ASD-autism

[pcparamedics01]

I have an autistic son, age 9. He is very high functioning, however some music and high pitched sounds upset him and he will fold his ears and whine.
What park do you suggest me to start him off in? Also do you suggest Fantasmic MGM? Would we have to wait in line because we cannot get priority seating on The 4th of July week. Will they accommodate us with the GAC pass for Fantasmic so we do not have to wait in line without priority seating?
I know I should bring earplugs. My sister wrote a message for me, and thanks to all that responded. I also have a daughter 4 and she is a typical child and I wanted both of there first experiences to be with minimum stress. My son was 2 and too young to remember his first experience.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Hi! My two boys have the same issues with noise. I wouldn't suggest Fantasmic. It is very loud. If you do try it, you may want to use ear plugs. As for the best park, maybe EPCOT would be a good park to ease him into the trip. Be sure to arrive early, so you avoid crowds.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. We have traveled several times with our sons and they do very well in WDW!

 

[tinkerbell728]

We tried Fantasmic last year in Aug. My then seven year old could not handle the noise and the waves shooting up in front of him. We plan to try it again this year but we will not do priority seating. (we sat in the third row last time.) This time we will sit further back and give him earpluggs. We also showed him travel videos to prepare him. He knows the parks better than us now. The best advice would be to come in before the show starts. You can stand in the back. It is not to close for the kids and you still get a good view.

 

[dreamsofdisney]

My DS14 has ASD and we've been going to WDW once a year for the past 9years.

As far as park choices, I would say that AKL and Epcot are the best for lack of "high-pitched noises" and music, although you would need to avoid certain rides/attractions.

Although my DS has always had sensory issues, he (surprisingly) LOVES Fantasmic! You never know! If you do decide to try it, I would say either earplugs, headphones earmuffs, or ipod or walkman with a favorite CD, if he tolerates that. As far as the use of GAC at Fantasmic, I have found that it varies year to year, depending on the CM. I'm sure there's some official line here, but it really has been different every year. Generally, if you find the first CM stationed at the beginning of the walkway to Fantasmic, and explain your situation, they will usually tell you to see the next CM at the top of the entrance to the amphitheatre. If there is a mass horde of people waiting for the gates to open, they have let me go off the side where the wheelchair aisle is roped off (usually on the left.) Fewer people to crowd around DS. Once "inside" at the top of the amphitheatre, explain your situation and show your GAC to a CM. In the past, some of told us to sit wherever we want...even down in the first row. I wouldn't recommend that for your son if he has noise issues!) Others have told us we could sit in the back Special Needs/Wheelchair accessible area. Since I generally like to leave that area for guests who really need the wheelchair access, I usually ask them if we can just sit on an aisle. I would suggest the top right of the amphitheatre, which is the closest to the exit, so you can get out quickly, if need be.

Good luck, and have a magical vacation!



~ Sarah

 

[katdocnorf]

I have a 19 year old autistic, he does not like certain sounds either. Blenders, Mixers, hair dryers sometimes and doesn't like anyone singing "Happy birthday" even though he likes music, it is just that song.

We didn't have to many issues at the parks, just certain shows, Fantasmic being one of them. My DS likes fireworks so that helps him to stay calm and especially if you pick the right spots for those. At MK I like to sit at the Plaza Restaurant. That is especially great when Tinker Bell flies because she comes straight towards you. Get there early though and get something to eat and sit in the area closest to the Castle and it is great view and not so bad for noises and can here music wonderfully.

His main issue the whole trip was waiting in any lines. He wanted everything to happen right when we said anything about it. Other than that nothing really upset him as far as noises. The pitches in It's a Small World did slightly but not as much as he gets upset with blenders. In other words it was so that we could handle him.

 

[katdocnorf]

And unless he likes the Indiana Jones movies. Stay away from the stunt spectacular at MGM. The only thing that saved up there as well was the fact that he loves that movie and he recognized it. Some parts bothered him but he didn't pitch a fit 'cuz he knew we would leave it he did and he did not want to miss it. So he would just cover his own ears at the parts that bothered him and didn't get upset at all.

 

[mamaminnie]

You may also want to consider skipping rides like It's Tough to Be a Bug in the AK and Stich's Great Escape in the MK-- they are full sensory experiences and can totally overwhelm small kids (SN and typical).

I'd say try Fantasmic but when using the GAC ask for aisle seats so that you can leave quickly if need be.

Have a great trip!

 

[KathyRN137]

(You posted this on the disABILITIES community board...I posted an answer there!)

Kathy

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

Me, the hubby and our son. Gabriel is turning 6 and has High Functioning Autism.

I am so buried with catching up with work that I haven't gotten to post my trip report but about the noise/sensory level.................

We went to Animal Kingdom our first day and made the HUGE mistake of taking Gabriel into "It's tough to be a bug" (There was no wait, and every time we went by there seemed to be no wait, I wonder if it's too much for most children?). Now I know they say it may be scary for some kids but Gabriel has seen Bug's Life over and over and loved it. I really didn't think he would react the way he did. I knew they had things happen in your actual seat so he sat on my husband's lap.

Needless to say my last experience with Disney 3D shows was Caption EO! This show is very much in YOUR FACE. It is very quick too. Not much recovery time. Very Loud and full of over the top sensory engagement.

After that - we waited in line for the Lion King Show and he would not go in once the doors were opened. I think we basically scared him off off all the shows that load you in that auditorium fashion.

Anyway - we also had a problem with the Fireworks. We enter MK on Sunday and were headed to Toon Town. There was a show (also LOUD) going on at the castle. Our son was pulling us to get past it. As we got next to the castle BOOM !!!!! Fireworks! They scared ME!

I knew at that point we were never going to view Fantasmic, Illuminations or WISHES! That made me extremely sad but we tried to make the best of it.

We tried to steer clear of anything too loud but it seemed to follow us.

Yes, we used ear plugs.

Basically, we tried to do what my son WANTED to do. We did ride Big Thunder Mountain ( he started with Goofy's barnstormer ) and I got him on Soarin twice (although he wasn't gung ho to do it, he didn't go all out into refusal ).

His favorite things were the water parks and The Winnie the Pooh ride in MK.

He was very good and I didn't even get a GAC until 3 days in. We only used it about 5 or 6 times the entire trip! He did a very good job with waiting.

I would really suggest very good noise cancelling headphones if you know for sure loud noises will cause a problem. My son didn't even like the fireworks from the boat back to the lodge, although he was more managable than if we were right there in the park.

Take care and hopefully I can post my very first trip report soon

 

[letsgodisney]

Hi I have an 11 year old son in the spectrum, when we first took him to Fantasmic he was 6 and also did not do well with loud noises. If you go on You Tube you can see videos of Fantasmic it is a sort of desentization for them to see it ahead of time. It worked for us. My son still watches every disney video on You tube that he can find. He feels relaxed and has a wonderful time laying out the land for us everytime we go. It is truly a magical experience and you will all have a wonderful time. (I would bring along the ear plugs just in case)


[img=http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2107/castrb4.th.jpg]

 

[SueM in MN]

Hi I have an 11 year old son in the spectrum, when we first took him to Fantasmic he was 6 and also did not do well with loud noises. If you go on You Tube you can see videos of Fantasmic it is a sort of desentization for them to see it ahead of time. It worked for us. My son still watches every disney video on You tube that he can find. He feels relaxed and has a wonderful time laying out the land for us everytime we go. It is truly a magical experience and you will all have a wonderful time. (I would bring along the ear plugs just in case)


[img=http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2107/castrb4.th.jpg]

youtube is a good suggestion. There are videos of quite a few rides/attractions on there. Most of the videos don't show that much of the dark attractions because they are so dark. But, you do get a pretty good feel for what kinds of noises you will encounter.