anyone do wdw with child with autism

[disneydeb]

hi, just wondering, if you visited all parks, which resorts wee best to stay in? did you rent car? what you did for meltdowns? thanks in advance, oh by the way dgs is just turning 4 next month

 

[CanadianGuy]

I moved this over to the disABILITIES forum where there are lots of experts who can answer this exact question about travelling with a child with sensory concerns.

Thanks,

Knox

 

[disneydeb]

hi, am thinking of doing a 4 day park 3 day sea with dgs and was wondering if anyone did a cruise before with a child with autism, how did this go and would you recommend it? dgs is turning 4 next month and would love to show him christmas lights of wdw and cruise, thanks in advance

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILITIES!

A quick check shows there are at least five threads related to Autism and Disney World in the first page of the disABILITIES listing. Also, Autism is a common topic in the disABILITIES Community Board, which is a subforum of this one.

And don't forget, Autism is a spectrum, with different people acting differently to the same stimulus. If you can give additional information it will aloow us to give you better answers.

 

[stampin_fool]

Just thought I would chime in with our experiences visiting the world with a child on the spectrum. We have found that Fort Wilderness best fits our needs. It is like having your own home in the world with parking right outside (no parking in a lot and having to carry a tired child or one that is having a melt-down to the room). We did stay at all stars one time because our son is a BIG Herbie fan but really missed the convenience of the Ft.

Another convenience to staying at the Ft is the full kitchen. If you have a picky eater, it is great to have the facilities to make what they like to eat and avoid meltdowns in the park when there is nothing on the menu that they like or, heaven forbid, that the food look different somehow than what they are used to.

Renting a stroller is something that i would highly recommend doing. The strollers have side panels and a top which helps reduce stimuli and the hard plastic seems to help with the sensory issues.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to pm me. I would be more than happy to share my experiences with you.

Ronda

 

[mazz1]

i have visited wdw twice with two ASD children both have very different needs

you need to visit guest services on the way in to see how they can help, they have a guest assistance card that they can tell you about

i've found the staff in the first aid centres in the park very helpfull and if we know a meltdown is brewing we will pop in and my daughter will sit behind the curtain until she's ready to face the world again, it's cool and quiet in there

we stay in a private villa booked direct with the owner and the children sit and view the 360 online villa tour many times before going so they know who's room is who's and where they will be sleeping in advance

with the parks i've found that you have to be guided by your child and know when to call it a day, the max time we've managed in a park is 4 hours and then it's back to the villa for a bbq and swim in the pool

kiddies tire themselves out and with a drink poolside for mum .............ahhh heaven

 

[wdwdancerwannabe]

I Highly recommend a social story --- probably with pictures/PECS since your DGS is little.

Many children (w/ or w/o autism) do better if they know what to expect for the day and what is ahead of them.

See my PRETRIP Report in my sigature. It's probably a little TOO detailed for a true social story, but it would serve the purpose .....

 

[disneydeb]

thank you this is all so new to us, and i'm so glad i was directed to this board. Everyone's so sweet and helpful, thanks for enlightning me about spectrum, i didnt know about that yet, we have another meeting at the school my dgs goes to on jan 3rd, i'll have to mention that to them. i'm learning though,I dont feel as shy asking questions on this board as there are many wonderful caring people on the dis,

 

[wdwdancerwannabe]

thank you this is all so new to us, and i'm so glad i was directed to this board. Everyone's so sweet and helpful, thanks for enlightning me about spectrum, i didnt know about that yet, we have another meeting at the school my dgs goes to on jan 3rd, i'll have to mention that to them. i'm learning though,I dont feel as shy asking questions on this board as there are many wonderful caring people on the dis,

Hello and welcome to the Boards!!! I am a Speech Language Pathologist in a School District - and will be happy to answer any questions you may have about IDEA and the IEP.

One thing to keep in mind is that a medical diagnosis of Autism and Autism under IDEA (in the school settings) are two different things....some children may have one dx, but not another.

There are many students who come to our district w/ an outside (medical) dx of autism and after a special education evaluation, they don't qualify.

Also, medical dx looks at and considers the spectrum.

The school district is very aware of the spectrum, (PDD, Aspergers, etc) but under IDEA, Autism is Autism - regardless of the severity, needs, etc.

Just this week, we received a report on a student with "atypical autism" --- whatever THAT is!!!!!

 

[minkydog]

We have taken DS12 to WDW on two occasions. The first time he was 8 and we stayed at Ft Wilderness. The second time he was 11 and we stayed at the Poly

Each location had it's benefits. Ft Wilderness provided lots of outdoor space for walking. DS is not verbal, but he is very noisy. I didn't think he bothered people much at FW because we were outside so much. It was quiet and calm, which meant he adjusted well. The Poly was also calm and relaxing and had lots of paths for walking. It also is on the monorail, so getting to and from MK was easy. He was older and had been to a few hotels before, so he adjusted easily. Our trick was to wear him out in the pool so he'd go to sleep easily and not annoy the neighbors in the next room.

I can't say one was better than the other. They were different experiences. I think you just have to know your child and the things that might trigger him/her. My son has severe autism with mental retardation so his functionality is pretty low. Fortunately he is a pleasant, easy-going kid who rarely has a melt down so it's not too hard to take him places.

 

[SueM in MN]

Another thing that makes a difference is whether the child is a sensory seeker or a sensory avoider. Some of the favorite attractions for sensory seekers are the most problem for sensory avoiders.

If you haven't checked out the disABILITIES FAQs thread, it's near the top of the board and has a lot of helpful information, including some links to some past threads that might be helpful to you.

 

[disneydeb]

well he likes things that blow up and go kaboom! so i guess hes a sensory seeker. after the schools started picking up what he was doing, echoing back, lining things up, not being able to hold a 2 way conversation, things starting making perfect sense, we never even thought of autism because he can count to 100, knows all shapes and colors etc. we just thought he didnt have any social skills and his father was abusing him never letting him cry, locking him in his room for 8 hrs etc, after my daughter got nanny cam and found out she divorced him and they moved in with me , then he started talking and saying no, and his speech rapidly improved, but with echoing, and meltdowns, we just thought it was because of the situation he had just come out of, but since this diagnosis and wev'e learn how to start handaling different situations, the schools been helping us, my dgs is 100 percent happier, things are better all around, my daughter doesnt freak out with people staring at them anymore when he has a meltdown in the store. i have another question? what is the blanket to cover them for, do you cover them completely? or leave there head out ? or just hold the blanket up?

 

[cindymom1]

Hi,

My ds is 13 and is on the autism spectrum. He loves to stay at Fort Wilderness and rent a golf cart. He loves riding is the golf cart almost as much as the rides themselves!

If he likes things that blow up and make loud sounds, there are several shows at the parts (stunt show at disney mgm) for example that he would probably enjoy!

We took our son on the disney cruise. The kids clubs there are good. If your son can make it in a group setting without one on one care then I'm sure he could go to the club. And you could get a break too!

I hope you get to go to both places!

 

[disney-super-mom]

First of all, get a Guest Assistance Card. Even though he may be a sensory seeker in some ways, he may have issues with crowds, or strangers/people getting too close to him, or whatever, so having a GAC card could help him by allowing him access to a place/location while waiting for a ride or attraction where he won't be over stimulated.

He sounds fairly high functioning, a lot like my DS was at that age.

Echoing (ecolalia) is a good thing too. It means he WANTS to communicate, and it helps him LEARN how to communicate, he just doesn't know how yet, (other than to echo people). He should hopefully grow out of this in the next few years with proper therapy at his school.

I highly recommend renting a stroller there. I agree that the hard plastic seat/sides, and the overhead cover, is great for kids with autisim. He'll like it.....it's like his own little space.

I can't really recommend a specific place to stay. Everyone's needs are different. However, some of the quieter resorts are: Fort Wilderness, Saratoga Springs Resort, and Old Key West come to mind.

I'm not sure what the blanket is for. I've not heard of it.

If you need any more help or advice, I'll be here on the boards!

 

[stemikger]

I didn't read all the replies, but my nephew has Asbergers. Not sure about the spelling.

For the msot part it was great, until he lost his President Lincoln. Kind of a funny story. Nick who is 6 has a think for all the Presidents and they found a little President Lincoln in EPCOT (American Pavillion). It made him so happy and when they got to his favoriate ride Space Ship Earth, it was closed for rehab and he had a major meltdown and it was then he realized he did not have his toy President.

My sister-in-law took him back to the hotel and called the store and they delivered one to the resort. (Very cool).

They had a great trip.

Good Luck

 

[SueM in MN]

First of all, get a Guest Assistance Card. Even though he may be a sensory seeker in some ways, he may have issues with crowds, or strangers/people getting too close to him, or whatever, so having a GAC card could help him by allowing him access to a place/location while waiting for a ride or attraction where he won't be over stimulated.

There is information about GACs (Guest Assistance Cards) in the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board if you need more information.

 

[Andyjo0930]

We have brought my son who has autism, twice to disney, once when he was three and again this past august when he was almost 6. On our first trip, we had a lot of problems with him as far as waiting for things and we have learned that we can't be on main street at 1:00 for the 3:00 parade. It was easier for us to watch the parade elsewhere and not have to get there so early for a spot. And then, one of us would stay with our daughter and save the spot, while the other would take our son to the bathroom, walk through a store, get ice cream or something so that he didn't have to just sit and wait. Worked much better the second time around. Also, this time, we brought things for him, such as a handheld game or his video now, so that he had stuff to do when he was waiting in line. What I did this time, was I went on youtube and I pulled up vidoes of certain rides that he was able to watch. This way, he knew what they were and decided whether or not he wanted to go. My son likes the rides and the faster the better, so he basically went on everything that he met the height requirement. He was actually very well behaved in the parks because he enjoyed the rides and attractions. Most of his meltdowns were at the hotel. We were swimming every day and he never wanted to leave the pool to go to bed, or to go to the parks. We also had a family suite at ASMu, and we had stuff with us for the kids to eat, especially for breakfast, but the first morning we took them down to the food court for a mickey waffle and that was it... he thought he had to eat at the food court every morning. In fact, our first morning home, he asked to go to the food court for a mickey waffle. All in all, we had a great time and he adjusted very well. We did have the occasional stares from other guests, because my son is a noisemaker. He will stand in line, or in a resturant and makes all kinds of noises and its very hard for us to keep him quiet. But other than that, he had a ball, and if you ask him, he liked Soarin the best!

 

[stampin_fool]

will help them block out visual stimuli. When they get overwhelmed they can put the blanket in front of them (you know on top of the stroller and hanging down in front of it) to make a curtain to hide behind. This is a really great idea, I never would have thought of it. I have actually bought some squishy balls to bring with us for my son to hold and play with for when he is getting over-stimulated this time.

Ronda

 

[wvdislover]

My DD10 uses a blanket to cover herself with or wrap herself up in when she gets overstimulated or melts down. It's an escape mechanism. If she "hides," maybe no one can see her (?). Whatever, it works. After a few minutes under her blanket, she calms down and can face the world again.

 

[Coach81]

My 10 year old son has autism. He is very high functioning, but still has problems. He loves Disney World. We just bought into DVC because my family has the best time there. We find that as long as we plan things out, and let him know ahead of time what we are doing, he adjusts pretty well. He loves playhouse disney, and is very upset that his childhood hero - Bear from Bear in the big blue house- will not be a part of it anymore. But he loves everything Disney, and we are all very excited about our upcoming trip in Feb.