Autism and waiting in lines....

[Kindermouse]

Yeah, at this point we just aren't sure. There really isn't anywhere we can recreate it beforehand so we won't know until we try. He did okay in 2015 but he was only 17 months old then. Also the longest line we had was only 30 minutes. I am mostly concerned about flying with him. But also worried we'll get there and the lines will be way too long for him to tolerate and then we'll have 5-day park hoppers but not get to actually ride anything. It will be June so I'm sure crowded.

If your son is like mine was at the preschool age he may do better if he can stay in a bubble of space and block out the world while waiting in line. We got a tag for the stroller that allowed us to use our stroller in lines that were big enough to get through. I kept the canopy down and he used his headphones to listen to his songs or watch videos or play games on his little handheld device (10 years ago we didnt have an ipad or iPhones like do now-so much easier and more convenient). when he really wanted to block out the world I would throw a blanket over the stroller too.

a lifesaver for us back then was breaks on Tom Sawyers island to run around and decompress. Its a bummer that it is closed.

The DISabilities board has a ton of good information and a lot of people with great ideas and tons of experience bringing kids with a disabilities to disney the tips and tricks and idea you can get from them could be a real trip saver. Before our march trip They gave also warned me about some things I hadnt considered-like the heightened security measures and security dogs (security, violent crime and terrorism are things my son tends to obsess over) and I was able to frontload that they would be there and I called them service dogs so he wouldn't associate seeing them with threats of danger to himself. Had a well thinking and experience Dis'er not warned me about that being a possible problem for my childs specific issues that could have been a huge issue and instead its wasnt an issue at all.

Just let me forewarn you that those boards have some sensitive people and some very passionate people and those with strong opinions about DAS, and some people who post things come across as harsh or critical. Be thoughtful in your wording and put on your thicker skin before you head over.

 

[lalasmama]

Last time, we put a video on for him and he threw up. So now I'm paranoid to try that again.

Some days I feel like maybe we shouldn't even go. Maybe it's all more stress than it's worth.

Question: Does he puke in the car if watching a video? If not, it may have been a fluke. I can read on a plane, but not in a car. However, if the window shade is up and I'm trying to read during take off, well..... no beuno

As for feeling like you shouldn't go because of the potential stresses (both for parents and kiddo).... Remember all the stress you felt preparing for your last trip when he was just a little one? Car seats and airplane rides and hotels and sleeping arrangements and pack-n-plays vs hotel cribs... And then you were there, and things went well enough that you decided to go back 2 years later.... And here we are. Yes, the stresses are different, but the potential for amazing memories is also right there! And at 3, your son will be old enough to have lasting memories from this trip, which is kind of awesome in my opinion!

Our family doesn't have an autism diagnosis. In our case, our daughter (who we adopted as a toddler) was born drug addicted to several substances. We worried early on about autism--she didn't seem to have a tight bond with anyone (seriously would have let the man on the corner take her home), she was very particular about routines, reacted with hostility to any variation from how she expected things to go, some spinning with arm flapping, some minor tactile issues (seeking different textures to touch to calm herself, only able to tolerate wearing elastic-waisted leggings), along with abuse issues that occurred from before she was with us.... At any rate, my point is that we weren't/aren't dealing with a neuro-typical child either, and, for all the stress I had planning and taking her each time, she still has only great memories of it.

Disneyland is pretty darn accepting of those who aren't "the same" as "everyone else." In our case, our daughter was easily overstimulated. So, by day 3 on our first trip, she had been at Disneyland for like 24 hours (over those 3 days), was tired of walking, had neglected to tell me about the 3 painful warts on her foot (she finally told me there was an owie on like day 5), and Innoventions "wasn't a ride" so she refused to have anything to do with it. Until she found Fruit Ninja on the game console in the House of Tomorrow or whatever it used to be called downstairs.... Then, she didn't want to leave. And hell hath no fury like a child who is big enough to resist leaving when she's not ready. Eventually, I realized she was over-stimulated, and that, whether she believed it or not, we needed to go find a quiet snuggle place to regroup. Preferably one where she also had room to spin, and no one would look at her weird for having a blanky and sucking her thumb until she could get calmed. So, I was carrying a kicking, punching, screaming, biting child out of Innoventions. Of course I got some looks; at this point, we always got looks. I also got a few parents that locked eyes with me and gave me a knowing, understanding nod; it was nice to know that my daughter wasn't the only child, and I wasn't the only mother, who experienced full on meltdown mode in the middle of the happiest place on earth. Cast members attempted to help, but I let them know we just needed to get some space, and the only help I needed was someone opening the door so we could get her to a quiet spot.

If he's a screamer in some enclosed places, then I'd go ahead and ask for a DAS, as well as a "stroller as a wheelchair" tag (assuming he's cool with his stroller). That will allow access to wait in a different area (not enclosed, not in the sun [or, in the sun if that makes him happier!], not confined in an unfamiliar area) until it's time to get on the ride. And if he screams throughout the ride, I promise, it's not a big deal. Yes, you will sweat it out, you will be uncomfortable, perhaps even a bit embarrassed (I was!), but if a guest complains about it to the cast member, they will just give that party another ride through. So, you aren't really "impacting" them as much as you may worry that you are.

I know someone else mentioned perhaps doing a "mock flight" and several different airlines do this at different places and different airports. I would call the airlines directly and ask about it, as it is organized through them. The airline I remember hearing about doing it was Southwest, I believe. Of course, you also need to balance that with any potential anger/upset that they did "all that" and didn't get to fly (which would have totally ticked my daughter off, and we would have had a full meltdown on the plane when it didn't take off! If they don't do this at your local airport, perhaps you can do a social story ("what to expect" story) about it. I know they can do gate passes, so maybe see if you can take some pictures and write a little story to go with it. These stories helped my daughter a lot, because she knew what to expect next. You can make them as short (or as long) as he is willing to look at the pages. Usually, we tried for 10 pages with only 1-2 thoughts per page ("Grandpa will drive us to the airport in his car. We will go on the freeway." or "We will go by safety police officers with police dogs. They may sniff us, because the doggies wonder if we have doggies or kitties at our house.").... Or even just maybe doing pictures/icons for what to expect in what order? I'm just thinking that our daughter does so much better, even when she couldn't/can't express it, when she knows what to expect!

Good luck!

 

[smartlabelprint]

@lalasmama I didn't realize neglect could cause these autistic symptoms in kids until we had a foster that did. Good for you taking your kiddo to fun places! They shouldn't miss out. As for the stares- I'm not embarrassed. There's nothing to be embarrassed about just because their disability is unseen in the brain. I think DH still is. Hope he gets over it soon.

 

[lalasmama]

@lalasmama I didn't realize neglect could cause these autistic symptoms in kids until we had a foster that did. Good for you taking your kiddo to fun places! They shouldn't miss out. As for the stares- I'm not embarrassed. There's nothing to be embarrassed about just because their disability is unseen in the brain. I think DH still is. Hope he gets over it soon.

It is truly sad to watch the wide effects of the multitude of abuse that kids in the system have endured, and how it comes out in their life.

I'll always admit I was embarrassed early on. She looked "typical" and "behaved so well" for everyone else....I was positive people were looking at me and judging. And it wasn't like I could "excuse" the behavior by sharing the fact that she was born drug-affected and then abused. Somehow, I don't think my foster child's prenatal exposures were my fault, but you can't really say that when they are foster kids, nor is that fair to point out their past to any judgemental idiot who thinks they know everything.

We've always taken her everywhere, knowing that, often, we'd have to leave early and bring her home, both before and after the adoption. But, as foster parents, we like to expose "our" kids to all kinds of experiences they wouldn't get otherwise... We volunteer, we do Disneyland, we go to the local trampoline park, we ride public transportation and light rail in the metro area about 90 minutes away when we are there for parades and fairs (so many kids in our community don't ever get out of our county).

At any rate, as she's gotten older, the stares are less. But I still hate the stares just as much

 

[Kindermouse]

@lalasmama I didn't realize neglect could cause these autistic symptoms in kids until we had a foster that did. Good for you taking your kiddo to fun places! They shouldn't miss out. As for the stares- I'm not embarrassed. There's nothing to be embarrassed about just because their disability is unseen in the brain. I think DH still is. Hope he gets over it soon.

I studied early childhood cognitive development in college pretty thoroughly as it was my minor and I learned some pretty horrible things about the effects of neglect and abuse in early childhood. Since childrens brains are still rapidly developing and changing during this time, severe neglect and abuse causes what appears to be brain damage on MRI's and CT scans.

These children need love, therapy and support in the early years (the brain is developing most and has critical periods for development of certain skills through age 8) to help repair the damage that has been done.

 

[Butterfly123]

We waited until my son on the spectrum was six before we took the family to Disneyland for the first time. It would have been more stimulation than he could have managed earlier. When we did finally start going we started at three days and took breaks. Our first trip was a little hard on him, but he managed. After that he started to love going. He knew what to expect and that was key for him to relax. We always stayed at the same hotel, that helped him, too. For him having a plan, with an alternate plan helped. If we were going to go to get on a ride we had an alternate plan in case that ride was down. And we let him make decisions, which meant we walked through Tarzan's Tree House every time we passed it! I credit Disneyland for helping him learn to manage waiting in lines, and crowded events. We never used the DAS, or the previous equivalent, but if your kid needs it, do it. Everyone should be able to enjoy Disneyland!

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

The level of neglect that is required to "produce" autism, or autism-like behaviour is incredibly severe. It's more likely than not that there is a history of mental illness in their ancestry which is more to blame, and neglect just exacerbated that. As the parent of an autistic child, it's incredibly hard to constantly have to deal with the idea that my son was abused and that my poor parenting caused it. We're talking orphanages where kids are tied in their cradle with no human contact for years levels of abuse.

As far as Disneyland and flight accommodations go, I can't stress this enough - be mindful of the first ride or two your kid goes on. We had an awful experience when we went on Peter Pan's Flight first thing. A friend recently took her child on the spectrum to the parks, and I tried to explain this, but one of the first rides they tried was Winnie the Pooh, and it took a while to even get her kid back into the park. Something that seems relatively innocuous to us adults can be really overwhelming. So start with open air rides (Casey Junior, Tea Party, etc), before hitting up dark rides. Also, reading or watching the applicable stories so that the kids are familiar with the characters.

Get a park hopper. While Tom Sawyer's Island is closed, there's still Bug's Land in DCA. They have a little splash pad that usually isn't terribly crowded.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I studied early childhood cognitive development in college pretty thoroughly as it was my minor and I learned some pretty horrible things about the effects of neglect and abuse in early childhood. Since childrens brains are still rapidly developing and changing during this time, severe neglect and abuse causes what appears to be brain damage on MRI's and CT scans.

These children need love, therapy and support in the early years (the brain is developing most and has critical periods for development of certain skills through age 8) to help repair the damage that has been done.

My adopted kiddos probably have FASD. Can't be diagnosed until 3. We just had our early intervention testing and the oldest is not behind in ANY area *when regulated*! We've had almost since birth. So I totally agree that early support is key.

 

[smartlabelprint]

The level of neglect that is required to "produce" autism, or autism-like behaviour is incredibly severe. It's more likely than not that there is a history of mental illness in their ancestry which is more to blame, and neglect just exacerbated that. As the parent of an autistic child, it's incredibly hard to constantly have to deal with the idea that my son was abused and that my poor parenting caused it. We're talking orphanages where kids are tied in their cradle with no human contact for years levels of abuse.

I don't understand this statement. Is your child adopted from an orphanage?

The child to which I referred earlier had been severely neglected (basically alone for 2+ yrs) and was deemed feral. Occupational therapy was helping but child returned to parent.

 

[4Mickeys]

Some great supportive replies on here. I would say that as you have 5 day hoppers don't feel like you have to push through - listen to your sign and signs that he might be getting overwhelmed find a quite spot or head back to your hotel for a while if needed. Better to have some shorter enjoyable, successful experiences of the park than pushing through and hitting the wall. Remember its also important for you to feel relaxed as well - if your anxious that can affect your son and the rest of the family too.

 

[Kindermouse]

The level of neglect that is required to "produce" autism, or autism-like behaviour is incredibly severe. It's more likely than not that there is a history of mental illness in their ancestry which is more to blame, and neglect just exacerbated that. As the parent of an autistic child, it's incredibly hard to constantly have to deal with the idea that my son was abused and that my poor parenting caused it. We're talking orphanages where kids are tied in their cradle with no human contact for years levels of abuse.

As far as Disneyland and flight accommodations go, I can't stress this enough - be mindful of the first ride or two your kid goes on. We had an awful experience when we went on Peter Pan's Flight first thing. A friend recently took her child on the spectrum to the parks, and I tried to explain this, but one of the first rides they tried was Winnie the Pooh, and it took a while to even get her kid back into the park. Something that seems relatively innocuous to us adults can be really overwhelming. So start with open air rides (Casey Junior, Tea Party, etc), before hitting up dark rides. Also, reading or watching the applicable stories so that the kids are familiar with the characters.

Get a park hopper. While Tom Sawyer's Island is closed, there's still Bug's Land in DCA. They have a little splash pad that usually isn't terribly crowded.

So sorry if that sounded like a slam-or like I was saying that is the case for all neuro-atypical kids. This is certainly not the case. My own son is neuro-atypical and he was certainly not neglected or abused. I was just pointing out that physical abnormalities can be found in brain scans of severely neglected and abused children-it not just psychological but also physiological. Though most kids on the spectrum aren't that way because of abuse such abuse can cause symptoms.

ClaraOswald-(love your name by the way I am a big Dr. Who fan) You know your son best and what he can deal with and what he cant. I just wanted to share with you some strategies that helped my son when he was little. His final Dx wasnt autism (though he did have that dx for a while before a special said he instead had a plethora of neuro issues rather than 1 Dx that happened to have the same symptoms). I think Disney can be a very accommodating place and with planning, forethought and nice slow place it could be a great trip. If only you could bring him to DL in a TARDIS it would sure make it all easier.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

You don't have to verify his disability.

I think success standing in line depends on a lot of different factors. How old is he? Where is he on the spectrum (high functioning, low, somewhere in between)? What are his behaviors like? What motivates him to be successful? To qualify for DAS, you need to explain as others have said why he can't wait in line.

My son has very high functioning autism/ADHD. He actually does fine standing in line for up to 30 minutes. If you plan well, you can have few waits over 30 minutes even during peak season. We bring snacks and have a tablet with some shows downloaded on it for longer waits. We've been going since he was 2 years old (he's 6 now) and we've never had a problem. That being said, if you try the lines and it just doesn't seem to be working, Disney is very good about issuing the DAS. It doesn't solve every problem as you still have to wait for your return time, but at least the waiting can be done while walking. If you combine DAS and FP usage, you shouldn't have too many issues.

If it makes you feel any better, I work with individuals who have autism and some of their families frequently take their kids to Disneyland. Of all the families I've worked with in 10 years, only 1 has ever had major issues over accommodations at Disneyland. It's probably the best theme park on the west coast in terms of their ADA accessibility and policies.

 

[Kindermouse]

Interesting info about the flight. So I'd contact the airline or just the airport? That would be amazing if we could do that in the weeks before our trip or something. Sometimes he freaks out with a terrified scream/cry in small spaces (though some small places don't bother him at all.) Lately he has been mad every time I strap him into his car seat...which is what we'll do on the airplane so that stresses me out. Though our trip is pretty far away still so who knows how things will be in June.

I know your sons dx is new but I was wondering if he has worked with a behaviorist yet? Have you started ABA? If so has he been trained to work with a token board? He is pretty young but I have seen it used successfully with preschoolers on the spectrum before.

http://www.educateautism.com/token-economy.html

I made one with cardstock, sticky velcro, stickers of his choosing for the tokens, and clip art pictures for the rewards and some clear contact paper to laminate it for durability when my son was little. It was really helpful in situations like what you are describing with the carseat thing.

I HATED flying with my son when he was 2- I eventually gave up during a DC to California flight and let him out of the carseat so he would stop kicking the seat of the poor lady in front of him but he couldn't be still and it was a rough flight-fast forward a year and it was a completely different story. flying at 3 was not a relaxing beachside vacation but it wasnt too bad at all and neither of us was too stressed at the end of it, We had come a long way in a year and your son might too.

I just want to cheer you on, since I could have used a cheerleader of my own in the early days. I have read your pretrip report and I can see how hard you have been working with service providers and how much you love your son. you are going to have a great trip I just know it.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Some great supportive replies on here. I would say that as you have 5 day hoppers don't feel like you have to push through - listen to your sign and signs that he might be getting overwhelmed find a quite spot or head back to your hotel for a while if needed. Better to have some shorter enjoyable, successful experiences of the park than pushing through and hitting the wall. Remember its also important for you to feel relaxed as well - if your anxious that can affect your son and the rest of the family too.

Completely agree. We are there for several days. We go in the morning for a couple of hours, have lunch, nap. We'll see how long we're able to stay in the afternoon and I'll share that info.

Since you're a new autism parent I wanted to share that since going gluten free casein free my child's sensorybissues have decreased a lot. I heard about it on a FASD board. But it's only been studied in kids with autism.

 

[ClaraOswald]

op how old is your son now? you said he was 17 months old last time you went and did fine for 30 minutes well most toddlers can because their cartoon show is 30 minutes long.

If we go in June...he will be about 3 months shy of his 4th birthday. He didn't do too bad at 17 months in line because we held him and he seemed to enjoy watching all the people.

Question: Does he puke in the car if watching a video? If not, it may have been a fluke. I can read on a plane, but not in a car. However, if the window shade is up and I'm trying to read during take off, well..... no beuno

As for feeling like you shouldn't go because of the potential stresses (both for parents and kiddo).... Remember all the stress you felt preparing for your last trip when he was just a little one? Car seats and airplane rides and hotels and sleeping arrangements and pack-n-plays vs hotel cribs... And then you were there, and things went well enough that you decided to go back 2 years later.... And here we are. Yes, the stresses are different, but the potential for amazing memories is also right there! And at 3, your son will be old enough to have lasting memories from this trip, which is kind of awesome in my opinion!

Our family doesn't have an autism diagnosis. In our case, our daughter (who we adopted as a toddler) was born drug addicted to several substances. We worried early on about autism--she didn't seem to have a tight bond with anyone (seriously would have let the man on the corner take her home), she was very particular about routines, reacted with hostility to any variation from how she expected things to go, some spinning with arm flapping, some minor tactile issues (seeking different textures to touch to calm herself, only able to tolerate wearing elastic-waisted leggings), along with abuse issues that occurred from before she was with us.... At any rate, my point is that we weren't/aren't dealing with a neuro-typical child either, and, for all the stress I had planning and taking her each time, she still has only great memories of it.

Disneyland is pretty darn accepting of those who aren't "the same" as "everyone else." In our case, our daughter was easily overstimulated. So, by day 3 on our first trip, she had been at Disneyland for like 24 hours (over those 3 days), was tired of walking, had neglected to tell me about the 3 painful warts on her foot (she finally told me there was an owie on like day 5), and Innoventions "wasn't a ride" so she refused to have anything to do with it. Until she found Fruit Ninja on the game console in the House of Tomorrow or whatever it used to be called downstairs.... Then, she didn't want to leave. And hell hath no fury like a child who is big enough to resist leaving when she's not ready. Eventually, I realized she was over-stimulated, and that, whether she believed it or not, we needed to go find a quiet snuggle place to regroup. Preferably one where she also had room to spin, and no one would look at her weird for having a blanky and sucking her thumb until she could get calmed. So, I was carrying a kicking, punching, screaming, biting child out of Innoventions. Of course I got some looks; at this point, we always got looks. I also got a few parents that locked eyes with me and gave me a knowing, understanding nod; it was nice to know that my daughter wasn't the only child, and I wasn't the only mother, who experienced full on meltdown mode in the middle of the happiest place on earth. Cast members attempted to help, but I let them know we just needed to get some space, and the only help I needed was someone opening the door so we could get her to a quiet spot.

If he's a screamer in some enclosed places, then I'd go ahead and ask for a DAS, as well as a "stroller as a wheelchair" tag (assuming he's cool with his stroller). That will allow access to wait in a different area (not enclosed, not in the sun [or, in the sun if that makes him happier!], not confined in an unfamiliar area) until it's time to get on the ride. And if he screams throughout the ride, I promise, it's not a big deal. Yes, you will sweat it out, you will be uncomfortable, perhaps even a bit embarrassed (I was!), but if a guest complains about it to the cast member, they will just give that party another ride through. So, you aren't really "impacting" them as much as you may worry that you are.

I know someone else mentioned perhaps doing a "mock flight" and several different airlines do this at different places and different airports. I would call the airlines directly and ask about it, as it is organized through them. The airline I remember hearing about doing it was Southwest, I believe. Of course, you also need to balance that with any potential anger/upset that they did "all that" and didn't get to fly (which would have totally ticked my daughter off, and we would have had a full meltdown on the plane when it didn't take off! If they don't do this at your local airport, perhaps you can do a social story ("what to expect" story) about it. I know they can do gate passes, so maybe see if you can take some pictures and write a little story to go with it. These stories helped my daughter a lot, because she knew what to expect next. You can make them as short (or as long) as he is willing to look at the pages. Usually, we tried for 10 pages with only 1-2 thoughts per page ("Grandpa will drive us to the airport in his car. We will go on the freeway." or "We will go by safety police officers with police dogs. They may sniff us, because the doggies wonder if we have doggies or kitties at our house.").... Or even just maybe doing pictures/icons for what to expect in what order? I'm just thinking that our daughter does so much better, even when she couldn't/can't express it, when she knows what to expect!

Good luck!

He's never watched videos in the car. He is still rear facing. He mostly just looks out the window or at a book. Stroller is hit or miss. Lately he just sits in it if he's tired. We were to the botanical gardens this weekend, for example, and he walked for about 1.5 miles before he got tired and sat in the stroller. I don't think he'd tolerate it in line. At 17 months, he was still unsteady on his feet at Disneyland so he had to be in the stroller most of the time. He got REALLY sick of it.

So far, he doesn't seem to get sensory overload like I hear about often. He doesn't mind crowds or sounds or lights or anything like that.

His receptive language is delayed at this point so while we do explain things to him...he doesn't really "get" a lot of it yet. So we can try our best to prepare him for flying but I don't know if he'll understand it.

I know your sons dx is new but I was wondering if he has worked with a behaviorist yet? Have you started ABA? If so has he been trained to work with a token board? He is pretty young but I have seen it used successfully with preschoolers on the spectrum before.

http://www.educateautism.com/token-economy.html

I made one with cardstock, sticky velcro, stickers of his choosing for the tokens, and clip art pictures for the rewards and some clear contact paper to laminate it for durability when my son was little. It was really helpful in situations like what you are describing with the carseat thing.

I HATED flying with my son when he was 2- I eventually gave up during a DC to California flight and let him out of the carseat so he would stop kicking the seat of the poor lady in front of him but he couldn't be still and it was a rough flight-fast forward a year and it was a completely different story. flying at 3 was not a relaxing beachside vacation but it wasnt too bad at all and neither of us was too stressed at the end of it, We had come a long way in a year and your son might too.

I just want to cheer you on, since I could have used a cheerleader of my own in the early days. I have read your pretrip report and I can see how hard you have been working with service providers and how much you love your son. you are going to have a great trip I just know it.

No behaviorist at this point. It hasn't been recommended to us. Just speech, OT, and PT. No ABA. I am on the fence about that and need to do more research.

I hope we have a great trip. Last time, just seeing him with some of the characters made it worth it. We weren't even sure if he'd like them but we happened to see Jessie in Big Thunder Ranch and he just ran right over to her. I'll be curious to see if he likes them next time.

 

[Aladora]

His receptive language is delayed at this point so while we do explain things to him...he doesn't really "get" a lot of it yet. So we can try our best to prepare him for flying but I don't know if he'll understand it.

Definitely look into social stories and visual schedules. Those will really help until you can get his receptive language closer to where it should be. At his age, social stories will be so helpful. Also, have you thought about making a PECS board to use? It might help both at home and on vacation.

PECS

 

[ClaraOswald]

I don't really get a a social story is. Can you explain that to me? And we don't really have much of a schedule so I'm not sure how to do a visual one.

We have a pocket chart and I have taken pictures of various things and laminated them. So we have tried using those for a form of communication but he hasn't been receptive to it at all.

 

[Aladora]

I don't really get a a social story is. Can you explain that to me? And we don't really have much of a schedule so I'm not sure how to do a visual one.

We have a pocket chart and I have taken pictures of various things and laminated them. So we have tried using those for a form of communication but he hasn't been receptive to it at all.

Here is a good site to start to read up on social stories. This site might be helpful as well.

A visual schedule is really helpful for young kids, even those without developmental delays. It can be a simple as a chart showing what you are going to do that day in order.

An example of a simple visual schedule:

 

[lalasmama]

I don't really get a a social story is. Can you explain that to me? And we don't really have much of a schedule so I'm not sure how to do a visual one.

We have a pocket chart and I have taken pictures of various things and laminated them. So we have tried using those for a form of communication but he hasn't been receptive to it at all.

I look at social stories as a way to explain what will happen (in short, kid-friendly terms), so the child can go back and read over them, or really just look at them over and over, to see what to expect.

I have some patients to see right now, but I'll come back this evening and share in better detail how we have done them.

 

[lalasmama]

@ClaraOswald Had a busy evening, just getting back to this.

For our family, social stories help my daughter know what to expect when something was going to change. For example, we made a little book when she was going to move homes when we were going to adopt her. It went something like this:

This is Lala's house now. Mr. Gary and Mrs. Jerry, along with Sally, Johnny, and Suzy live here too! (Picture of her old house)

Soon, Lala will come to the visit office, and have playtime with Mimi. (Picture of Mimi <me> at the child welfare office playroom.)

After we play, Lala will come home with Mimi! (Picture of my car that she knew)

Mimi has a new green house to live in with Lala! (Picture of the new house)

Kitty Kitty is excited to see Lala! (Picture of the cat)

Mimi's house looks different outside, but there's lots Lala knows inside, like Lala's big girl bed, and Gammy's couch, and Lala's snuggly blanket. (pictures of the items above)

Auntie Cryssie and Cousin Sidney will come over to play! (Picture of those family members)

Sometimes Lala and Mimi will go visit Mr. Gary and Mrs. Jerry's home to play with the kids. (Picture of the kids playing)

Mimi is so excited that Lala will live with her forever! (Picture of me and daughter)

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In the case of a social story about flying, you could mention going in an airplane to meet Mickey (or Pooh, it sounds like!). First, we go to the airport where the planes live. Then we eat a snack. We sit in our car seat in the plane. We look at books and look out the window at the clouds. After 2 tv shows (or however long your flight is, in kid terms [like 4 Jake and the Neverland Pirates, for example]), the plane will come back to the ground. We will get in a special car called a taxi, and drive to a special kind of house called a hotel.

We try to keep ours less than 10 pages. We use construction paper to mount the pictures and storyline, then laminate them, and tie them with ribbon or those key rings that you might use for a spare key.

Good luck!