5 year wold with Sensory Processing Disorder - very sensitive

[Momto3cuties]

Not sure what to do re: GAC
Our 5 year old son has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. We manage it well at home (school OT and teacher needs some education to assist them) and I think we could do OK at MK, just not 100% sure. He craves physical activity, motion, etc. - rides might do him well (as long as he does not get too stimulated). He is extremely bright and has been doing the Alert Program, so he knows when his "engine" is running to high and also what types of things will help him to get it running right. He is very sensitive about all this and does not like attention being drawn to him - so much so that he has actually asked to leave a birthday party early because he felt his "engine" running too high. So, would you get a GAC pass? I hate to see him meltdown in the World's Happiest Place. Will he realize we may perhaps be in a different line/waiting in a quieter area? Any thoughts/advice/ideas welcomed.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I think a GAC might help you out. Be sure to go buy guest realtions and tell them about his problem ( he will have to be with you) and they will be able to help you out a lot. I think that it is great that he can tell you when he has ahd enough. Many kids ( even those with out any form of disorders) will have a meltdown out of the blue. If things all of a sudden get to much for him and he needs abreak, you can take him to the first aid station and they will take you to a small little room with a cot and he can nap for a little while or just chill out for a few. We had to use this once when my son started to ge over heated and while we where there a child wiht autism who could not take any more stimulation was in there. The mother tried to tell them she was sorry and thank them, but hey said that they get children like that many times a day so if you needed to pop in it would not be anything new for them.

 

[clanmcculloch]

You've just described my 12yo right down to doing well withe Alert program (though she seems to have forgotten a lot since she learned it but she's doing better with generally verbalizing her levels of anxiety; it was a great tool early on).

The GAC has been very helpful to us because it does allow us an alternate area to wait. If we wait in regular lines then when she wiggles around, something she can't help, she bumps people which upsets those around her causing them to comment and stare which then causes her to get upset and spin into a very rapid meltdown.

Explain to the CM at Guest Relations exactly what you explained here. He'll know how to mark your GAC.

Something that helped us just as much if not more than the GAC is the touring service TourGuide Mike. TGM is the sponsor of the Theme Parks board and if you go to the site through the ad on that board then you'll get a $3 discount. TGM is a service that helps you plan your touring. His advice tells you where is the best place to be at any given time in order to avoid crowds. The GAC can only help with rides, not shows and not in the areas between rides. Using TGM, we were hardly ever surrounded by crowds even when moving around the parks and we hardly had to use our GAC for rides as the lines were very short so it was easy to get more space in lines (we did use it some but on our last trip using TGM over Christmas which is the busiest time of year we used it significantly less than we have travelling even over slow periods without TGM). I'll never go back to WDW again with TGM. I'll still get the GAC but I know I won't need to rely on it often and we'll actually accomplish a lot more at the parks then we used to without it. We also managed our first trip without nearly daily meltdowns thanks to the advice I got with TGM. IMO it's the best $20 I spent on our last trip.

 

[kim532]

Another option even though your child is older, may be to go to the Baby Services locations just to get a way from the crowd and calm down. I was in there with my 2 year old at AK and EPCOT during peak season last summer and they both were empty and it was a nice place to just calm down.

Kim

 

[tabithakp]

my son was also just diagnosed with sdp. when are you going to disney? are next trip is october. id love to trade stratagies with you.

 

[brergnat]

I have a five year old with Autism, and a 4 year old with (what I strongly feel is) SPD. We just got back from our first trip last week. We got a GAC for our older son, but since we rode everything as a family, my younger son got to benefit from it as well. It was INVALUABLE. And, this is coming from someone who has been taking her two kids to Disneyland practically weekly since they were each born, and who had NEVER used the GAC there.

WDW was a whole new experience for my kids. They had a great time overall, but the first few days were wrought with anxiety, distress, and disorientation. Without the GAC over the heavy crowd period of last week, we would have spent the ENTIRE week at the resort.

Even though my kids are very capable of standing in lines, they are not USED to the WDW queues, many of which were extremely long, winding, and claustrophobic. They are not used to having to wait 45 minutes for the teacups, or dumbo (since we go to DL, typically, when crowd levels are low). Our kids were both in full on meltdown mode when we went to MK the first time, due to being upset that the layout was "similar but different" than Disneyland. We had three meltdowns within about 10 minutes. This was day two of our trip, and DH and I agreed that would be a good time to get the GAC. It saved our vacation. It was so nice to have a separate space to wait where our kids could be "wiggly" without annoying others, or in a calming environment (some rides had an indoor, dark, quiet area for us to wait). When they are in a long line, they deal with it by spinning around, climbing the poles/ropes, flopping down on the ground, etc. In contrast, the separate ride entrances where we were sent were not so stressful, and they waited very patiently and nicely (for the most part). Even if a ride had only a 5 or 10 minute wait, we used the GAC for the alternate entrance. We'd wait the same amount of time, but in a better space for our kids.

When you go to Guest Relations, just explain that your son has sensory issues and needs a separate place to wait than the traditional queues. They will issue a card stamped with that designation. Show it to the CM at every ride entrance, who will direct you where to go. I am SO glad Disney does this for our uniquely challenged kids. Takes the stress level WAY WAY down.

 

[tabithakp]

ive never heard of alert program before can anyone recommend a good resource to learn this. it sounds like it might help not only my son but my whole family! its been rough lately! thanks

 

[clanmcculloch]

The Alert Program is what our school's OT uses to teach kids to recognize and understand their anxiety, regardless of the cause (could be social, sensory, obsessive compulsive, etc). It gives words to kids to be able to recognize and vocalize the levels of anxiety. Once they understand this, the OT can then start working on coping strategies for various levels of anxiety. I loved this program for DD12 back when she was in 2nd grade.

 

[cathyny]

A friend of mine who just returned form Disney recommended that I also look into GAC for my son which I had not even considered but now I am thinking its a good idea. We are going the beginning of May. He is newly diagnosed with Sensory issues & just started O/T & a special-ed pre-school. I am very concerned how he will do on the lines. Do I need a doctors note ? So far we just have the paperwork from the school which their dignosis after he was evalulated.

 

[disney323]

My 4 year old was diagnosed with anxiety recently (he does not interact with his peers(would rather keep to himself) and he gets overstimulated and gets impuslive when someone is overwhelming or too difficult, I think I'll look into the alert program you speak of and resources we can use for WDW when we go next year.
~Andrea

 

[OneLittleSpark]

The alert program sounds like a really great tool; having the right words to describe how you're feeling is such a huge step towards 'coping', especially for kids. You've got loads of great advice so far, so there's not really much I can add to it!

One thing I did want to say, if he needs some space at any point, you might want to spend half an hour or an hour at Fort Wilderness. There's loads of outside space to run around in (though do be careful, as there are roads around the place, and traffic is light enough that he might get lax about checking for cars), and it's got a nice peaceful atmosphere to it. You could also rent bikes or a pedal surrey to burn off a bit more energy. Do make sure that none of you over-heat though, because it's easy to lose track of time at the Fort, and find you've been out in the Florida heat for far too long ! As you may have guessed, I'm a bit of a Fort Fiend, even though I've never actually been able to stay there

Hope you guys have a great trip!

 

[blessedmom4]

Do I need a doctors note ?

You do NOT need a doctor’s note (Most CM will not even look at it due to confidentiality issues). Just present your child’s specific needs (not diagnosis) and they will provide the appropriate stamps to the GAC. ENJOY!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

I don’t think anyone mentioned yet that there is information about Guest Assistance Cards in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. Post #6 of that thread is about GACs.
You can find that thread near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature to get there.

One thing that many people have posted was even more helpful to them than a Guest Assistance Card was using a tour planning service like TourGuide Mike or Ridemax. Most of the people posting good results have used GACs on past trips and found that TourGuide Mike was more helpful.
A GAC can only help you with attractions; some have quieter places to wait, but not all. And, GACs don’t help with maneuvering around and the general busy-ness of a crowded park. The tour planning services can help in those e kinds of situations because they tell you how to be in the quietest part of the quietest park.
Quite a few people have posted that they did not wait longer than 10 minutes for anything with using TourGuide Mike. (He is a Theme Parks Board sponsor and you can find a link to his website on that board).

 

[Momto3cuties]

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you! great advice, so appreciated. We are looking into TourMike too!

 

[hroyale]

I just wanted to chime in with our experience. My DS (now 6) is on the spectrum dx PDD-NOS but has a lot of sensory issues. We have been to WDW two times and haven't needed to use the GAC yet. However, we purposely plan our trips in Jan when the crowds are very low and use Tour Guide Mike, use Fast Pass and plan our day to avoid situations we know would be difficult for DS. It has worked great.

Another thing we did was get a stroller both trips, even though we haven't used a stroller outside WDW for 3+ years. He had a safe haven whenever we needed to move through thick crowds.

If we ever plan to go in April or some other time where the crowds will be heavy I'm sure we would make use of the GAC. But even with it I know that planning will really be the key to the best experience for us.

Have fun!
Heather