5 year old with Autism - need advice

[KathyFP]

I posted on another board, but thought this might be a better place to get some advice.

My best friend has been given 4 - 6 moinths to live. Her wish is to take her two daughters (5, 9) to Disney in May.

Her 5 year old is autistic (non verbal, not potty trained). Any suggestions for managing disney. How do we handle the lines - any special accomodations. I don't think she can stand in line very long (or even in her stroller) without getting upset.

 

[mlwear]

That's very sad.

We did get a GAC for my autistic son (then 7) last year. We hardly used it. DH used Fast Pass to our best advantage. We would get to a park, I would take the kids to stroll around and look at some things (sometimes we would hit a show with no waiting) while he dashed off for the first Fast Pass. We would do something with a very short line (or go to the show that we got to with no waiting or lunch/snack) and by then the time that was over it was time that he could run and get the next Fast Pass. We then were still in the time frame to use Fast Pass number one and got right on the ride. By the time we were finished we were usually in our time frame for Fast Pass number 2 and went straight on to that ride. After FP ride 2, DH dashed off for Fast Pass 3 and so on. The kids and I move kind of slow and need to take breaks, so it worked out great for us. Only problem was that DH got so into his "system" that he wore us out. He wanted to aqueeze every second he could out of the parks .
We did use GAC one time. That was waiting for It's a Small World. There was no Fast Pass. The line was not only fairly long but very crowded. CM's were very nice about it. We did still have to wait, but it was much more isolated.
I found the best thing for our autistic son was having a "sensory" pack at all times. I kept a ziplock with earplugs, sunglasses, hat, chewy tube (plastic-like T shaped tube for chewing), small tactile objects: stress ball, porcupine ball and his body brush. We also used the misting fan A LOT. If he was in a situation I knew would be difficult, I used what was needed. If I sensed he was really overwhemled I just found an out of the way spot and gave him some space and brushed him.
I hope you create some wonderful memories.

 

[spotdog]

Do find out more information about the GAC. This is a card which explains to CM's the special needs of a guest. It does not provide "front of the line" access, but can allow a stroller to be taken throughout the line or even a quieter place to wait.

This is the forum to ask for advice about how those with Autism can best experience WDW.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it waill take you to the Index. The third item down is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information, including one large section on Guest Assistance Cards (GAC)

 

[kdtwiss]

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