CoopTroop6
Dreaming of Dole Whips...
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2013
I apologize in advance for the loooong post. I was gonna post this over on the Universal board, but this feels like the better place. I'll be braving IoA for the first time ever on Thursday - with a group of 5 10-12yo kids! I'm chaperoning DS12's end-of-year field trip. Here's my dilemma: DS has Asperger's/Anxiety/ADHD/BiPolar(just got that diagnosis) & sensory issues. When we do WDW as a family we use a DAS for him, and he does very well as long as we avoid major crowds, use ear plugs, etc. I can't seem to find any info on the US site about non-physical disabilities. Do the offer something similar and if so how do we go about getting it? Assuming they do, onto my 2nd (probably more difficult) question...
DS is very high-functioning, and the majority of his friends & classmates are unaware he has any disabilities and he wants to keep it that way. He functions very well in normal day-to-day situations as long as we keep to routines, use his accommodations in school, keep up w/medication, etc. Things like theme parks really bring his issues out however. He was very reluctant to go on this trip because he's afraid having issues and/or meltdowns w/his friends around (thank you fragile 12yo ego & self-esteem). So my 2nd issues is, if US does offer their version of a DAS, is there a way to obtain & use it that won't cue his classmates in? I'm thinking that if, say, we were at WDW I would use the DAS that we already have and if/when any of the kids asked just claim it was for me (the kids wouldn't need to see the pic). But how to do that at US? I completely realize that may not be possible, but I'm trying to make this trip possible for him AND save his already low self-esteem. This is the 1st year he has agreed to, and been mature enough, to attend one of these trips (we live near Orlando, so every year has a theme park trip). I'm really hoping for some advice!
DS is very high-functioning, and the majority of his friends & classmates are unaware he has any disabilities and he wants to keep it that way. He functions very well in normal day-to-day situations as long as we keep to routines, use his accommodations in school, keep up w/medication, etc. Things like theme parks really bring his issues out however. He was very reluctant to go on this trip because he's afraid having issues and/or meltdowns w/his friends around (thank you fragile 12yo ego & self-esteem). So my 2nd issues is, if US does offer their version of a DAS, is there a way to obtain & use it that won't cue his classmates in? I'm thinking that if, say, we were at WDW I would use the DAS that we already have and if/when any of the kids asked just claim it was for me (the kids wouldn't need to see the pic). But how to do that at US? I completely realize that may not be possible, but I'm trying to make this trip possible for him AND save his already low self-esteem. This is the 1st year he has agreed to, and been mature enough, to attend one of these trips (we live near Orlando, so every year has a theme park trip). I'm really hoping for some advice!