In life, there is nothing scarier than putting yourself in a situation that you couldn’t escape from. As a neurodiverse individual who travels as part of a self-employed business, I always keep in the back of my mind that my own personal safety should always be at the forefront if I experience something that is anxiety provoking.
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This was the case last week when I flew down to Jacksonville for a speaking engagement for the Florida Association for People Supporting Employment conference. It was a combination of impatience and exhaustion, but I seemingly got in the wrong Lyft ride that ended up taking me to different places throughout Jacksonville including downtown, St. Vincent’s, etc.
Thankfully, my dad was with me as a result of my recent mental health struggles with all that had been going on. Still, I could tell that something was not right when we were driving from the airport. Eventually, I realized what we had done and we asked the driver (who spoke very little English) where we were going and it was then that I knew we were in the wrong car.
I got to tell you that I almost had an anxiety attack as a result of what happened and with all that had been happening to me lately, this was the LAST thing I wanted to have happen.
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Now, this was perhaps the first mental mistake I had done in my travels (hey, nobody’s perfect). I’m usually very good and responsible when it comes to being careful and looking out for the right rideshare vehicle. I hold a very high standard when it comes to using various forms of travel and for some reason, my standards dropped that day.
In this case, however, this was a combination of the aforementioned impatience and exhaustion as well as the activity of the airport rideshare areas.
Although, I will admit that getting a rideshare at an airport is easier at some airports, but in this case, the license plates of the car were in the rear and in Florida, all license plates are required to be in the back and not in the front. Although, I will admit that in some of my travels to Florida (where a majority of my customers are based in), some of the license plates have been on the front of the cars, which is helpful to someone like me.
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So, as a neurodiverse entrepreneur, how do I rectify the fact that this doesn’t happen to me again?
For one thing, I start being more scrutinizing when it comes to looking for the right rideshare car. I’ve always looked for the correct license plate and from now on, I look at the back as well as the front. Remember that not all states, including Florida, have the option of putting license plates on the front of the car.
There is also the matter of staying near the airport. In the past, I have stayed near the airport closest to my customer and I have found that I can better track down a rideshare from the outer lobby of a hotel than a large airport. I’ve found that staying at the airport is a lot easier than I thought in more ways than one.
Another thing that I am going to start doing is double confirming my rides by calling the driver to tell him or her where I am located. Bear in mind also that not all drivers can speak good English and be prepared for language barriers.
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But if you are one of those parents or guardians that frequently worries about your neurodiverse child’s safety and well-being like mine, you can always schedule a limo service or if the child or loved one is flying to a destination where they have family or friends that live in the area, have them be the ones to drive to and from the airport.
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I get the fact that we are all not perfect, but there are certain things as frightening as getting into the wrong rideshare. You can rest assure that something like this will not happen again at “Going the Distance.”
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Catch you all later!!
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