Autism - Help Prepping for our first trip

[combrero]

Hi all,

My DD (5) is diagnosed PDD-NOS, and will be making her first airplane trip - not to mention first trip to WDW - in December.

She responds very well to visual learning, and was wondering if anyone in a similar situation has had luck at WDW by prepping with pics/videos, etc.??

Besides Google, are there any good resources for putting together a picture book of sorts with photos of all the places we'll go on our trip (airport, airplane, buses, monorail, parks, etc)?

I think that by preparing her ahead of time we will have much more success in a great vacation! Thx

 

[maroo]

I personally think that this site is really good for some of this...

Here it is...

http://www.wdwautism.com/


I just planned a trip for a 13 year old, mostly non-verbal young man and he and his family had a BLAST!

Make sure you go by Guest Services and talk to them about a Guest Assistance Card (see the FAQ link on this thread for info about that). They can help you figure out what the best info on the card should be.

And you may want to look at restaurant menus if your DD has special food requests.

 

[bookwormde]

IF you set the thread filter to longer than 1 year there are some really good threads on this section which will help you a lot and have lots pf practical advice and materials.

bookwormde

 

[CajunMomof3]

For our first trip, we made a social story type of book for DS with autism with pics from Google images. We had it laminated and spiral bound so he could use it on the plane. We included the front of each park and maybe 1 or 2 rides we thought he would be interested in. We also put in pics of people posing with the characters in the hopes of getting him ready for that. The trip went fine, but he never did warm up to the characters...

The biggest advice I can give you is to plan downtime. You can't see all of Disney in one trip so don't try. Plan on swimming and naps to allow everyone to be relaxed. We found gummies and a notebook to use in line helped too. If you have any specific questions, just let me know. I will be happy to brainstorm with you!

 

[carrie6466]

My DD was 4 when we took our first trip. She has been diagnosed PDD-NOS, as well. What I did to prepare her before our first trip was look up videos of rides I thought she might like, parades, shows, fireworks, etc on youtube. Then we would watch one or two a day. We started this about a month before our trip. I also got the free dvd from Disney and she watched that over and over again.

For the plane ride, I had packed a small backpack with some of her favorite little toys and some new stuff to hold her interest. It all worked out pretty well.

Hi all,

My DD (5) is diagnosed PDD-NOS, and will be making her first airplane trip - not to mention first trip to WDW - in December.

She responds very well to visual learning, and was wondering if anyone in a similar situation has had luck at WDW by prepping with pics/videos, etc.??

Besides Google, are there any good resources for putting together a picture book of sorts with photos of all the places we'll go on our trip (airport, airplane, buses, monorail, parks, etc)?

I think that by preparing her ahead of time we will have much more success in a great vacation! Thx

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Is there a particular resort you are staying at or are you off-site?

 

[combrero]

Thanks all for the replies. I have been looking at all the information on here and have gotten some great ideas.

Based on the info I've read on here, as well as WDW Autism, we decided on Bay Lake Towers - close to the monorail and MK just in case we need to get out of the parks quickly.

I love the idea of the picture book and have been trying to incorporate videos into her routine.

 

[Bugsmom73]

I too recommend the wdwautism site. Picture for visual supports and for devices are already done, as are social stories. Plan down time, you will all need it. Also, I would consider renting a special needs stroller for the week, if you don't have one. It will allow her to take a break without melting.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

I would also recomend reading open mouse. It is a downloadable passporter book. It is a great resource for doing disney with any kind of disABILITY. Two of my 3 children have issues. The both have a siezure disorder. The older is considered to be a low functioning adult. Profoundly dislexic. ADD. Has trouble picking up on social issues and is OCD. The younger one has some ADD and is mild to moderatly MR with global difficiencies. We have found open mouse along with our passporter to be a godsend. It is like a bible for touring the world.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Thanks all for the replies. I have been looking at all the information on here and have gotten some great ideas.

Based on the info I've read on here, as well as WDW Autism, we decided on Bay Lake Towers - close to the monorail and MK just in case we need to get out of the parks quickly.

I love the idea of the picture book and have been trying to incorporate videos into her routine.

I think your resort is a good choice, being close to a theme park is a big plus, we are staying at boardwalk villas for part of our stay next April.

 

[isk8]

My DS5 has high functioning autism. He's been to WDW twice, and DL many times. For our last WDW trip, I made a calendar with pictures showing which parks and restaurants we were going to. I also put a picture for our hotel in the middle of every day so he knew we were going back to the hotel for a nap or a swim. We looked at the calendar every night before bed.

I found the info for the "picture itinerary" on the Tour Guide Mike site.

 

[hellokittiemama]

The best thing that was suggested to me before we made my son's first trip (he was 6 going on 7) and is about to embark in a few days on his trip #3!.. was to show him videos of some of the rides, parades, fireworks etc. He definitely likes and needs to know what to be expecting and formulated some opinions from the videos about which rides he was interested in trying and which ones not so much.

What we couldn't have planned for...
When we were in the room my son would watch the Disney commercial with "Stacey" who gives a summary of the most popular attractions and he got really into that...well, from it he decided he wanted to go on Expedition Everest and since he met the height requirement we let him. It was touch and go there for a bit since he threw up!

This trip we are going to try Fantasmic for the first time with him so he's been watching a video of it which should hopefully "take the edge off".

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I think also as you visit the parks and enjoy the attractions you learn more about your child.
Whether it be improving their patience levels while waiting to go on a ride or see the reaction when looking at something different for the first time.

 

[SueM in MN]

IF you set the thread filter to longer than 1 year there are some really good threads on this section which will help you a lot and have lots pf practical advice and materials.

bookwormde

There are also some links to especially helpful past threads in post 3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. You can find that thread near the top of the thread list for this board or follow the link in my signature to get there.

Look for autism in the alphabetized list of conditions and concerns. Also in post 3, there are some resources that might be helpful in creating social stories in the Communication area.
The post about Transportation includes a link to a social story/book about air travel. Not sure, but think it is post 15.
Post 6 is about GACs.

 

[mamacate]

We had great luck with the Birnbaum's WDW for Kids by Kids book. That helped my AS son get a sense of what rides he wanted to ride. For the ones where he wasn't sure from the book, we went on YouTube and watched videos of the rides. Almost every ride has a first-person video on YouTube. I tried making picture schedules for our trips, but stopped after a while. It was helpful on the first trip or two, but I stopped because there are so many variables we often had to change the plan, and you know how well THAT goes over with our kids. So now I do more general picture schedules (bus, park, if we have an ADR, I'll put a picture of the restuarant). But beyond what park we're going to, I don't put the rides on in order anymore. Plus it was a lot of work.

Cate

PS: The whole book/video thing was great for my NT daughter too, and we all get to pick out the rides on our "must do" list, which makes it easier to decide where to go next.

 

[SueM in MN]

We had great luck with the Birnbaum's WDW for Kids by Kids book. That helped my AS son get a sense of what rides he wanted to ride. For the ones where he wasn't sure from the book, we went on YouTube and watched videos of the rides. Almost every ride has a first-person video on YouTube. I tried making picture schedules for our trips, but stopped after a while. It was helpful on the first trip or two, but I stopped because there are so many variables we often had to change the plan, and you know how well THAT goes over with our kids. So now I do more general picture schedules (bus, park, if we have an ADR, I'll put a picture of the restuarant). But beyond what park we're going to, I don't put the rides on in order anymore. Plus it was a lot of work.

Cate

PS: The whole book/video thing was great for my NT daughter too, and we all get to pick out the rides on our "must do" list, which makes it easier to decide where to go next.

I like that WDW for Kids by Kids book too. One of the things that is nice about it is that since it's from a child's point of view, it has stuff about 'scariness' that adults may not think of.

In post #3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread, there is a link to a really cool youtube video that someone made that is basically a walk thru all the WDW parks. As the host walks by an attraction, he tells you a little bit about it and then invites you to ride it with him by clicking on the screen. That takes you to another video that actually most of the time shows some of the queue, the boarding and then riding. After 'riding' you can go back to the initial video.

Also, for someone who has an iPod touch or an iPhone, there are a lot of nice apps for storytelling or making social stories. Most are easy to program your own stories and you can pull pictures from the internet to illustrate them. Those could be a very easy way to make a general picture schedule and then have some other stories for individual attractions that could be chosen in the order you end up seeing them.

 

[mbb]

......When we were in the room my son would watch the Disney commercial with "Stacey" who gives a summary of the most popular attractions and he got really into that....

Stacey!!
I'd forgotten all about her!

"Top 10 Must Sees at WDW", right??

Oh, how our kids would cry when that was over...and we lived in fear that it might come on just as we would be ready to go out the door to the parks in the mornings.

Because we wouldn't be going anywhere until Stacey was finished! LOL!

I recall DH and I plotting ways to get a VCR and tape the segment, so we could control Stacey access

Thanks for the memory!

...and have a wonder-filled, wonderful trip

 

[mickey&minniealways]

If you call disney ask for the trip planning DVD. That way he can watch it on the computer with you and you can replay the parts you need to . DVC has one also if you want him to see what it looks like in the resort.

 

[physicalt104]

WOW- you certainly have received some valuable info in a short thread!
I will share that despite the objections of my son's school, we took frequent WDW vacations during his preschool/K time. With each trip, he came back more focused and a bit more "desensitized". In retrospect, I consider WDW part of his very successful therapy!!!!
In addition to the laminated picture books (and yes, I would discourage the ordered, scheduled version), I am sure you have a portable DVD player for the plane, restaurants, lines, etc.
Great resort choice! I always suggest the momorail resorts when at all possible. (Those quick time-outs are a godsend for ALL.)
Anticipate her sensory needs- custom earplugs, your stroller (or cocoon) from home- complete with soothing aids, and a " NO HUGS " sign for the characters will also go a long way to promote peace!
And what was most important for my son, ADRs at restaurants that offered items for his excruciatingly limited palate . The menus listed on numerous sites (I liked Allears.net best) literally saved our trips. (In the 90's there were limited options for pizza and cinnamon raisin bagels..... and that was literally all he ate for 8 years......)

Great job planning ahead mom! I hope you get an extra share of magic during your trip!!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I'm a huge TourGuide Mike fan. Dense crowds are a huge problem for my daughter and TGM helps us avoid them. While the GAC issued by WDW helps some with the attractions, it can't help between attractions or at most shows.

In addition, we really only can spend a few hours in a park per day max. When we used to just "wing it" for touring, we'd stay beyond that at unfortunately the inevitible meltdown is what would signal us to leave the park but unfortunately by that time it was a really difficult exit and trip back to the resort and then at the resort it was very stressful for the rest of the day. Using TGM, I'm able to plan those 2-3 hours (for some reason at Epcot we can go up to 4 hours) so that we accomplish everything we really want to do and then get out while everybody is still happy. We leave before that overload hits. Once we get to that spot on our daily touring plan where it says to leave the park, we do. No more waiting until it's too late. It's WONDERFUL!!!!

TGM also teaches they why behind the touring method so that it becomes easy to make changes to plans on the fly. We all know that flexibility is a must with special needs kids. Understanding efficient ways to tour makes flexibility so much easier.

You can get a $3 discount on TGM by going through the link on the Theme Parks board. TGM is that board's sponsor. With the discount it's only $18.95. Best money I spent on a vacation!!

Go to youtube to watch videos of different attractions. Use that to determine what your child will and won't want to try.