is a self-made autism alert card valid?

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I can't see how a homemade card couldn't be accepted as legitimate... I mean, it's a real card, right? What other tests of being real or imagined does it need to pass for someone to be able to read it and decide for themselves whether they believe it or not?

Chances are pretty good that the info on it will put an officer/whoever at ease and realize that your behaviours aren't a threat to them. My brother is in law enforcement and has had people hand him such cards for various medical disclosures etc and they've always helped the situation out.

As for riding the train, I've taken to listening to the radio on very low volume on the bus/train with great success at having it reduce anxiety. I'll keep my headphones in and listen to a mild happy hippy radio station while out in many public places w/ the same positive results. Try it if you haven't.

Do you have a handler? I would think if you are so low functioning, maybe it would be best if you didn't travel alone.

From the original post I wouldn't guess this person is very low functioning, just very socially anxious - which doesn't mean someone can't manage to board & disembark from a train.

Heck, ~4 months ago my balance and coordination were so poor for a while that I'm sure some of the security and staff at train stations assumed I was drunk. It never did become a problem for me in terms of a confrontation or anything, but for a while I did get some funny looks.

My balance, coordination, fine motor skills etc have improved greatly since then - but had you suggested to me that I shouldn't ride a train w/o a "handler," because of any of those things I'd have shown you what happens when my Tourettes kicks in.

Not true, but it depends on where you live. My region has an official autism alert card which is endorsed by the local police and healthcare services. It is a very basic card - stating that you have autism and giving emergency contact details.

I am in the process of applying for one of these official cards, but I also have my own card that I made. I have used it at the hospital a few times and been told it is a very good card and very helpful to the staff.

This is a description of my card quoted from another thread:

If you are planning a specific trip and you're pretty sure that you'll run into some difficulty during part of it, you can always print out a card for that issue so you can hand it to someone if/when you need help.

For instance, I had to travel from a hospital to the airport via taxi, switch planes twice, and then catch a bus or taxi from the airport to home. I was pretty sure that I would have problems with check-in, security and finding the different gates because airports freak me out so I printed out a few cards ahead of time.

One read:

I have a special one for security:

Thank you all for the advise you are giving.
I appreciate a lot the examples of what to write on a card.
Usually I travel with someone accompanying me, but it is not always possible, due to time or costs.
When going to autism center I take the train as well, but it is only 20 minutes, no changes, usually very empty as it goes to National Airport and someone accompanied me the first couple times going there.
On this longer trips I do not know the stations/connections causing big stress resulting in a lot of stimming and anxiety, but not due to social anxiety but to overload and disorientation.
And in one train I was just going to sit on the floor between the compartiments, because I missed the compartiment I had to be in, because the disorientation causes me not being able to read the right numbers of the reservation ticket anymore.
And I just wanted to stay sitting on this quiet place between the compartiments on the floor, but I was not allowed to and this additional stress made me even more disorientated and I shut down and get into panick.
But I love to be in a plane, it was my specialspecial interest for many years and I really look forward to the moment I am sitting in the plane.

You're welcome. I am happy to share my ideas.

And I hope your upcoming plane trip is interesting and enjoyable.

I think one of the drawbacks of being high functioning is its much harder to see and understand that the odd actions of someone is that of a genuine disabillity.

Personally I sometimes wonder what might happen if I were pulled over by the cops, would I be able to speak?, would my speech slur sound like i'm drunk/on drugs?, no eye contact that means i'm hiding something right? Could I think well enough to find my insurance and ownership papers? How about the feild sobority test as I drag my feet/look akward when I walk? See the potential downward spiral. I surely don't need a handler as I can drive and ride trains, airplanes alone, my first solo plane ride was when I was 5 undiagnosed of course. I can see the need or a card or some sort of ID to get yourself out of trouble, even if your high functioning.

I'm the complete opposite to that. I'm always very comfortable talking to cops, very relaxed. I can articulately communicate anything to them any time I've ever had to.

I think there are several reasons for this, one being that cops are typically older than I am & like many of us I get along with those older than myself. Also, I believe a reason is that there are many Aspie cops - many of whom don't even know they're Aspies, as it's said that due to the logic & rules and social justice reasons that AS people are drawn to careers in law enforcement. This makes a lot of sense to me. My older brother is a LEO.

I think another reason is my Aspie prosody voice. MANY times in my adult life I've been asked if I'm a cop. I never understood why. After figuring out the whole AS thing, I can look back and recall a time when I asked someone why they thought I was a cop and she said it wasn't just the way I dressed or carried myself (but was in part) but also something about my voice, I just *sounded* like a cop. I believe this is because there are so many (even unknowingly) Aspie cops that people in the underworld of NT's learn to associate the Aspie prosody of our voices with cops. This makes sense as to why I'd communicate so well with them, too, as my voice would subconsciously be familiar to them - especially if they were themselves an Aspie whether they knew it or not, but even if they were NT and had been around many AS cops they work with. They might never quite be able to put their finger on what it is about my voice that's familiar or comfortable, but I believe that's a big part of why I can communicate as well as I do with cops whether the ever realize it or not. Then there's the vocabulary and being very formal, factual, and honest etc. It all ads up to being able to talk to cops more easily than anyone in my own peer group.

Like I said I don't know for sure what would happen, I do know I get scared nervious when ever I see one, I have witnesed someone else get a traffic ticket and that expirence killed me for the day. Last year I had a surprise unwanted interaction with an off duty cop about a non legality issue and I went blank and non verbal, she as far is I could tell was using her tough cop demeanor and stature on me. Maybe my issue/fear with cops and authority figures is rooted in being bullyed by my teachers when I was young, I just fear I will be a wreck when the time comes.

By the way is handler a correct term, sounds kind of like moving objects in parcel post, kind of dehumanizing. I think its supposted to be Carer or Guardian.

i dont know

A couple of useful samples are an Autism Alert Card from the UK Autism Society http://www.autism.org.uk/~/media/NAS/Do ... glish.ashx and this factsheet from the Police Service of Northern Ireland
http://www.autismni.org/attachments/dow ... 0Sheet.pdf

Thank you for that.

I had this trip and I had an autism alert card, but I did not had to use it.
Someone went with me the first part of this trip until the airport and up until the check-in.
There were not many people and it was quite silent and I did stim like making circles and rocking, but people left me alone.
Finally on the plane I was quite calm as I write down numbers of pi in a little book.
On the way back there were people accompanying me the whole time and this time the airport was very crowded and I went into overload but they know how to manage it and giving me clear focus so that I could manage without being too overwhelmed from overload.
I did making circles and rocking again and sometimes sat down on the floor waiting in line, but they let me do it as they know I need it.
When I sit on the floor I copy the patterns of the floor with my fingers and it makes me calm down.

This is wonderful. Thank you for sharing it. I was reluctant to get/create an alert card but after experiencing an almost 2 hour non-verbal episode at work today (fortunately only my closest co-workers knew) I've decided to start carrying one.

Thanks again.