Can You Be A Pilot With Aspergers?

R

Riri Jia

Guest
Hello! I am a high school student who is very interested in aviation and airplanes, and I am seriously considering a career as a pilot. The problem is, I know that pilots are supposed to have very good mental and physical health, and I have aspergers syndrome. Its pretty mild, as for me, my aspergers causes me to have have high intelligence with with anything logicle, and lets me see the world in a logicle way, but I'm just bad at social interactions and I struggle to interact with others. I grew out of most of the symptoms typically associated with aspergers or high functioning autism as a kid, and since middle school, it really hasn't caused any problems at school (in fact I have a 4.0 GPA), and I'm also not on any medication. So would aspergers automatically disqualify me from being a pilot, and even if it doesn't, does aspergers make it harder for a pilot to fly a plane?
Any help, suggestions, or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
It depends.
The FAA is paranoid when it comes to any sort of mental issue - you will likely need to spend quite a bit of time and money to show that you can function like a "normal" person.
The key would be to consult with an expert AME (not your average neighborhood AME) to determine what may be required - what you don't want to do is to attempt to get a medical and fail - that locks you out of options that would let you fly for a hobby. Yes, you said career, but better to have fun in airplanes than to not, eh?

As far as your ability to actually fly, I suspect that is not likely to be an issue.
 
Hello! I am a high school student who is very interested in aviation and airplanes, and I am seriously considering a career as a pilot. The problem is, I know that pilots are supposed to have very good mental and physical health, and I have aspergers syndrome. Its pretty mild, as for me, my aspergers causes me to have have high intelligence with with anything logicle, and lets me see the world in a logicle way, but I'm just bad at social interactions and I struggle to interact with others. I grew out of most of the symptoms typically associated with aspergers or high functioning autism as a kid, and since middle school, it really hasn't caused any problems at school (in fact I have a 4.0 GPA), and I'm also not on any medication. So would aspergers automatically disqualify me from being a pilot, and even if it doesn't, does aspergers make it harder for a pilot to fly a plane?
Any help, suggestions, or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

I suspect you can fly an airplane just fine, possibly even better than an average person, because flying is a methodical activity that requires focus and attention, and does not depend on how well you can socially engage with others. Unfortunately, due to some high profile mishaps that involved mental health (ex. Germanwings crash), there will likely be some obstacles to overcome. Not everyone has caught up to the fact that you can't lump all mental health issues into one giant suicidal group.
 
Do you have any issues with selective mutism? You’re going to need to communicate, and do it when and how traffic control requires you to.

how about hyper focusing issues? You need to be able to multitask and do many different things to complete a flight safely.

Do you have any issues straying from a routine? Being a sticker for routines is a good trait for a pilot, but you also need to be able to adjust the plan as situations around you change dynamically. For example, You can’t get stuck on your plan to go to Philadelphia when you realize you don’t have enough fuel, the weather went to ****, or you have a malfunction with the aircraft.

Is your hand eye coordination good? You need to be able to make the plane do what you need it to do accurately and quickly.

if none of these cause you concern, then you can probably fly a plane. Getting the medical is more complicated and others have already talked about that.
 
It depends.
The FAA is paranoid when it comes to any sort of mental issue...
I like your choice of words! ;)

- you will likely need to spend quite a bit of time and money to show that you can function like a "normal" person.
The key would be to consult with an expert AME (not your average neighborhood AME) to determine what may be required - what you don't want to do is to attempt to get a medical and fail - that locks you out of options that would let you fly for a hobby. Yes, you said career, but better to have fun in airplanes than to not, eh?

As far as your ability to actually fly, I suspect that is not likely to be an issue.

By the way, for the benefit of our guest and other newcomers, AME = "aviation medical examiner."
 
I think any of the Aspies I know would be excellent pilots if that's what they enjoyed doing. I know five people who officially have been diagnosed with Aspergers and a few more whom I suspect meet the criteria, and they're all among the very best at the various things they do. So in a practical sense, I think you'd probably be better than most.

Convincing the FAA of that might be a different story, however. I suggest you consult with one of the Senior AME's on this board (or others to whom they can refer you) before you do anything that even resembles applying for a medical, or that would require that you eventually have one. One of the few things worse than having your dream shattered is having your dream shattered after investing a lot of money in it.

Rich
 
Has trouble interacting with others?
Has a clouded viewpoint on most things because you let "logical fit" get in the way?
You'll mentally fight things all the time like whether a fuel shutoff valve is "on" or "off" to allow fuel flow? Because to you the wording is illogical.

Please, choose something else.
 
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In order to fly professionally you will need a first class medical certificate and getting that with Aspergers is going to be tough, just sayin’. Getting a first class medical would mean lots of extra hoops to jump, even if it is possible (@bbchien and @lbfjrmd are the guys who can provide a more conclusive answer.)

If you did get a medical, you would then be competing against candidates who are neuro-typical, and would have to basically convince the airlines that you would be able to perform your job as well as the non-aspergers candidates. Not saying it’s impossible, but it probably won’t be easy. If you can get a medical then you've got a chance, and if you are motivated enough and willing to work for it like everyone else, then you might have a decent shot at it.

Flying is not just about being able to make quick decisions and taking the controls of an aircraft. In professional flying, you’ll need to be able to work with people, especially as a team AND you MUST BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ATC. Aspie’s could make it very challenging to work cooperatively in the cockpit, deal with unruly passengers, and make quick and effective decisions. I hope I’m not being too harsh, but these are just a few things to think about. Obviously I have zero direct experience with this subject, but given what I do know about the condition and the way it affects people’s behaviors, these are my thoughts for someone striving to be a pilot with that Dx. Best of luck to you moving forward!
 
In my twenty plus years of working certifications I have only succeeded with this situation, twice. Both had to see an FAA external consultant yearly for each of five years after they were given the special. that's two of about ?15,000.

Everyone with the spectrum says "I'm fine". Which may well be But the Captain has to interact well with a great number of players....and in addition to passengers, bosses, crew, and the ATO.....well let's just say it's a stressor for all concerned.

You have to be a smooth "team player".
 
Sport? Yes, if you have a drivers license.
 
In order to fly professionally you will need a first class medical certificate and getting that with Aspergers is going to be tough, just sayin’. Getting a first class medical would mean lots of extra hoops to jump, even if it is possible (@bbchien and @lbfjrmd are the guys who can provide a more conclusive answer.)

If you did get a medical, you would then be competing against candidates who are neuro-typical, and would have to basically convince the airlines that you would be able to perform your job as well as the non-aspergers candidates. Not saying it’s impossible, but it probably won’t be easy. If you can get a medical then you've got a chance, and if you are motivated enough and willing to work for it like everyone else, then you might have a decent shot at it.

Flying is not just about being able to make quick decisions and taking the controls of an aircraft. In professional flying, you’ll need to be able to work with people, especially as a team AND you MUST BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ATC. Aspie’s could make it very challenging to work cooperatively in the cockpit, deal with unruly passengers, and make quick and effective decisions. I hope I’m not being too harsh, but these are just a few things to think about. Obviously I have zero direct experience with this subject, but given what I do know about the condition and the way it affects people’s behaviors, these are my thoughts for someone striving to be a pilot with that Dx. Best of luck to you moving forward!

I have no special knowledge of Asperger's or autism in general, but I do know people who have been diagnosed. The only consistent communicative symptoms I notice are that they all have a problem making eye contact or maintaining it for more than a moment or two, and that they're not chatty except in whatever subject happens to be their passion.

For example, the best malware removal tech I've ever known has Asperger's. Get him talking about malware, and you can't shut him up. Start talking about the weather, and he'll answer as briefly and succinctly as possible -- but he'll answer.

Obviously there are degrees of impairment; and because I met all the Aspies I know in a work-related context -- many people with Asperger's choose IT-related work -- I suppose they all would fall on the "high-functioning" end of the spectrum. I also suppose that they struggle with communication and social relationships outside the topics about which they're passionate. But struggling isn't the same as being incapable of.

Finally, the communicative aspects of flying would be related to flying, and therefore within the scope of the person's passion. I suspect that with regard to relating to others (ATC, other pilots, dispatchers, etc.), the biggest problem others would experience dealing with a pilot who has Asperger's would be getting him or her to shut up. All the people I know with Asperger's are perfectly happy to communicate ad infinitum if the topic is one that they love. Just don't expect a whole lot of conversation about other subjects.

Rich
 
You might find this useful (I'm the op on this one below). I had to do the CogScreen and neuropsych testing because of an HFA (high functioning autism) diagnosis. Still waiting. I had additional requirements due to transgender medical/psych history as well.

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/com...edical-wait-times-and-contact-numbers.121061/

A thought as well...as Asperger's is no longer in the DSM, solely Autism is, is the op required to report on MedExpress? The condition is basically "legacy" at this point.
 
You might find this useful (I'm the op on this one below). I had to do the CogScreen and neuropsych testing because of an HFA (high functioning autism) diagnosis. Still waiting. I had additional requirements due to transgender medical/psych history as well.

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/com...edical-wait-times-and-contact-numbers.121061/

A thought as well...as Asperger's is no longer in the DSM, solely Autism is, is the op required to report on MedExpress? The condition is basically "legacy" at this point.
Aspergers is now "autism spectrum" so you have to indicate thus.
 
I just read this, I was diagnosed with Aspergers as a kid, and I am working as a pilot for a bid airline. Besides, I work for one real estate investment firm, because I can evaluate investment calculations within minutes, other than people using calculators and other programs. Im just going trough periodically FAA medical procedures like everybody else has to, and no red flag ever came up.
 
I was diagnosed with the Syndrome Formerly Known as Asperger's a couple of years ago (at 64) and I'm curious about whether it might be an impediment in getting a PPL and possibly a commercial cert. It's funny to read the replies from people who do not have this condition, and remark from how it appears to them from the "outside". A lot of questions show up on Quora where people without Asperger's ask, "What is it like for aspies to ...?" Most of the questions are totally idiotic and non-sensical. They might as well be asking "What is it like for blondes / short people / old people / women / kids / foreigners / blah blah blah to ...?"

The problem with eliminating the diagnosis of "Asperger's" is that the "political-correctness bigots" have eliminated a key distinction between previously identified people with autism versus those with Asperger's, which is their IQ. Now, I say that fully realizing that most of modern society absolutely HATES to discuss the topic of IQ. But in this case, it's relevant for one basic reason: the metric Dr. Asperger used was simple: those with IQs below 100 (average) had "autism", and those above were people he was interested in. You might think, "So what?"

Well, it turns out that the average IQ of those labeled as "autistic" with IQ < 100 is around 70, while the average IQ for those with IQ >= 100 is ... 130. You can call it a "spectrum" all you want but there are TWO distinct peaks, not one. And characterizing people with the phrase "smart idiots" ... oh ... sorry ... "high-functioning autism" (implying their IQ may be a little bit above 70, on average) is just ... I don't know ... STUPID!

We have a lot of gifts that mostly fall through the cracks because people can't really see us beyond our poor social skills. And that's sad. Aspies who are into flying are the kinds of people who'd be able to rattle off the critical flight characteristics of virtually every aircraft ever made, along with how much fuel each can carry, the average burn rate per hour, their stall speeds, how to correct from a stall or spin for any given aircraft, and tell you the different approaches normally used for most of the airports in the country. We don't need a stinking iPad, we just KNOW this stuff! Our minds are like sponges!

The problems are most likely to arise when an Apie is flying a plane that's on approach and is given information from ATC that's clearly WRONG -- our inclination is to just say that! Using the most terse, blunt and logical wording that comes to mind; not to be offensive, just ... that's how we think.

Also, we're constantly battling hyper-focus against problem resolution, as the two can counter-act each other. Yes, we're aware of that. And yes, we can get tunnel-vision, and it helps to have someone there to poke us to get us out of it. In a tight situation, we can quickly back-off to look at things from a bird's-eye view / more global perspective and consider alternatives that others might miss.

We're gifted with the ability to recognize patterns that most others often don't see. In a pinch, we'd be more likely to realize we can avoid a problem in a highly unorthodox fashion that everybody else will totally freak out about, but we see it as the least-risky option at hand and carry it out successfully. I've done that many times in my life, and people are just stunned. It's just how our brains work. And most of the time I've gotten chewed-out for it by someone who thought it was just insanely risky -- to THEM.

Unfortunately, from the outside perspective, it just looks like we did something that no "sane" person would do, and we probably just "lucked out". It's amazing how others rationalize what they see us do and trivialize it as if it's just dumb luck.

These are GIFTS we have, only "neurotypicals" don't see them that way -- they see us as "extreme risk-takers" and "unpredictable" and "rule-breakers". Sorry, but given a choice between breaking a rule or possibly dying, I'm going to choose the former every time. But neurotypical arm-chair quarterbacks always seem to carry the day in these disputes, because they cannot grasp how we think. They see US as the crazy ones, not themselves with their much more limited vision.

If there was ever an homage to Aspies, it would be Apple's Think Different ad:

Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.

They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them,
glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.

While some may see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.


Except when dealing with narrow-minded government officials and people designated to enforce rules designed for neurotypicals who ... well ... don't or can't Think Different. Because we're seen as a threat to them, when all we want to do is make things better, safer, simpler, and more reliable. We get fired from jobs after arguing with the boss that the QA procedures aren't sufficient, that the design neglects to take certain situations into account, and that certain critical user comments were ignored.

Remember that the Columbia Space Shuttle exploded because upper management preferred to ignore the warnings of certain engineers who said that because of the unexpectedly low temperatures the night before may have damaged some of the rubber seals in the engine assemblies. Who thinks of stuff like this? Aspies! Who thinks they're being "overly-cautious," "trouble-makers," and "OCD" when it comes to technical specs? Managers who don't see the GIFTS these people were born with!

Who committed suicide after the shuttle accidents? The engineers who recognized the problems, who were told it was their job to alert the team when they saw any serious problems, and when they did everything they could to avert what they saw was an inevitable disaster, they were ignored. I've been in situations like this, and I won't say what it made me feel like doing, but people in management roles that lie like this should not be employed there ... or anywhere.

Standing outside as a passive observer, it's impossible for others to grasp how we think, or even begin to understand us. People say we "lack empathy". We do NOT! What we lack is the ability to express it the same way others do.

I may not be a pilot, but I've avoided dozens of car accidents throughout my life, and I credit that to how I think differently than most people and was able to react almost automatically in a way that dodged a bullet.

They should be testing us to learn advanced ways of automating threat detection and response logic, not preventing us from accessing things out of fear that we might instead cause an accident.

This is the problem stemming from lumping Aspies into a "spectrum" that no longer accounts for any way of identifying that we have GIFTS that are amazing. That's what happens when you combine one cohort with really high IQs with another cohort that's five times larger but has really low IQs, and call that some kind of "spectrum" as if everybody on that "spectrum" is more-or-less equally skilled. One thing they all have in common is that those who can communicate verbally tend to sound more like Mr. Spock from Star Trek fame than your average neurotypical person.
 
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I find it interesting that they lump everyone on a "spectrum" into one tiny box, as if they've pulled them off of the "spectrum".
 
I find it interesting that they lump everyone on a "spectrum" into one tiny box, as if they've pulled them off of the "spectrum".
Yep, especially when it is a "spectrum" that has, essentially, two boxes.
I know some who would have been diagnosed who literally studied human interaction, and "pass" as "normies".
It works 90% of the time (which is why psychology works; humans are quite predictable, even some that are severely mentally ill). You've met these people in your regular life. They seem to be normal ... adjacent.
 
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