美国国家公共电台 NPR Kids And Adults With Autism Flying Easier In Pittsburgh, With Airport's Help

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Pittsburgh International Airport recently joined a handful of airports around the world that have dedicated¹ places where people with autism can go to lessen² the stress of flying. Kathleen Davis from member station WESA in Pittsburgh reports on these sensory³ spaces for travelers with special needs.

KATHLEEN DAVIS, BYLINE⁴: Jessica Benham and I walk through Pittsburgh International Airport, making our way to a room at the end of Concourse A. Benham is director of development at the Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy and is autistic.

JESSICA BENHAM: As soon as the door closes, all of that background white noise is gone. And it's one of those things that you don't even recognize when you're walking through the airport because it's just background - until you step into a space where all of that's removed. And for me, that's instantly relaxing.

DAVIS: The sensory space opened in late July. It's large and mostly soundproof and is split into multiple rooms filled with soft furniture and whimsical lighting⁵ features. There's also a room designed to replicate⁶ an airplane cabin, complete with airplane seats, trays, windows and overhead compartments⁷. Travelling through an airport can be stressful for anyone. For people on the autism spectrum⁸, the sensory bombardment can make the experience even more intense. Here's University of Pittsburgh special education professor Rachel Robertson.

RACHEL ROBERTSON: Between, like, smells and sounds and sights and noise with announcements, all of that is - kind of can be alarming for a lot of typical people. But for people with autism, it could be really terrifying, I think.

DAVIS: Jason Rudge pitched the idea for the sensory space. He's a heavy equipment operator at the airport. And he has a-4-year-old son named Presley. Presley is on the autism spectrum and is considered nonverbal, though he can say a few words in a row. I spoke⁹ with Rudge inside the main sensory room while Presley watched Mickey Mouse on an iPad. Presley's sensory processing issues can make some experiences really hard. Rudge says the first sensory room he saw was at Presley's preschool readiness program, and he says the room made his son more comfortable there.

JASON RUDGE: After that, I mean, I'm sitting at work thinking, you know, wondering if we'll ever be able to go on vacation. So I said, why don't we put a sensory room in the airport?

DAVIS: He wrote a letter to the airport CEO, Christina Cassotis, and that got the ball rolling. This isn't the first sensory space at an airport - there are at least six, most of them in the U.S. But Cassotis says Pittsburgh's may be the most comprehensive, in part because of the room with the recreated airplane cabin.

CHRISTINA CASSOTIS: It's an amazing opportunity for people to get comfortable, for kids to get comfortable. What does it mean to put on a seatbelt? Can we raise and lower the shade - the window shade? What about the tray table? You know, how does it feel to sit in this seat?

DAVIS: Not only was Presley drawn¹⁰ to that room, his mom, Sharon Rudge, says he was more verbal than usual.

SHARON RUDGE: He really thought he was taking off. He would say, you know, ready, set, go. He would say, three, two, one, blastoff.

DAVIS: Jessica Benham says, in general, there's a long way to go to make travel more accommodating for neurodivergent children and adults. She's helped consult on multiple sensory spaces in Pittsburgh and says, a lot of the time, places don't ask for feedback until rooms are already complete. She says it's clear the Pittsburgh airport team worked closely on the design with people who would use it.

BENHAM: I was expecting a small room with maybe some bean bags and dimmable lights because my expectations had been taught to be low. And so to walk into this space that is enormous and serves a variety of needs, I don't even have the words to say what that means.

DAVIS: Benham says spaces like this give her hope for the next generation of autistic children. For NPR News, I'm Kathleen Davis in Pittsburgh.

1 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

2 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

3 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

6 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

7 compartments   

n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层

参考例句：

• Your pencil box has several compartments. 你的铅笔盒有好几个格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The first-class compartments are in front. 头等车室在前头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。