We have not been to US/IOA in about a year, but we did have annual passes that we used about 10 times the year before that. My son was 10 at the time. He is autistic, sensory defensive, and non-verbal.
When we visited the parks first stop would be guest services to request a disability pass. A while back anyone could get these just for the asking but they have made it much tougher since so many people would just rent a wheelchair for gramps and get FOTL access. So now most queues have been made accessable and that solves the wheelchair issues, but not the sensory, behavior, and communication issues our children have. Fortunately Universal fully understands this and if you explain your child's disability they will give you a pass that allows him and his immediate family FOTL access on most rides except the 1 fish 2 fish(my son's favorite at IOA) and the flyers (which I never tried with him anyway). Down side is you have to spend that extra time at guest services each day you visit the parks, they will not issue the pass for the length of your stay. What I did was had them make a note on my son's annual pass computer file so that I did not have to do a whole song and dance number when I got a less than fully knowledgible employee. I just told them we needed the pass and to check my son's file.Speeded things up considerably.
Another thing you might consider is renting a wheelchair. While my son is not physically challenged, I find using the chair makes life easier for the whole family. He enjoys riding and does not get as tired (read cranky) from a whole day of walking, and I have the peace of mind of knowing he is right in front of me instead of shooting off in every direction the moment I am not holding his hand. (It also gives me something to lean on and hang packages on since I have a bad hip).
I won't recommend any particular rides or attractions since as you know just because our kids both have autism they will still have their own likes and dislikes. My son does prefer Universal as he enjoys the shows more than fast moving rides, About the only thing he enjoys at IOA is the Seuss area, Spiderman and Storm force. His favorites at Universal is MenInBlack and 2 attractions that are gone now, Yogi and Alfred Hitchcock (don't ask
).
Don't forget to bring some motivators to reward good behavior or diffuse a meltdown (lollipops and fruit roll ups are 2 of John Henry's favorites). Take lots of breaks.
Since you seem to have 2 parents and 2 kids you might want to consider trading off so one parent can be with each kid and do what they like best - (example if your daughter likes a wild ride like Back to the Future while your son wants to play in Barneyland, she can get to ride twice, once with each parent while son can play with Barney to his heart's content without boring one parent).
Hope this helps and that you all have a great vacation!
