attention defecit

[SueM in MN]

I heard my name mentioned, so I thought I should chime in.
My DD has multiple disabilities, including ADD, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy. We have used a GAC and without it we would not be able to enjoy the parks.
We seldom use it (which I know sounds weird since I said without it we wouldn't be able to enjoy the parks). We reserve it for those times when we know she just is not going to be able to handle the line. Just having it in my purse helps us - sort of like insurance.
The GAC says right on it that it is not meant to shorten the wait or bypass any lines. In many cases, someone with a GAC will actually wait longer, just maybe not in the regular line. The GAC also says right on it that the guest is expected to use fastpass as much as possible. We were also given instructions when we got the GAC to not use it if the line regular line was not that long a wait and they also suggested that if there was a really long line, it would be better to do something else and come back when the line was shorter.
I agree that there is no way to tell from just a casual observation who has a disability or not, but if the person in question was using the GAC at every line, they were abusing it. People who use it for every line (no matter how long the wait) just to aovid the wait are causing problems for those of us who do need it.

 

[aahmom1]

I hope this was a tongue in cheek comment.

I don't understand how having a disability pass would have helped in this situation. Aren't there a million times a year that a child has to control himself. What does she do when she takes the child to the grocery store? There's no disability pass for that. HE has to control himself in that line, why is it ok for him to whack a complete stranger while in line at WDW? Is fixing the problem to get a special pass for that child? I don't think so.

You can say that he 'can't learn how to control himself' but that's not helping. If the child needs medication, that's fine, but there also has to be regular parenting, and not making constant excuses.

 

[mom2boys]

Aahmom1 & others with similar opinions:

Consider yourselves fortunate that you do not understand ADD/ADHD - obviously you don't have a loved one who is affected by it.

 

[phamton]

Originally posted by aahmom1
I don't understand how having a disability pass would have helped in this situation. Aren't there a million times a year that a child has to control himself.

The tongue in cheek comment was not about a disability pass but this comment you made (which by the way, I had already quoted in my previous post):

Originally posted by aahmom1:
Or you could explain to him that he's not allowed to hit total strangers standing in line. Not everything can be blamed on ADD.

I personally feel like the band member who got a disablity pass was abusing the system. In that, I agree with you. But the "explain to him that he's not allowed to hit strangers" was not a very helpful comment (but you knew that, right?) I am sure that their child was told not to hit strangers and had probably been told that since being a toddler. The child knows not to hit strangers. He is impulsive and wasn't thinking he was hitting a stranger but killing a bee. It isn't that hard to understand if you have an ADHD child.

An ADHD child may break his arm doing something and then do it again later. Even though he has been punished (with the physical pain of a fracture), he doesn't always learn to control his actions. You could beat him and he would still be impulsive.

Bev

 

[phamton]

Originally posted by brunoflipper
As a board certified pediatrician (who will be in the park next week with 4 children under the age of 5) I think this is absurd... ADD/ADHD is disease that is is characterized by poor ability to attend to a task, motor overactivity, and impulsivity and has a a prevelance of 3-5% (and some would argue as high as 20%)

To completely change the subject (but, hey, this is the community board):

How do you distinguish between ADHD and childhood bi-polar? I have a friend whose child was misdiagnosed as ADHD and was instead bi-polar. Many of the symptoms are similar. Many have even specualted that they may be related.

My husband is bi-polar whose symptoms are completely controlled with medication. He had a brother who committed suicide and was probably bi-polar. He also has a sister who is in and out of drug rehab and also diagnosed as bi-polar with numerous suicide attempts. Adults suffering from manic-depression also tend to be impulsive and hyperactive when in the mania stage. Childhood bi-polars seem to be rapid cycling between mania and depression which is similar to ADHD.

My son (age 14) is diagnosed as ADHD and was on medication from age 6 to age 13. He is doing great right now and has been off all medication for a year. I am hopeful that he may not have to return to medication. I am also painfully aware of bi-polar running in my husband's family so I am ever vigilante in watching his moods. He has shown no signs of bipolar or ADHD within the last year.

Bev

 

[tar heel]

The band member certainly may have been abusing the system, but his physician knows him and his situation much better than any of us on this board, including the pediatrician who posted. Perhaps there are other issues/disabilities or a history of some problem in such a situation as Disney World. He would not necessarily have shared this information with his fellow band members.

mom2boys -- I couldn't agree more with your comment about understanding add/adhd. I find the ignorant comments very hurtful, and you hear them in virtually any discussion of add/adhd no matter where you are. I'm embarrassed to say that many years ago I made some of them. Those of us who have a child who is NOT add/adhd know very well how much more parenting the add/adhd child takes. It's painful when you are told verbally or through glares that the child's problem is YOUR parenting.

 

[gemmie214]

The doctors note is usually a note confirming the diagnosis and possibly a small description. It does not usually say weather or not the bearer of the note can or cannot stand in lines for a given period of time (in the doctors opinion). At least that has been my experience.

 

[Puffy2]

An off the subject comment but one I thought the doc on this thread might find interesting.

One teacher at the beginning of the year told me that my second grader "has problems with staying on task" is "easily distracted", etc.. etc... and suggested the possibility of ADD. Shortly after that conversation my child switched teachers due to over crowding in the class (a new class was formed) - I just had a conference with the new teacher and casually asked how my child was doing? and if the teacher felt like she had an "attention problem"? This teacher said , "No more so than the rest of them" (meaning the rest of the average second graders).

I found this interesting and I wondered how many parents rush off to the pediatrican to "fix" normal child behavior at the suggestion of an impatient school teacher.

I'm in no way suggesting that anyone's child on this board is or is not ADD - it's just an observation and I was curious what the doc thought about that.

 

[Capt Jazbo]

First, the cast member acted inappropriately for several reasons, but the number one reason was that it has to be against Disney policy. The person accepts a paycheck to act a certain way, and verbally challenging guests wouldn't appear to be this CM's job. The fact that the CM did make the statement would appear to indicate that the frequency of this type of situation is not insignificant.

I know many feel that a person can never tell if someone is handicapped, but given trends over the last 20 years I'm now convinced that everyone is handicapped in one way or another, either mentally or physically. Don't worry if you don't have a name for it, someone in a lab coat is working overtime right now to come up with a name for your handicap as you read this. So why don't we stop all the nonesense and all go to the front of the line.

As for those that say that there are times when it isn't an advantage to use a GAC, believe me, those that obtain one fraudulently will simply take advantage of the regular line when it works to their advantage, no doubt bragging to whoever will listen.

After all is said and done, there is no doubt whatsoever that there are those that are constantly trying to scam something, whenever and wherever they can, including WDW. These are the people that everyone is complaining about, not the truly handicapped.

Please, anyone who wants to tell me that I can't tell who is and isn't handicapped, save your fingers. I don't need to know who is or isn't handicapped. I can only thank God that I'm not, pray for those that are and curse those that pretend to be.

Wow - I feel so much better now. Let the flaming begin!

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by benebire
I was amazed by the comments of the Pediatrician on this board, I'm glad youre not my pediatrician, you didnt sound particularly understanding.

That's funny. I was thinking as I read the pediatrician's post that I wished he was my son's pediatrician. You see, I too believe that ADD/ADHD is real but is diagnosed much too often and loosely. I currently have a son who is "on the cusp" of ADHD and we are doing battle with the school system who believe the only way to handle this is medication. Long story short, I liked brunoflippers attitude and comments on the subject.

No, I don't think ADD/ADHD in a child who is competent enough to travel with the HS band is reason to get FOTL priviledges!

 

[aahmom1]

No, I don't think ADD/ADHD in a child who is competent enough to travel with the HS band is reason to get FOTL priviledges!

That's a very good point. He is perfecly fine taking care of his band duties, they do a lot of standing, why is it impossible for him to stand in a line at WDW? I guess I just don't understand why he/she/they need special treatment while at an amusement park. If he's old enough to travel by himself to a different state, and stand in line at the airport (and they can be loooong lines) he should be able to contain himself in a line at WDW.

I just don't get the need for the special pass.

Like I said in an earlier post, there are many, many times in life that you have to wait, what is the difference? Other than the obvious, that he wanted front of the line access. Before you say 'Maybe he didn't use it?" I quote from the OP

When he brought it to guest relations, they gave him a diability pass, which essentially eliminated our wait time for most rides.

He definitely used it.

 

[EltonJohn]

then I would consider getting the disability pass. I have ADD myself, and I can tell you as a child, I was very disruptive. I still have some trouble with long waits today, but I probably wouldn't get the disability pass now. If you are an older child or adult-even with ADD or ADHD-you can and should wait in line. I know because I've waited in line at Six Flags Over Texas all of my life.

diane

 

[momof2OH]

First and foremost, none of us posting here know the whole story with the person in the original post. We do not know if there were other factors involved. We also do not know if they made accomodations for him with regards to his marching band or any other area of his life.

brunoflipper ~ I found your post to be very offensive and am also glad that you are not my pediatrician. I'm sure you are a very good peditrician, but that's the point, you are a peds doc and not a psychiatrist. I am also well aware that ped doctors do treat ADD/ADHD, but that is not their area of specialty. This is exactly why we have a psychiatrist. Also, there are times when even having the best parenting skills in the world isn't going to make a bit of difference, sometimes it just isn't enough.

aahmom1 ~ I can tell from your simple minded comments that you do not have a child with ADD/ADHD.

phamton ~ I know of your fears of being judged, my DS now 12 sounds very much like yours ~ many dangerous behaviors. I also know about the BiPolar, both of my children are BP.

benebire ~ I agree with your comments.

ADD/ADHD is real...but it is also a disability. Depending on the severity, it can be very disabling for the person. I also agree that it can be over diagnosed, but there are many that truely have this disorder and it can be very hard. If more people took the time to understand what ADD/ADHD is and how it affects not only the caregiver but the child or adult with it, then I think there wouldn't be as many negative comments made. Yes, as a parent of an ADD/ADHD child things can at times be a nightmare, but just stop and think what the child is going through. They DON'T want to be like they are. They want to be like eveyone else, "normal". As if anyone can define that term anymore...

 

[The Sweetness]

suggested that we all bring a book with us to the parks (USF and SW) to ward off boredom in lines MAybe this would work for others as well?

 

[piratesmate]

Where I'm coming from . . . I have a child with ADD and one without. I had trouble with the initial recommendations to pursue diagnosis because it was called "attention deficit." This child was able to sit & focus on building Lego things for HOURS when only 2 or 3. He is not impulsive, but is easily distracted. (As in - EVERYthing catches his attention!) It depends on the activity. He started taking TaeKwon-Do shortly after he was diagnosed with ADD. I never thought he'd be able to focus enough to attain a black belt. He now holds a 4th degree black belt. (So happy I was wrong!)

Standing in line at a park cannot be equated to marching band. In band, there is something on which to focus - the drill, the music, etc. There are probably times, though, that this child has trouble at band practice. As for the airport, that may also have been a difficult situation; however, there are no alternatives there.

One other thing - about the entire group making use of the GAC: I've never been a chaperone for a function where it was acceptable to split the group. If the student used the GAC, the whole group needed to go along. If something had happened while the group was split, there would have been a huge outcry.

 

[jrmasm]

Standing in line at a park cannot be equated to marching band. In band, there is something on which to focus - the drill, the music, etc.

Then wouldn't a gameboy be more appropriate than GAC pass?

 

[disneyelaine]

Disneydude (who started this thread) is 17 yrs old. Said he was traveling with a group of 4 kids from his HS. So I assume only 4 people used the GAC. I do know GAC are only issued for a total of 6 people MAX. So it was not a large group I guess. BUT my opinion is if "you" have a disability requiring a GAC shouldn't Disney require that an ADULT be with the person who needs the pass. I mean if this child has ADD so severe, how could a bunch of other HS kids handle of his impulsive actions.

Personally I think the GAC was abused in this case. If the HS student was truely in need of such a pass, I'd assume the band would require an adult chaporone or his parents would be along.
I wish Disney would require an adult to be with the GAC user. This may cut down on abuse.

 

[mom2boys]

This child was able to sit & focus on building Lego things for HOURS when only 2 or 3. He is not impulsive, but is easily distracted. (As in - EVERYthing catches his attention!) It depends on the activity.

Piratesmate is right on with her description of how a person with ADD functions. They can be extremely focused on tasks but are also easily distracted. The bee caught the boys attention in line. All he saw was the bee. That child probably didn't even realize he was hitting a stranger. He was hitting bee. As for the gameboy advance, it does not hold my son's attention. Every ADD person is different. Different things hold their focus and different situations pose different challanges for each of them. Marching band is probably a very good outlet for that child. We too have our ADD son in karate. It teachs him to focus & direct his energies in a positive manner. It can be a challange but the rewards are tremendous. Structure is what an ADD person needs. Marching band provides structure & a positive outlet. I can see where an ADD person could thrive in such a situation. You can be certain that the band director must be well aware of the situation & has had numerous conversations with the parents on how to help this child achieve succuss.

(I reserve judgement on whether the boy's ADD warranted a pass. I don't know the details. But the CM's comment was very unprofessional & I am sure not in keeping with Disney policy.)

 

[Mishetta]

Not to be disrespectful, but I also found brunoflippers remarks to be offensive. Not only that, but I found the post to be very "harsh." It sounds like the good Doctor needs a vacation.

I too have an ADHD son & I sometimes believe no one understands what a truly tough job it is to keep them SAFE. Meds & behavior modification techniques don't always solve the whole problem.

I'm so grateful that my son's Pediatrician doesn't feel he is GOD. He referred me to a Psychiatrist as he said he is not qualified to make the ADD/ADHD diagnosis. He can only prescribe the meds needed to help him once DS was diagnosed. We tried 2 diff meds & they caused my DS to have Tic side effects, so our wonderful & humble Pediatrician referred us to a Neurologist. More Doctors like that are needed. We are, like most parents, who put our children FIRST. ALWAYS. We discipline appropriately, as well as use the "reward" method for good behavior. We struggled for over one year regarding putting our son on meds & tried behavior modification but his school work was really suffering. So we felt we had no choice. Lucky are those of you who do not understand this illness. It doesn't just affect the child, it affects the entire family unit! In some cases, it can be a disability.

Regarding the Pass thing, that surely would be helpful in our case due to my son's impulsive behavior but I don't think we'd be able to abuse something like that. We currently have a handicapped parking pass due to my DM being a cancer patient & unless she is in the car with us, we NEVER have used it. There will always be people trying to abuse ANY system. We don't live in a perfect world. We all need to accept that.

 

[mamajoan]

I am gonna say this again.. so maybe some of you will hear me..

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FRONT OF THE LINE PASSES!!


GAC allows a person with a disability.. mental or physical.. to be allowed a situation that allows them to enjoy a Disney attraction.

I also think their is a stigma to ADHD.. I am fortunate to have a child with severe ADHD who is not aggressive or disruptive. However she is impulsive and inattentive.. and dang with out her meds NO one can keep up with her hyperkinetic movement.. yup she is a track star! LOL.. So for those of you who think ADHD is simply a child who can't keep still or is a problem child...you got another thing coming.

Do you all have a good time at Disney while you are there? Or are you spending your time in line Fretting over who might just get on Dumbo a few minutes before you do? Are you the same people who flash dirty looks at w/c and ecv user when they are put on the buses first? You do know we are always the last to get off and WE HATE BEING MADE A SPECTACLE! Are you beligerant when asked to give up a seat on the bus so a w/c can be belted in safely because you were there first? We have no option of standing...
Do you say things under your breath like " I bet they don't really need that ecv...they look like they Need to walk." How the hec do you know.. and by the way we HEAR you.. and ya it makes us feel bad...
Are you the one who whispers... why don't they do something about that kid when a child is apparently having a meltdown?
I am sure the parent of that child wishes that the child could just enjoy the day at Disney.. they worked hard to get there too.

You know I am usually not this "IN YOUR FACE" about things.. I like PD and fluff as much as most. But dang... next time you are ready to pounce on someone because you THINK they are getting "FRONT OF THE LINE" easement.. stop and THINK!
How many obstacles have they incurred today? How much pain are they in? What happens if they get overheated? How much stress it is to raise a child with mental disabilities?
Then.. THINK.. WHEW, I am one lucky person.

btw.. I know this might be a hassle but could you give me a couple extra minutes to don my flame retardant suit

God Love ya.. and take care of one another....

Whew!