Hello, my name is David! I’m an aspiring airline pilot with a huge passion and enthusaism for aviation and love all things airplanes but I am on the autism spectrum (very high functioning) and have had a past with ADHD. My dream is to either start going to Embry-Riddle or Arizona State in the fall of 2025 to pursue this career for myself.
My 1st class medical was deferred and I don’t know the next steps I should take… should I just give up and accept that I was never good enough to be a pilot? Some people have been telling me I should give up and accept I’m physically and mentally unable but my coworkers and pilots I talk to tell me do not give up (I work as a ramp agent) How should I handle a deferral situation
Also, the AME who deferred me told me there was a very good I would get it. What should I do in this situation?
Unfortunately, we are not medical professionals nor can we provide you medical advice. This is a question for an AME/HIMS AME, and the FAA. The FAA will provide you with a certified letter stating what exactly they are going to require, medical history, testing (if required), etc., for your medical process.
If the AME is giving you probability of receiving a medical, follow their lead. Provide the FAA with appropriate documentation and just that, and you may see yourself receiving the medical.
If you follow down the path of “am I not good enough to be a pilot,” you will not succeed and/or struggle with some, if not all, of your training. The last words a recruiter or hiring partner would want to hear is negativity or question in your own competency.
Whist I don’t want to question your medical history, from working with students in the past who had high functioning autism with aspirations to fly, I can tell you this…
At my former school where I used to instruct at, my friend and fellow instructor Dr Larry Diamond (CFII) is in his day job, a highly regarded pharmacist who specializes in aviation pharmacy. He lectures at the University of Michigan and writes for AOPA and various aviation publications.
Larry told me that if you are prescribed ASD medications such as Adderall, they are disqualifying. However, he said that if you can prove that you can function without the medication for an unbroken period of 60 days, then there is a good chance that you can get a medical. I would speak with a HIMS specialist to be sure.
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