An Evaluation and Analysis of Solutions to Challenges of Neurodivergent Individuals During Air Travel

Abstract

For individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), traveling via airplane can be an arduous process. Factors such as hostile architecture, unfamiliarity with surroundings, and the inability to properly accommodate or prepare individuals for air travel can play a role in causing or exacerbating the difficulties neurodivergent individuals face. By isolating the causes of certain issues that individuals with ASD encounter during the air travel process, a better understanding of how to best move forward with developing procedures, designs, and architecture to help accommodate individuals with ASD can be developed. The paper evaluates previously established methods for preparing and accommodating neurodivergent individuals for different parts of the air travel process. Published research papers were divided into groups based on whether they approached the problem from an architectural or procedural standpoint, and then methods within each category were evaluated to find the best overall solutions. Ultimately, using the ASPECTSS system proved to be a promising approach to mitigating the challenges from a design standpoint (especially as it pertained to acoustic design and sequencing of a space). From a procedural standpoint, the gamification approach proved to be extremely effective yet costly, while the POV-Video approach showed some promise in being superior to gamification from a resource-intensiveness standpoint. By combining these approaches, great strides could be made in improving the air travel experience for individuals with autism.