Interview (Autistic Adult - Travel experience)

Participant: Female, 55–64

Question

What does independence mean to you?

Participant

“Feeling safe and able to stay calm without people I know around.”

Reflection

This response links independence with feeling safe and emotionally regulated, rather than simply travelling alone. It suggests that independence may depend on whether the environment gives someone enough confidence and support to cope without a familiar person present.

Question

Can you tell me about an international trip you have taken? Were there any parts of planning or travelling that you found particularly difficult?

Participant

“Planning everything I would need, toiletries, clothes, where exactly I needed to go in the airport, looking up where things are in advance takes a lot of time and effort. Busy, loud places and people not understanding autism well if I did need help.”

Reflection

This highlights both pre-travel preparation and the airport environment itself. The participant spends significant time researching routes and locations before travelling, which suggests that existing information may be too fragmented or difficult to access quickly.

The response also introduces another important barrier: fear that staff may not understand autism if support is needed.

Question

Have any barriers affected your confidence, independence, or willingness to travel internationally?

Participant

“Recent stigma of neurodivergent people needing extra help being treated like they don't deserve it is a fear I have.”

Reflection

This shows that barriers are not only physical or sensory. Stigma and fear of judgement can influence whether someone feels comfortable asking for support.

This makes staff awareness and communication particularly important. A support system should not only tell someone where help is available, but should make accessing that help feel safe and dignified.

Question

What have been the biggest challenges you've experienced while travelling internationally?

Participant

“Getting overwhelmed by loud airports, on the plane, queues, needing time to decompress after.”

Reflection

This strongly supports my existing research around sensory overload, crowds, waiting and recovery. Importantly, the participant mentions needing time to decompress afterwards.

This suggests accessibility should not only consider getting someone through the airport as quickly as possible, but also whether they have opportunities to pause and recover between demanding stages of the journey.

Question

If you could change one thing about international travel to make it better for autistic adults, what would it be and why?

Participant

“Access to quiet lounges and quieter parts of the plane/transport e.g. I can only travel alone if I pay for business class so I know someone won't be sat next to me basically touching me, and I can access a lounge to decompress after security queues, and fast track security helps so much but is really expensive so I can only do this rarely.”

Reflection

This is a particularly important response because it raises the issue of cost as an accessibility barrier.

The participant has identified support that already helps — more space, quieter areas, lounges and fast-track security — but these benefits are often attached to expensive travel options.

This suggests that some accessibility needs are technically already being met, but only for travellers who can afford to pay more. That creates an interesting question around equal access to quieter and less overwhelming travel environments.

Question

What has helped make travelling easier or more enjoyable for you?

Participant

“Planning and using technology to find exact routes I need to take through the airport, which restaurants and lounges there are, where they are, where quiet seats are etc. Paying for business class for a less overwhelming experience because of fast track queues and more space.”

Reflection

Again, planning, technology and detailed airport information appear as important forms of support.

The participant is already using digital tools to create their own accessible journey. This suggests the opportunity may not be to invent completely new behaviour, but to make the information they already search for easier to find, more centralised and more relevant to sensory needs.

Question

Imagine there were no limitations on cost or technology. If you could introduce one new service, system or support to improve independent international travel for autistic adults, what would it be and why?

Participant

“An app that gives you discounts on business class transport for autistic adults and shows maps of the airport with wait times, facilities available etc., with options to ask for support via the app if you need it from staff who are trained and properly understand autism.”

Reflection

This response is extremely relevant because the participant independently suggests an app-based system.

Several of the features closely connect with ideas already emerging in my project:

• airport maps
• live wait times
• information about facilities
• easier access to support
• communication with trained staff
• reducing the financial barrier to quieter travel options

This does not prove an app is the final solution, but it is strong primary evidence that a digital tool could be useful if it responds to genuine needs rather than simply duplicating existing airport apps.

Question

Which parts of the airport journey do you find most difficult, and what information or support would make them easier?

Participant

“Crowds and noise.”

Reflection

This clearly identifies sensory environment as a major airport barrier for this participant.

It supports investigating ways a design intervention could help travellers locate quieter routes, quiet seating, less crowded areas or potentially understand expected crowd levels before arriving.

Question

Is there anything else you would like to share about your experiences of international travel?

Participant

“The sunflower lounges are often still quite open and loud and not tailored to autistic people/sensory needs.”

Reflection

This is one of the most useful findings from the interview because it questions whether something labelled as an accessibility provision is actually accessible in practice.

The participant suggests that existing Sunflower lounges may still contain the same sensory problems they are supposed to help reduce. This creates a potential research direction around the difference between providing an accessibility service and designing it around autistic sensory needs.

Overall Reflection

This interview provides several strong themes that connect directly with my existing research:

• Safety and calm are important parts of independence
• Planning takes significant time and effort
• Crowds, noise and queues create sensory overload
• Recovery and decompression are part of the travel experience
• Fear of stigma can make asking for help more difficult
• Technology is already being used to prepare for airport journeys
• Quiet spaces and fast-track routes can help but may be financially inaccessible
• Existing accessibility facilities may not adequately meet autistic sensory needs
• A participant independently suggested an app involving maps, wait times and access to trained staff

A particularly important insight is that accessibility and affordability may be connected. Some of the conditions that make travel manageable for this participant — more space, shorter queues and quiet lounges — are currently available more reliably through expensive options such as business class.

This interview also strengthens the possible direction of my app, while reminding me that digital information alone cannot solve physical sensory barriers. The strongest opportunity may be a system that helps autistic travellers find, understand and access the support and environments that already make travel easier.