ANOTHER Adventure in Autism (4/15) A Taste of What's to Come...

[Montana Disney Fan]

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I can top that.....

 

[Becky521]

I just started reading your report so I have a long way to go. I have seen your name on many other reports and people seem to have great respect for your parenting, so I am now trying to read 79 pages.
I had to laugh at your reference to crying at commercials. I still do and I haven't been pregnant in 15 years! I work with adults with disabilities and I work with two men who are Autistic. I am learning a lot. I also could identify with the "invisible disability". My son was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when he was 7. It got to the point where you just stop trying to explain to people why your son is squealing like a dolphin or (loudly) singing about cows and pigs. Oh well, never a dull moment.
Ok, I just wanted to say hi but now I have to go read page 2.

 

[jcc0621]

I can top that.....

It's the battle of the popcorn

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

I can top that.....

times infinity.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

You cheated.

 

[blue_river]

You cheated.

Would you expect anything less??

 

[mousescrapper]

waiting too....

Hope you and the family are well. Eager to read more.

J-

 

[CLAYINCT]

You do NOT deserve to be on page 3. Big BUMP.

 

[CLAYINCT]

Another Bump.

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

Hi Kathy!

 

[crzy4mickey]

OMG! I am finally caught up...I didn't stumble across your report until 2 weeks ago and I have sat up very late some nights reading. I really enjoyed your last TR and was excited to read this one. I love the way you write! I can't wait to read more. I'm sorry you had to cancel your other 2 trips but now you have something to look forward to in April. My best friend left today for a long weekend in Disney for a dance competition and I'm so sad I didn't go with her so I really needed your report! Thanks. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[lawlesslovewdw]

Another lurker here . I have really been enjoing your tr. I have read in through both tears of joy and tears of laughter, thank you.
We have been blessed with DS4 who was diagnoised with asd (high functioning and talking but very high anxiety)in dec 2006. The last year has been a roller coaster of emotions, with our lowest moment in sept 2007 after a 3 week trip to wdw, where every day had screams and violence (not our first trip) and the violence that followed at orlando airport(he didnt like taking his shoes off I am sorry if anyone witnessed a grown woman held down on the floor by a 4 year old) . Things have been getting better Your tr has been a pleasure to read and given me hope.

I hope everything is ok and hope to see you on the 1st page again

 

[Hedy]

Kathy come back! Or at least start a pre-trip for your April trip.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Time for another trip report check....

 

[blue_river]

You used to be the writing queen - new updates at least every few days, what happened?

We want more!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Where are you Kathy??
Everybody misses you - hope things are ok.

 

[Hedy]

I saw your blurb in Open Mouse today...I think.

Come back, Kathy.

 

[katdocnorf]

Chapter 16: A Communication From A Friend​

​

Hi Everybody! I recently received a PM from a fellow DISer who expressed some genuine concerns about the information I am posting about our family's use of the Guest Assistance Card, or GAC, during our trip. Perhaps some of you have had similar concerns. I'm glad this friend shared her thoughts with me, and I'd like to use it as an opportunity to take a brief time-out from the report to talk about the GAC a bit more.

***************************************​

Here is her PM:

"Hi Kathy,
I love the trip report! I....also have an ASD son who loves WDW!
Please do not be offended, but please reconsider posting such specific information about the GAC. I have personally heard people make comments like "just say autism and you get front of the line!" (not true!) and there have been many GAC's for sale on ebay promising just that!
I know that a GAC can make the trip possible for kids like ours, but I am afraid that posting such specific information about it can invite abuse from people who would do things like that.

Another reason not to post such specific information is that the accomodation provided (even with the same stamp on the GAC) can differ from day to day. For example, sometimes it may not be possible for a child to sit in the front at Crush even if the family has a GAC and if the parents had read that you were able to do this, it can lead to a disappointment or even a meltdown if a child had been promised to do it too.

Please understand that I am not being critical...I am just a little bit cynical about the cheaters after the GACs on ebay and after comments I have overheard. I also would hate for a family to think that they could show up late during busy season and still get seated at Fantasmic because they have a GAC- KWIM?

Thanks for 'listening' !"

***************************************​

I certainly do understand these concerns and, to be honest, it is not the first time that someone has communicated them to me. I clearly remember one DISer, also the parent of an ASD child, who was making his first trip to WDW with his family last year. He said practically the same thing to me when I was writing my last trip report.


..."People with typical kids will just say that one of their children is autistic, and then they'll get the GAC, and then before you know it there will be so much blatant abuse of the GAC as a 'front of the line pass' that Disney will stop offering them to those of us who really need them!"...

Well, I'm paraphrasing of course, but you get the idea.


I really thought about it long and hard and this is what I believe:


First: Our WDW trips would not be possible without the accommodations that WDW provides for our son. Okay, the trips would be possible, but they would be fraught with a whole lot more stress and anxiety….much more than what would make the effort worthwhile.


Our Disney trips pretty much are what they are because of the GAC. It is an integral part of our WDW experience and to gloss over that would just not be an accurate representation of the nature of our trips. We are a special needs family and much of my report describes how we manage to handle those needs while at WDW. Sometimes we handle them better than others, but I think people need to know that. The GAC alone does not make every day in the parks a breeze. I believe it really helps just to know that there are other families out there struggling with the same issues, joys, and pains.


Second: I believe that the GAC takes into account that every special needs traveler is different and needs different accommodations. Heck, each and every kid on the autistic spectrum has different behaviors, communication abilities, and sensory issues. That is why it is referred to as a spectrum of disorders. Our experience with the GAC is exactly that….our experience. Billy is not exactly like Trey, Trey is not exactly like Alex, and Alex is not like the next child with autism (and so on, and so on.)


Every GAC is different because everyone’s needs are different. There is a “sticky” at the top of the DisABILITIES board that describes the GAC in detail: Disabilities FAQs It is a good source of information on the subject.



I’ve said it in this report, just like I’ve said it in my first one: The GAC is not a front of the line pass. And it certainly does not guarantee one a seat at the big nighttime spectaculars if one does not plan properly and arrive early. (If you recall, we did not get seats in one of the handicapped areas that night at Fantasmic…they were all filled!) We found seats that were fine for us just the same. So much for my OTP! (Obsessive Trip Planning.)



And Last: Yes, there are probably folks out there who would try to obtain a GAC under false pretenses and use it to make their touring easier; I’m sure that its been attempted and even done. It’s not for me judge them…they’ll have to answer to their Maker someday.

I believe that I would rather see a dozen non-scrupulous people get a GAC and use it unfairly than to see just one deserving family have a miserable time because they were either too intimidated to ask for one or just not aware of how much it could help a special needs child. Or worse yet…. not even attempt a trip to WDW because of their child’s disability.


I hope that if any of you are out there, you think twice about staying home after reading my reports. Your child needs WDW just as much as the next one. Perhaps more.

Thanks again for reading,


Kathy

By the way long time no talk to... (I've been busy...decided to go back to school and finish my Bachelors Degree...I needed about 50 more credits...)..

Just to say, I love your trip reports and they have helped me quite a bit...If it were not for you I would never think to even asking for a GAC... We just lived with the nervousness of Justin in the line and sometimes having to get out of line and not even riding a ride because he would get upset... I thought to myself, he is not in a wheelchair or using a walker, so in my eyes I would be abusing it and wanted to not take away from someone else who needed it more than us.... but after reading many of your reports and the more I thought about it, all I really did was make our trips miseable for everyone else including Justin... (By the way Justin is my 20 year old ASD step son, his mother basically has abandoned him...she never even tries to see him...) Our last couple of trips to Disney since starting to read your reports have been strictly relaxation trips...my husband is just like yours and I am just like you (PLANS>>>ITENARY, etc) our trip this year will be a half and half (half my way and half his)...so we will be doing parks and I plan on getting Justin a GAC...

To me if you help some like me to choose to get a GAC when we need it.... even if you end up having some people read and get a GAC that don't need it...you have done a service by helping the ones that do need it and as you said someday the other people have to meet their maker and may not go upstairs they will go down for their bad deeds.

 

[crzy4mickey]

Hi Kathy, just checkin' in for my Disney fix...any updates to come soon?? Hope all is well with you and the kiddos.