(TLDR and Japanese at the bottom)

Hi! I’m Mikaila, and I’m an autistic adult. I graduated college in 2020 and got my first job and first apartment in 2022 ^^ I don’t live close enough to my job to walk, so I have to take the bus. I’ve overcome a lot of challenges to get to where I am, and the bus is one more I’d like to add to that list.

One of my autistic traits is hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli like sound, sight, touch, and smell. Those senses are much more intense for me than they can be for others, making it difficult to navigate situations where they’re present. It can be extremely uncomfortable to the point of being painful, so it’s exhausting to endure. Another autistic trait of mine is irritation when my routines and schedules are changed unexpectedly. The predictability and reliability of schedules and routines is comforting. It allows me to be physically and mentally prepared for what I’ll have to process and experience so I can do it to the best of my ability, and it allows me to improve at things through repetition. I also have chronic pain and von Willebrand disease, a condition that causes me to have heavy nosebleeds worsened by the hot summer weather.

Unfortunately, riding the bus has proven to be a challenge for me with these traits. For me it’s often disturbingly loud, dirty, and smelly, and it’s inescapable. People playing loud music and having conversations on speakerphone or loudly talking to each other from a distance, the rattling and squeaking, the sticky floors and seats coated with dirt and grime! People coughing and sneezing without covering, air filled with the smell of weed and cigarettes, people vaping and smoking who knows what that I’m forced to inhale. I have to deal with these things on the way to and from work (and if I want to go anywhere else), but that’s just if the bus comes on time. One route I can use suddenly changed its schedule, forcing me to change mine as well and ride a different one. It usually arrives on time, but I have to walk past and under several plants I’m allergic to on the way to the stop, and those plants have given me hives, hay fever, and other allergy symptoms that have kept me out of work before. The mornings also get hot pretty early in the summer, and my nosebleeds happen very quickly and without warning. Walking to this further bus stop is usually my best option in the morning, but it’s risky.

After work it’s much more difficult to decide which bus to ride. One has arrived 11 minutes late before, and one never came at its scheduled time at all, leading me to wait so long that I had to get an Uber instead. My morning bus gets me home faster with a long walk, but its arrival times are very inconsistent. The other bus gets me home later with a short walk, but it’s often concerningly crowded for long periods of time. After work I’ve already used a lot of my energy and sometimes I’m at the end of my rope. I use that energy for everything, but it’s especially important for enduring difficult situations. When I get on the bus it often uses up the majority or the last of that energy, which sours my mood and makes it more difficult for me to function for the rest of the day. It can make it hard for me to cook, clean, or even do things I would normally enjoy. Too often I’ve just laid down on the couch until it was time for bed, or ended up ordering food to be delivered. I end up using my time after work to recover from the day, and it makes it harder for me to take proper care of myself and my home.

When the bus is too late or I don’t think I can handle it I have to get an Uber or Lyft, and it gets expensive. There have been times where I ended up nauseated or so uncomfortable I couldn’t stand it and had to get off the bus, and I never know when it’s going to happen. I never know if I’ll be able to sit where I’m most comfortable (and as a result, more capable of handling the ride), or if it’ll be too loud, or too dirty, or too crowded, or how odorous it will get. Sometimes the bus breaks down or there’s a dangerous person and it throws off the whole schedule. Due to the lack of consistency and predictability I don’t know what to prepare for, and some things can’t be prepared for at all.

I try to be independent, but I can’t do it all the time and the help I need from others isn’t free. Recently I started thinking of the future, and I realize I can’t really move forward as long as I have to ride the bus. I have to wake up at 5 a.m. to get to it on time, so I miss out on sleep I could use to work better. It doesn’t go everywhere I want or need to go, and I can’t rely on it if I need to be somewhere at a certain time. Riding the bus puts a limit on both my mental and financial health. I can’t access jobs, places, and opportunities that would benefit my life in new and better ways! The bus is a boulder pinning me to the floor of a flooding cave.

Having my own car would be so good for me. It’d be a safe space on wheels. The ultimate accessibility! It’d be like giving a penguin a jetpack. I could finally get to know the place I’ve lived in so long, get to see and do so much. It would really level up my quality of life. My short legs and bad feet can only take me so far, especially in pollen storms and 110 degree heat, and at the end of a work day I can only handle so much. A car would be an accommodation allowing me the chance to get as far in life as some of my friends and coworkers. It would make it so much more possible for me to excel and advance! There’s not much assistance for autistic adults here when it comes to transportation. I absolutely cannot do this without your help. If you could donate even $3 (I think $1 is the minimum the site allows) to help me get closer to the dream of getting my first car, I would be beyond appreciative ;u; Thanks for reading all of this, if you did! Sorry it’s so long >u>;

TLDR/Short Version:

Riding the bus can be overwhelming for me because it causes me sensory overload, is unpredictable, and its arrival time can be inconsistent. Uber and Lyft can be helpful, but they start to add up quickly.

A car would be life-changing! It would allow me to:

· Maintain my independence: Travel to work, appointments, and/or social events on my own terms, reducing anxiety and stress

· Avoid environmental obstacles: Escape hay fever-causing allergens and extreme temperatures that worsen my von Willebrand disease nosebleeds and chronic pain

· Reduce sensory overload: Create a predictable and controllable travel experience free of the sensory triggers of public transportation

Your donation will drive me closer to a more independent and fulfilling life! :D Thank you!!

こんにちは！私の名前はミカイラ・ベイカーで、私はアスペルガー症候群のアメリカ人です

私が車が必要な理由として、バスに乗るのがすごく辛いからです

なぜなら、アスペルガー症候群の特性の一つである感覚過敏と、予測できないことが起きるとパニックになる特性があるからです

健常者の人には理解するのは難しいかもしれませんが、アメリカのバスの到着時間はいつも安定せず、私はパニックになります

また、バスは運転が遅いし、うるさいです

そして、ゴミがいっぱい落ちていてとても汚いため、乗るのが非常に苦痛です

Uberのようなタクシーは便利ですが、アメリカでは酷いインフレの影響もあり高額です

また、私のこのサイトを見た人は「歩く」という選択肢が思い浮かぶかもしれません

しかし、私が住んでいる場所は砂漠地域で、灼熱で歩くことができません。道路の上で料理ができるほど灼熱で、私は猛暑で鼻血がでるほど暑いです

そして、アメリカに来たことある人なら分かるかもしれませんが、アメリカは歩行者のためのインフラが整っていないため、歩く道があまり無く車なしで生きることが困難です

そして、私は花粉症であるため、車があれば花粉を避けることもできます

車があれば、私の生活はとても改善され、職場、病院などに行くことができます

つまり、私のアスペルガー症候群の特性によって引き起こされる不安やストレスが大幅に軽減されます

車が無い私は羽がない鳥で、飛ぶチャンスすらありません

あなたの寄付は、私をより豊かな人生へと導いてくれます

よろしくお願いします！^^