CANBERRA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Australia’s airports will cater for passengers with "hidden disabilities" with designated quiet areas and back ways through brightly-lit terminals.
The Hidden Disabilities program for passengers with autism, Asperger syndrome, dementia and hearing loss will be adopted by airports in Melbourne and Sydney after a successful trial in Brisbane.
Visitors to the airports will be able to order lanyards that discreetly alert staff that they may need support.
Hidden Disabilities was founded by Brisbane woman Jennene Greenall who was inspired by a successful world-first program at Gatwick Airport in Britain after her daughter had a traumatic travel experience.
"She had a lot of anxiety and depression,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.
"When you are at security or customs, it's quite intense.
"There are always so many more people around and everyone's trying to rush you through the process, that can be quite intimidating for a person with a disability, but also their carer.
"The program is really about elevating the level of service, so that someone with a disability, isn't singled out and treated differently."
More than 8,000 lanyards were handed out in the first year of Gatwick's program in 2016 and it has been rolled out at 13 other British airports since.
Tom Tutton, a clinical psychologist with Autism Spectrum Australia, has been working with Melbourne and Sydney International Airports on their own programs.
"We're hoping to roll out the program in the next month or so," he said.
"For many people on the autism spectrum, the world isn't necessarily built well for them," he said.
"They experience the sensory world very differently ... lights are brighter, noises are louder.
"Going through the international airport with the bright lights, the smells, the people around, it can be incredibly overwhelming."
