ASD Child Pin Trading/Passport Stamp Collecting

[Tinker_Belle]

Does anyone know how children with ASD are received in attempts at pin trading or passport stamp collecting? I think it may be a great social experience for DS, but I'm weary of it backfiring as he is 14 and quite tall. Any advice? TIA!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

As a former CM, pin trading was one of my favorite interactions. Honestly, I doubt anybody will care. We see lots of kids on the spectrum, and with every other conceivable disability so most are used to it. Also, it's not just kids that pin trade, many adults do too. In fact, I think more adults than kids do, at least in my experience. So really, you shouldn't have any problems.

The one thing you will need to do is train him in the procedure:
1.) It's a one for one trade.
2.) Do not grab the CM's lanyard. Ask "May I see your pins" and we will hold it out to you.
3.) After you take the pin off your lanyard, put the backing on. Never hand a CM a pin without the backing. The CM will do the same for you.
4.) There are only two trades per CM allowed at one time.
5.) Green lanyards are reserved for kids 10 and under. Any other lanyard he can trade off of.

Finally, use common sense. Don't try to pintrade with a CM who is at a panel for instance. Normally we will take them off to prevent this from happening, but sometimes we forget. When we are at a panel, the ride and the safety of its passengers are our #1 concern and anything that distracts us is not good. That was probably one of the more frustrating pin trading things I had to deal with as a CM.

Make sure to have fun! It's really neat to do. I hope this helps.

 

[toodycat]

From what I've read on another Disney website with guidelines on visiting Disney with a child on the spectrum, pin trading is a great way to get a child to participate in a fairly predictable social exchange. My son has only traded a little bit. He is still pretty shy.

 

[mechurchlady]

You can buy junk pins online for a couple dollars each instead of buying from in the parks. it is fun and CMs are tough on tough people and nice to nice people. I have seen them be very patient with disabled people. They too often have fat ladies screaming I WANT DUMBO so they are quite used to almost anything.

No boingy boingy, PLEASE. I was a pin trader and the worst thing was that not everyone wanted another person touching them especially the guys who would point at a junk pin on a female CM's breast. Your son will not on purpose boing boingy but still he has to learn not to grab, pull, poke or shove people unlike some adults like me, lol. I had someone almost drag me by my lanyard off my feet forward onto my face.

Point to the one you want. If a person has lots of pins DUMBO may refer to 3 pins.

DO NOT slobber on pins or remover pin backs with your teeth. I and other traders both as guests and CMs have had that as a top pet peeve.

For any child pin trading is a way to teach the child manners and reward them for good manners. At home you can display pins on a stuffed animal or in a shadow box. I would recommend trying it.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

I think pin trading could be a great idea for him! It might be good to try and prepare him before you go, with either social stories or role play. Pin trading is a very easy thing to break down into steps (please excuse the smilies, I got carried away ):

Introduce yourself to the CM

Ask to look at their pin lanyard

See if they have any pins you want

Point to the pin

Choose which pin of yours you want to trade

Swap one for the other

Thank them for trading


A few quick questions:
Would he be all right with giving away one of his pins to get another one, or might he get too attached to his pins and not want to give them up? If he might get attached, it could be easier on him if all of his trading pins were the same, so he wasn't giving away something unique and precious

Would he be OK with the idea that he didn't have to trade every time, if they didn't have a pin he wanted? This could be something you work on in the social story / role playing, so that he knows it is OK to say "no thank you"

Would he be able to cope if another Guest came up to him to see his pins? If not, you could always keep his pins out of sight, and just bring them out when he wants to trade.

Would he be all right with not being able to buy every pin in the store that he liked? I don't know whether this would be an issue with him or not, but if it would, might a limit or 'daily allowance' help him?

Also, very random thought here, but is he OK with having things around his neck? If not, a pin lanyard probably wouldn't be the best way to go. There are plenty of other ways to display pins, including putting them on a hatband, bag, sash, strap (for instance the straps you get on those battery powered fans) etc. It would be best not to put them straight on his shirt, as the backs of the pins might get uncomfortable, especially with some ride restraints (such as Stitch), and would make it hard to take them off for trading.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I woudl like to disagree with the advice of buying junk pins online. Technically we are not supposed to accept them because they are not Disney made, but we do to be polite. However, those pins are not allowed to be traded to guests and instead go into a junk place where they are destroyed. One time when I was on light duty for a parade injury I was the one who was swapping out pins.

The true Disney made pins are very nice, the colors are vibrant and the metal is thick. The junk ones have dull, off colors, and the metal is thin. It is nowhere near the same quality. It is for this reason that we are not allowed to trade them to guests. If I see them on lanyards, I always remind the CMs. I guess I kind of equate buying junk pins with stealing since we have to swap them out for the more expensive Disney pins.

 

[Tinker_Belle]

Thank you all so much! Considering I really didn't know much about pin trading myself, I feel like I can now adequately write a social story to prepare him for this.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

You're welcome. You'll have to let us know how it goes!

 

[LuvsTinker]

Thanks here for the advice also. Thought about trying last trip when DS was turning 7 but chickened out. I think this trip, now 8 1/2, he'll be better able to communicate and understand.

 

[P&B's Mom]

My only advice is to keep pin trading with CMs only. If you trade with a regular guest, they get to choose the pin from your lanyard. When my son traded with CMs, he chose which pin to trade from his collection. This helped so much because there were some that he refused to trade!

 

[fakereadhed]

My only advice is to keep pin trading with CMs only.

That is great advice for all kids! They are crushed when someone doesn't want to trade with them.

My DD with ASD loves pin trading and I think it's great social skills practice.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

My only advice is to keep pin trading with CMs only.

I'll agree on this one too! CMs are, in general, much more understanding and patient, so it won't be such an issue if it takes him longer while he's still adjusting to the routine of trading. Also, I don't know how he is on the whole 'stranger danger' issue, but if he knows only to talk to Cast Members like this, it will make things a whole lot easier and safer (not saying all the Guests in Disney are bad people, just better to be over cautious). Besides, it will give him a ready made excuse to talk to the wonderful people who make Disney so magical, and always seem to have a smile, regardless of what they've facing!

 

[kaffinito]

I bought my ASD son some pins and a lanyard because he wanted to try pin trading, but then decided he just wanted to keep the pins in his pocket instead. Oh well! We did do the passport stamp collecting and he did participate in that over at EPCOT, and it went really well. He kept track of which countries the stamps were in and he made sure we went to all of the stations. He had his own map that he followed and would cross off each country as he got his stamp. Now that went very well for him.

Of course, he was a lot younger than your son on our trip, he was only 6. My then 14 year old with ASD wanted nothing to do with pins or with anything else other than the Japan Pavilion over at EPCOT. That's where he spent most of his time, and he loved it!

 

[fakereadhed]

I bought my ASD son some pins and a lanyard because he wanted to try pin trading, but then decided he just wanted to keep the pins in his pocket instead.

I forgot about that! Those lanyards can be itchy and heavy when they get loaded down with pins. Definitely not good for kids with sensory issues unless they like heavy work. My DD won't wear hers either. They are hard to keep track of in pockets so in the past we have carried her lanyard in our backpack, but taking it in and out we have lost a couple of pins. Wish she would wear a hat- I think that would work better.

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

My son wore his lanyard pretty well. The only problem we had was with the backs falling off. They sell locking backs in the park those might help with the loss issues. We didn't buy any but I wish we would have.

My son traded just fine. He did not become really attached to his pins. We bought him some generic ones from DTD. I got him a set that he wasn't really jazzed about. He traded them better.

He loved the trading and still wears his lanyard sometimes. He even brought it for show and tell.

We traded with CM's only just for all the reasons stated. They were very patient and very kind.

 

[LuvsTinker]

I forgot about that! Those lanyards can be itchy and heavy when they get loaded down with pins. Definitely not good for kids with sensory issues unless they like heavy work. My DD won't wear hers either. They are hard to keep track of in pockets so in the past we have carried her lanyard in our backpack, but taking it in and out we have lost a couple of pins. Wish she would wear a hat- I think that would work better.

I was wondering about that because I don't think my 8 yo will leave a lanyard on for long.

 

[Tinker_Belle]

Thank you all so much for the great advice. I didn't really think about guests trading with each other, so I'll have to prepare him in case he's approached. He is a little shy too, and not comfortable talking to "strangers." I will definitely be putting a social story together, so thank you for letting me know what to expect.

He is absolutely the type to have favorites he wouldn't want to trade (any of the villains, for example), so I will definitely get a few generic for him to trade. Thank you so much for the advice! BTW, what are junk pins? I understand they are not the greatest, but I was thinking of getting him a few Disney pins off ebay. Is that what they are? (sorry...I really am totally new at this)

I'll also have to give him a lanyard (maybe mine from work) to try out before I buy one. He can be pretty fickle with things around his neck (or on his head, or in his pocket, or around his waist....). Any other suggestions besides a hat?

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

You were looking for alternatives to lanyards. I did a quick Google search and found pin bags that were pretty inexpensive. I know a couple of the CM's we traded with had those too.

http://discountpinstore.com/smpincobag.html

Here is the link to the place I found. I am sure there are a bunch more this was just one of the first places I found.

I am not sure about the fake pins. I know that there are threads and links to places that can give you the details about those too. I just bought a set in the park. I had enough work ahead of time without having to worry about if the pins were tradeable. I thought as a courtesy to other traders I wouldn't buy the fake ones, it could be their kids who traded for the fake one. I do know there are legitimate sellers on eBay though so not all pins bought on there are fake.

Sometimes Disney shopping has a pin clearance and you can get them really cheap through them.

Hope this helps a little bit.

 

[Tinker_Belle]

You were looking for alternatives to lanyards. I did a quick Google search and found pin bags that were pretty inexpensive. I know a couple of the CM's we traded with had those too.

http://discountpinstore.com/smpincobag.html

Here is the link to the place I found. I am sure there are a bunch more this was just one of the first places I found.

That is perfect! Thank you!

I am not sure about the fake pins. I know that there are threads and links to places that can give you the details about those too. I just bought a set in the park. I had enough work ahead of time without having to worry about if the pins were tradeable. I thought as a courtesy to other traders I wouldn't buy the fake ones, it could be their kids who traded for the fake one. I do know there are legitimate sellers on eBay though so not all pins bought on there are fake.

Sometimes Disney shopping has a pin clearance and you can get them really cheap through them.

Hope this helps a little bit.

Thanks. I will buy most of the pins when we get there. I've seen kiosks throughout the parks, but where would be the best place to start a collection? About how much does each pin cost? (again, sorry about all the questions)

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

We got a free pin and lanyard from Disney Travel Company for free. We used that one and then I bought a pack of 4 I think from a store in Downtown Disney. I think they were about $15.00 maybe. They were just snowflakes with pictures of the characters on them. We went at Christmastime.

I went shopping for my mom and the pins ranged in all price ranges. I found an Enchanted one for $2.00, and big beautiful castle one for $10.00. I would say it just depends on the pin that you are looking at.

In the stores they also have Starter packs that come with the lanyard and 4 pins that are themed to the lanyard. You could get him one of those if you wanted. Get him a generic Mickey Mouse one and then he can trade for all the villains he wants. I didn't think those were too bad of a deal either.

Don't be sorry for all the questions. I had a million of them too.

ETA I just remembered the term for the fake pins, sedesma. If you Google that I am sure you can find all the information that you need.