1st trip. Any tips with autistic boy?

[Andy too]

My family and I will be making our first trip to Disney World the week before Christmas. We consist of me and my wife and our four children 8, 7, 4, and 1 (boys in the middle, girls on the ends). We will be tent camping at Fort Wilderness.

My oldest son (the 7-year-old) is autistic. He is non-verbal and unable to wait in a line longer than about 15-20 minutes. He loves Disney characters and movies. He also loves getting into water of any kind. I would appreciate any tips for those with autistic children on how they coped with the parks.

Thanks!

 

[teri]

3 suggestions!

First, click on the link in my signature, where it says disABILITES FAQ, and you will find informaiton about the GAC and doing Disney with sensitive children.

Second, use the 'search' function at the upper right hand of the screen, using keyword 'autistic' and you will find several very helpful posts.

Also, scroll down on this page, you will find even more interesting discussions.

 

[tammie]

hello we have a son that age 8 that has been to disney twice and we are going again sometime soon....our son has autism and allso non verbel....... alot of tips i can give you..........first thing we did was get him a special stroller to push him at disney he could not take all the walking......second we bring food from home that we can not buy in florida.....we allso get the special pass from guest services to avoid the lines and the special pass we put on it the the stroller is to be use as a wheelchair and we allso bypass the lines.......johnathan hates lines........we allso bring a change of clothes and a towel so that johnathan can play in the foutain in the parks and we can change him at the park........we allso bring a exta towel in the park so lay it down on the table so i can change johnathan diaper.........allso the the charector meals we tell our sever that our son has autism and the charectors come right away to our table so we can eat and enjoy the charector and go pretty quickly and johnathan does not have a chance to go crazy...........i found that johnathan it treated very well from the charectors and from the cast members at the park...........if you have anyquestion i will be glad to answer or least try......go luck on trip.....tammie ....p.s. we allso learn that we do not go in the summer when it really hot out........plus go earlly in the moring to park and then go back to the hotel and take a break at lunch time......then go later during the day to the park.................... .......couple of other thing i though of last night....johnathan love a slinky and we bring many slinky to the park and on the plane for johnathan to play with so bring some favorit toys.....johnathan allso love a big stuff pooh that we bring with us and he hugs that all time on the plane and bring it to bed with us.....we allso have flight that go directly to orlando so that johnathan does not get really upset.......our flight leave here real early in the moring and then we take a even flight out going home again direct flight and johnathan sleeps going home........we really do not like to change plane with johnathan........tammie

 

[SueM in MN]

You've already gotten some good advice. Glad to have you here.

 

[suzysezso]

I have a tip that applies all the time, but especially when traveling in unfamiliar places:
My son is 10 years old, also autistic and non verbal. I usually rent a wheelchair for Disney, Universal etc., and that usually keeps him from bolting, but when he sees something and runs for it sometimes he can get away from me.

At all times I keep about 10 copies of a recent photo of my with some info on the back of each such as his name, height, weight, and the fact that he is non verbal and will not respond to being called or told to stop, and that he is not aware of the fact he may be lost.

In fact this came in handy just last month when we were at an arcade near FAO Schwartz - I was watching my other kids play a game and poof he was gone- as soon as I realized he had taken off I notified a security guard and he called for help. I handed the pics to the crew that showed up and within 15 minutes he was found in the parking garage next door riding his beloved elevators. I don't have to tell you how frightened I was, but I know having those pics with me made it easier for the security people to find him fast!

 

[SueM in MN]

Kids can disappear really fast too. My DD is physically disabled, uses a wheelchair and is non-verbal. Once in Target when we were checking out, she signed to me that she wanted to get a drink of water (drinking fountains attract her). Since it was only about 15 feet away and in my clear view, I told her she could. I looked down for just long enough to write my check and she was no where to be seen. I was worried that she might have gotten outside since the doors open automatically, but it was too far for her to have made it there in that amount of time. I started worrying that someone had taken her and started to tell one of the clerks that she was missing. Just as I was explaining what she looked like, I looked toward the check out and there she was, queued up in line ready to purchase a magazine I had told her she couldn't buy! Was I ever glad to see her (and surprised to see her there).
The only time she got away from us at WDW was at the playground at OKW. She ran her front wheel off the sidewalk into the sand and tipped her wheelchair over into the sand. She wasn't hurt, but it was not easy to pick her up and she hasn't run away since then.

 

[Andy too]

Thanks for your tips! We are very excited about our trip, but a little apprehensive about how our son will do.

Thanks again!

 

[SueM in MN]

If you think of any more questions (or just need more reassurance) come back and post some more!

 

[mickey'sbud]

Two quick tips
(1) At your children's ages - do get a stroller
(2) Earplugs!!!!!! You can get a box of disposible ones (several pairs in it) at Eckerd rather inexpensively. If your son doesn't mind them in his ears, they will help with the very loud noises.

Have fun!!!

 

[suzysezso]

Great ideas...
My son won't wear ear plugs but he has on occasion tolerated the headphone type of ear protection sold in sporting goods stores for use on firing ranges - It really helps when we have to attend an event where there will be applause, which is really uncomfortable for him, and he can put them on or off at his own discretion.