A Halloween Adventure in Autism (11/7) Prayer Request for Catie (p.129)

[KathyRN137]

Oh my goodness I didn't notice Mickey's hand , that is funny.

Paige Turner did corner us when we walked into DHS one day, Josh actually went along with her and was laughing. I was too stunned to try to embarrass him at the time .​

That must've been a sight to see!!


Kathy

 

[DisMomAmy]

I have to admit that I think it would be so funny if Billy ever started singing that song IN an elevator!

I volunteer in Zachary's kindergarten class every Tuesday. This past week the kids were all sitting at their tables and for some reason it got quiet. One of the girls started singing her own version of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi". Within a minute, half of the class was singing along, each with their own different lyrics! It was so funny! Later that night Zachary asked me if I heard the kids singing (he opted out at the time)... He was so excited there was a song about puffles (club penguin).

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hope all is well!

 

[KathyRN137]

All is well... just a bit busy!

Kathy

 

[jordanyosh]

All is well... just a bit busy!

Kathy

to you too!

 

[All7OfUs]

Just swinging by to say howdy, Kathy! Hope your busy is a nice kind of busy!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Your last update was great, Kathy! I love all the theming around DHS, and I bet Bucky was a hoot! Too funny that Tricia was embarrassed.

 

[KathyRN137]

to you too!

Thanks, Jordy!

Just swinging by to say howdy, Kathy! Hope your busy is a nice kind of busy!

Howdy back atcha!

Your last update was great, Kathy! I love all the theming around DHS, and I bet Bucky was a hoot! Too funny that Tricia was embarrassed.

It was the loud "Yee-HAW!" that really did it!

But I forgot to get a picture with Bo!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter Twenty-Three: Billy Gets the Lions’s Share...


Day Three, con’t.
Monday,
November 2, 2009
Hollywood Studios

The hostess at Hollywood and Vine sat us at 11:15, right on the button. Early ADRs for lunch are da bomb! We were given a table in the center of the action, which used to be a bit over-stimulating for Billy when he was younger, but which does not seem to bother him quite so much now. Besides, I figured we were positioned very near the section of the restaurant where the characters do their dance party segments, so it would be easy for him to get up and dance during the meal. And dance he would!


The waiter took our beverage order and we took turns going up to the buffet. Being that we were one of the first groups seated for lunch, there were not too many people in the line. We’ve been to this character meal many times and there has always been a great selection of food for both breakfast and lunch. The girls had no trouble filling their plates with salad, roast beef, chicken, mashed potatoes and rolls. Ed stayed with Billy, just in case the characters began to come around, while I made a plate of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese from the kids’ buffet and brought it back to the table.


“No! No! No!” Billy yelled. “No chicken nuggets, just mac and cheese!”


I froze, anticipating a major confrontation between two seemingly immovable objects: the autistic child with the rigid food preferences and the traditional Irish-Italian father who believes that wasting food is a sin and that children should eat whatever is put in front of them. Guess who won?


If you guessed Ed, you guessed WRONG! Tricia offered to take the chicken nuggets off Billy’s plate and, unbelievably, Ed acquiesced. As long as the food wasn’t going to waste, I suppose it wasn’t as big of a deal. (A buffet can be a real blessing when you have a picky eater!) I went back to the buffet to fill my plate and to get some more mac and cheese for Billy. He was happy as all get-out:


Say, “Macaroni and CHEESE!”

Ed went to get his food just as the characters appeared and began circling the room. Soon Leo from The Little Einsteins came for a visit, followed by his friend, June. Billy was a huge Little Einsteins fan when he was little and, on occasion, I still see him watching one of his Little Einsteins DVDs. The shows always feature classical music, which Billy loves.

He grabbed Leo’s hands and began singing the show’s theme song. We all laughed when he directed Leo to “Sing with me!” Well, of course, Leo can’t sing because he’s not a “face character,” but he danced around a little with Billy while Billy sang the entire theme song, complete with sound effects! He was so happy!

Next were JoJo and Goliath, from JoJo’s Circus. JoJo was very sweet and spent a little more time with us than June had. Isn’t it funny how some characters just hug, pose, and are on to the next table while others like to stop and play a little? Those few special moments mean so much to a child!


When we introduce Billy to the characters, we always let them know that he is autistic... mostly so they won’t be taken aback when he wraps his arms around them and starts to sniff them! (Ha Ha!) (He’s such a big boy that I think they’re just not expecting that.) JoJo gave him a big hug and a kiss, and even let him “honk” her red clown nose!

But for Billy, the best character of all was Goliath, the circus lion. “He” seemed to understand Billy’s need to snuggle up to him so he could stroke and sniff his furry costume. (I say “he” because I got the sense from Goliath’s body language that there was a female cast member inside the costume.)

Suddenly, it was time to dance with the characters! Kids from all over the restaurant got up to sing and dance to songs from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, The Little Einsteins, and other Playhouse Disney shows. Billy was in his element... it didn’t matter that it was him and a bunch of pre-schoolers up there... he was just dancing and playing right along with his “friends.”

I manned the camera while Ed stood by and made sure Billy didn’t knock any of the little kids over in his excitement! The girls ate and had fun watching their brother/cousin enjoy himself so much:

Dancing...

Singing...

When it was time to parade around the restaurant, however, Tricia (who had been quite insistant that she did not need pictures with any of the characters) went with him to keep him company... I thought that was very sweet. It also gave Ed and me a chance to sit down and eat a little!

​

Sorry, no food pix, but everything was good. Can’t honestly remember, but I think I had some Asian chicken-noodle thingy and a little roast beef and vegetables.


As with most Disney buffets, there was an awesome dessert table. We shared a selection of bite-sized brownies, mini cheesecakes and some bread pudding with bananas foster sauce. Then we hit the frozen yogurt machine… Mmm! Mmm! The girls had some toppings, but I like just plain, simple vanilla yogurt, thank you. Luckily there were chocolate-chip cookies so Billy could have something for dessert as well.


We had been there long enough that the characters began circling around again before we received our bill. I think they were looking for tables that they had missed earlier. Most of the tables in our section had been the first guests seated for lunch, however, so our side of the restaurant was pretty much taken care of. All the characters stopped by our table again for a quick wave or a pat on one of the kids’ heads. When Goliath came around, Billy jumped up and ran after him to give him more hugs. He was really taken with him on this trip! Some music was playing and Billy was trying to get Goliath to sing the song with him. The character handler came along and motioned to Goliath to move along, but he waved her off and finished the song with Billy. Like I said, he (or she) was very sweet and understanding and I am so grateful. Billy was all-smiles for the rest of the day!

​

We finished up and gave our KTTW cards to the waiter. We were pretty stuffed and had had a great time. All in all it was a great TS value on the dining plan. Knowing Billy, I’m sure he’ll want to eat here again next time!


Off we went toward Streets of America. We had a movie date with a frog, a pig, and a bear!



Kathy

 

[AmandaSparks730]

1. How sweet of Tricia to take the chicken nuggets as so to avoid conflict with her Dad

2. Again, Billy seems TOO sweet! The smiles just say it all!

 

[eandesmom]

Chapter Twenty-Three: Billy Gets the Lions’s Share...

Kathy

I this picture!

I am always so impressed at how affectionate Billy is and how much he likes to touch and be touched. Seeing his joy is truly contagious.

How lovely of Tricia to take the nuggets and I am impressed with the volume of food on Catie's plate...looks like my plate at her age and it's nice to see a girl with a normal appetite, we have to nag Kendall to eat and it drives me nuts.

 

[DisMomAmy]

He grabbed Leo’s hands and began singing the show’s theme song. We all laughed when he directed Leo to “Sing with me!” Well, of course, Leo can’t sing because he’s not a “face character,” but he danced around a little with Billy while Billy sang the entire theme song, complete with sound effects! He was so happy!

That's so funny... Alex always adds in the sound effects to every song he sings. Lately he's been watching Yo Gabba Gabba & recently there was an episode with a beatboxer... you know the when the singer makes all kinds of noises with their mouths... and Alex has been trying to immitate him! It's so funny!

You said you were seated at 11:15... we have an 11:15 ADR on our first park day. The menu on allears says they serve breakfast until 11:20. Do you think we'll still be able to get breakfast food? I always prefer breakfast food over lunch food, but there's barely anything Alex will eat at a breakfast buffet. In 2007 we had a similar ADR time and caught the end of breakfast as they were changing over one side of the buffet. Any guess what you think we'll end up with this year?

 

[KathyRN137]

1. How sweet of Tricia to take the chicken nuggets as so to avoid conflict with her Dad

2. Again, Billy seems TOO sweet! The smiles just say it all!

Thanks, Meg! I'm glad we didn't have any chicken nugget arguments to spoil our lunch!

I this picture!

I am always so impressed at how affectionate Billy is and how much he likes to touch and be touched. Seeing his joy is truly contagious.

How lovely of Tricia to take the nuggets and I am impressed with the volume of food on Catie's plate...looks like my plate at her age and it's nice to see a girl with a normal appetite, we have to nag Kendall to eat and it drives me nuts.

A big joke in our family is how much Catie can eat... and she is as thin as a rail!

Here's a similar picture... I think we were laughing because Billy's laugh is so infectious!!

I'm so glad that he is such a snuggle-bunny. It must be very painful for parents whose autistic children cannot bear to be hugged.

One of the joys of my life is that I get so many hugs and kisses each day!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

You said you were seated at 11:15... we have an 11:15 ADR on our first park day. The menu on allears says they serve breakfast until 11:20. Do you think we'll still be able to get breakfast food? I always prefer breakfast food over lunch food, but there's barely anything Alex will eat at a breakfast buffet. In 2007 we had a similar ADR time and caught the end of breakfast as they were changing over one side of the buffet. Any guess what you think we'll end up with this year?

I remember that one side of the buffet still had breakfast items when we went up for lunch... and they were still putting lunch stuff out when we were on the line. I don't know how long the breakfast side continued, though. I wasn't really paying attention. I'm pretty sure that if you went up to the buffet right away you'd be able to get eggs, waffles, etc.


Kathy

 

[DisMomAmy]

I remember that one side of the buffet still had breakfast items when we went up for lunch... and they were still putting lunch stuff out when we were on the line. I don't know how long the breakfast side continued, though. I wasn't really paying attention. I'm pretty sure that if you went up to the buffet right away you'd be able to get eggs, waffles, etc.


Kathy

Yay! I love breakfast food!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Great update Kathy! Those pictures of Billy enjoying the dancing and singing are AWESOME! You can tell how happy and "in his element" he is. And good for Tricia for jumping in and helping out. She sounds like an amazing sister!

 

[eandesmom]

A big joke in our family is how much Catie can eat... and she is as thin as a rail!

I'm so glad that he is such a snuggle-bunny. It must be very painful for parents whose autistic children cannot bear to be hugged.

One of the joys of my life is that I get so many hugs and kisses each day!


Kathy

I was like that at her age...my dad thought I had tapeworms! I wasn't as tall though.

You are blessed with Billy. I've watched my sister and my girlfriend struggle with their autistic children who can't bear to be touched. They've made progress but it's been slow, and hard...probably one of the most moving moments in my life was when my nephew sat down, snuggled up to me for no particular reason on the couch last Christmas day. It was SO huge for him I almost bust into tears right there.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

What a wonderful lunch!

Goliath sounds like a wonderful "CM" so sweet for "him" to spend just a little extra time with Billy. That is what makes Disney such a Magical Place.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Billy was in his element... it didn’t matter that it was him and a bunch of pre-schoolers up there... he was just dancing and playing right along with his “friends.”

I love times like that. I think, in general terms, this is why I love Disney so much. Ariana fits right in, no matter the ages of those around her, and her whole being is just... happiness.

Wonderful update Kathy, one of my favorites so far.

 

[MaryAz]

Such a great update! Made me a litle teary watching Billy with Goliaath SOunds like a fun lunch. We have a bkfst there in May.