Autistic son away at special school. How do I apply for DAS with him not being home

[Bamabelle18]

Hello all,

I have a young adult son with autism who attends a special school two hours from me. He will not be home from school in time to do the DAS call before we go and my next visit to see him is more than 30 days out. Will Disney allow me to do the call without him or let us Zoom together. He is verbal but has trouble defining what his needs are at the park and Im mostly worried about being separate from him at any point while waiting in line if they were to allow him to leave th line. He is a pacer and tens to walk farther than he riles if someone is not with him.

Thank you

 

[Amanda999]

Can you conference him (with one of his counselors/teachers) on the video call with WDW?
I would do a video wdw call myself first, to ask how to make that happen. Or perhaps you could ask one of his fav teachers to do the video call with wdw, with you on his/her iPad via Facetime. So, your video will be 'second hand' but I bet the CM will still be able to see and hear you. They need to take a photo of your son during the video call, so with him (his school) commencing the call with wdw his video will be clear.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

is there a reason you want to do the DAS interview in advance vs waiting until you are together? Without preselects there is no reason to do the call 30 days in advance.

 

[gap2368]

from what I have heard Disney will not let you do this. your best bet is to apply in person at GR where they will give you an iPad. those doing it in park are put at the front of the wait line from what I have heard

 

[Bamabelle18]

Can you conference him (with one of his counselors/teachers) on the video call with WDW?
I would do a video wdw call myself first, to ask how to make that happen. Or perhaps you could ask one of his fav teachers to do the video call with wdw, with you on his/her iPad via Facetime. So, your video will be 'second hand' but I bet the CM will still be able to see and hear you. They need to take a photo of your son during the video call, so with him (his school) commencing the call with wdw his video will be clear.

This is wh

Can you conference him (with one of his counselors/teachers) on the video call with WDW?
I would do a video wdw call myself first, to ask how to make that happen. Or perhaps you could ask one of his fav teachers to do the video call with wdw, with you on his/her iPad via Facetime. So, your video will be 'second hand' but I bet the CM will still be able to see and hear you. They need to take a photo of your son during the video call, so with him (his school) commencing the call with wdw his video will be clear.

I was thinking the same thing. The Facetime idea is great. Thank you

 

[Bamabelle18]

is there a reason you want to do the DAS interview in advance vs waiting until you are together? Without preselects there is no reason to do the call 30 days in advance.

I had read that the call needs to be done at least 30 days in advance. We will be picking him up from school on the day we leave for Disney. Aren't you supposed to make your preselects after? Im not sure I understand

 

[lanejudy]

I had read that the call needs to be done at least 30 days in advance. We will be picking him up from school on the day we leave for Disney. Aren't you supposed to make your preselects after? Im not sure I understand

Disney changed DAS last summer. No more pre-selects. And you can apply anytime from 30 days in advanced up until you are onsite. There is no particular advantage to registering early other than to know for sure the DAS has been granted.

 

[OurBigTrip]

I had read that the call needs to be done at least 30 days in advance. We will be picking him up from school on the day we leave for Disney. Aren't you supposed to make your preselects after? Im not sure I understand

There are no preselects any longer, and you don’t have to do it in advance. You can do it at the park - they provide you an iPad for the call.

 

[Evita_W]

This is wh

I was thinking the same thing. The Facetime idea is great. Thank you

Unfortunately, that would likely be considered a form of recording and would likely not be allowed based on the terms you agree to when trying to open the chat. Just want to make sure no one gets in trouble.

 

[HopperFan]

When we got under the new guidelines we did it on Friday afternoon for our arrival on Sunday.

Since there are no pre-selects there is no benefit to doing sooner unless you will cancel if not approved.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

It sounds like you may not be familiar with the program changes. Please note that eligibility has become more stringent, though those with developmental disabilities “like autism” have been more likely to be approved. Recall though that DAS is needs based, not diagnosis based, so you should be prepared to explain why your son is unable to wait in a traditional queue. Also I don’t know how big your traveling party is, but DAS is now limited to only 4 people, not 6, with exceptions really only offered for minor children.

 

[Bamabelle18]

It sounds like you may not be familiar with the program changes. Please note that eligibility has become more stringent, though those with developmental disabilities “like autism” have been more likely to be approved. Recall though that DAS is needs based, not diagnosis based, so you should be prepared to explain why your son is unable to wait in a traditional queue. Also I don’t know how big your traveling party is, but DAS is now limited to only 4 people, not 6, with exceptions really only offered for minor children.

Thank you. It has been several years since we've been to Disney. it was the GAC that last time we went.He is verbal and can speak his needs but my biggest worry is his wandering and sensory issues. My traveling party is 4 and we have an infant and I am in a scooter due to heart failure but i can manage waiting and we can take the stroller with us and do rider switch from what I understand. y son is older but we would to be able to go to Disney without some accommodations, hence the reason for me wanting to do the interview 30 days out. At this point, Im planning to drive the two hours to his school to communicate with a CM along with him. We're not looking to skip the line. We just want him to be able to ride the rides without causing anxiety or a meltdown.