,320
Speaker 3: them with behavioral issues. That's not where my expertise lies.

479
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,159
Speaker 3: I can take one thing, one thing travel and I

480
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:53,040
Speaker 3: can make it easier. And when you're passionate about it,

481
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:54,520
Speaker 3: you'll be able to talk about it.

482
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:56,280
Speaker 2: I can talk about it for two hours.

483
00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,000
Speaker 3: I'm going to convince it to a half hour.

484
00:26:58,040 --> 00:26:59,680
Speaker 2: But hopefully it sparks.

485
00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:02,080
Speaker 3: Enough int in someone that they'll out to me.

486
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:06,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I certainly hope they do. I can see

487
00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,399
Speaker 1: where this is definitely needed. Well, this has been great,

488
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:14,119
Speaker 1: great information, great conversation. I really appreciate you taking the

489
00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:15,560
Speaker 1: time to join me today.

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00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,119
Speaker 2: Well, thank you for inviting me, Thanks for having me.

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00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:28,000
Speaker 1: Oh, it's been my pleasure. Thanks again. Thanks for taking

492
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,600
Speaker 1: time out of your busy schedule to listen to our

493
00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,360
Speaker 1: show today. We hope you enjoyed it as much as

494
00:27:34,359 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 1: we enjoyed bringing it to you. If you know someone

495
00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:41,800
Speaker 1: who has a story to share, tell them to contact

496
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:47,159
Speaker 1: us at whyom dot world. One last thing, Spread the

497
00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:52,760
Speaker 1: word about why Not Me, our conversations, our inspiring guests,

498
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:57,000
Speaker 1: the show. You are not alone in this world.

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Speaker 3: Eight