Can I vent for a moment- More ? UPDATED post#26

[SueM in MN]

Don't know if the airport you will be using has the "puffer" machine security screening things where you go thru and lots of puffs of air are shot all over your body it's kind of like the metal detector that shoots air we encountered them in Indianapolis I went thru and then DDthen 6 ASD went thru and it freaked her out.

I've never heard of those. I think they would freak out a lot of people.

 

[Forevryoung]

When I first saw this post, I thought of social stories right away. It's so great to see that so many parents have used them successfully! I'm a speech pathologist and write social stories for students all the time.

Future SLP here (1st year grad student). That's why I thought of them!

 

[Goofyluver]

I agree with the idea of the social story. Although my son has not been diagnosed with autism, he has other things that he is dealing with. We have been told that it is possible that he falls somewhere within the autism spectrum. I used a social story for him when he was getting his tonsils removed, worked wonders!! I'm also an SLP and I have used social stories with students.

My son's first trip on a plane went pretty well. He was four. He had severe auditory sensitivities. I found that a pair of gun headphones (used in shooting) worked to block out a lot of the noise on the plane which really bothered him. I know everything will go well and you'll have a great time!!

 

[cinda-wella]

I just wanted to say, I feel your pain...some doctors just don't get it. There was a point where I had to get my son on a medication, but what a fight it was to get him some help- his regular pediatrician didn't want to touch him, and the wait for his neurolgist was 2-3 months which in autism-land is an eternity

I can only imagine how I'd feel if while I was trying to get my son some help, I was getting a flu shot pushed on me , too. The doc's sometimes need to walk a day in the life .

My son needs benadrly from time to time also, due to severe food allergy, but it can make him nutty once it wears off. Not what I'd want on a plane , at least for my son. BTW- what kind of reaction did your ds have to the bee sting, that the benadryl wouldn't help? That kind of concerns me being as how my family relies on that sometimes..thanks!

Good Luck!

me dh ds (10) ds (8) dd (2)

3 more weeks till WDW!!

 

[lovemickeya]

BTW- what kind of reaction did your ds have to the bee sting, that the benadryl wouldn't help? That kind of concerns me being as how my family relies on that sometimes..thanks!

The Benadryl did help with the bug bite. (We are not sure it was a bee) But whatever it was got DS on the eyebrow so when the benedryl started to wear off it was red, and swollen - so we gave him the benadryl to stop the itching/stinging and he would leave it alone.

When is your family going to Disney World? We leave on the 8th of December.

 

[lovemickeya]

I have gotten a social story together and we are going over it daily. I also have put away some of his favorite things so I can pull them out in case of a crisis.

I was just wondering if any of you have ever used Dramamine- the nurse from the doctor's office called and said that if I didnt want to use benedryl that I could give him a dose of Dramamine. Since that will help with the upset stomach and possibly make him calm- chilled out. I just have never heard of any giving their children Dramamine before. Granted I MUST take it for long car rides or if I am going to be in the back seat of a car for any length of time.

Let me know what you think- Dramamine, Benedryl or NOTHING-

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart for all your input and suggestions along the way- we have 9 days till we leave it is crunch time.

 

[disneydenisel]

We just returned from our trip to WDW with our two HFA kids, DS4 & DD7.

For the plane rides, we brought Game Boys/DS (2-3 new games), DVD player (with new movies they have never seen), DH's laptop with PC games, markers, paper, magazines (Nickelodeon), special snacks, blankies, small toys, WaterWow tablets, etc. We also were able to declare our DD7's lemonade in small bottles (2) and we brought backup Countrytime powdered drink mix which we used to refill. We did prepare for TSA throwing out our bottles, but they didn't. We had a doctor's note & had our Maclaren Major Special Needs Push Chair/Stroller.

Are you only worried about the airport? I was "puffed" one time (2005) because DD7 walked back through the detector, and TSA requires that someone be puffed after that, so I volunteered since it would have totally freaked out DD7 and the TSA person agreed that it was okay to substitute me.

Does your DS6 get around with no problem? Our DD7 tends to bolt or wander, so having the stroller was very helpful. She also felt very safe there at the airports and in the parks. We were able to see a lot more of the parks because of the stroller and the fact that she could just sit and wait/play her DS before a parade started. I was able to roll it onto the ferries & monorail, but I had to fold it up for the buses.

We had a 5.5 hour flight to MCO, and 2 flights home, with a 4-hour layover in DEN. DD7 was pretty upset during that final flight...she was tired, bored with everything, and wanting to get home. She cried a lot, and there wasn't a lot we could do to console her. I'll search for a better connecting flight next time.

Have a great time!

 

[lovemickeya]

DS gets around fine- He is a bolter too but he does really really well on the backpack leash thing. So we use that - we are not taking our own stroller but we will most likely rent one when we get to the parks. We figure with both(DS6 autism & DS7) of the boys someone will want to sit.

I too have a letter from Doctor- I am more concerned with the airport and flight than the actual parks & rides & hotel that sort of thing. I feel that once he is out of the confinded spaces of the airplane that he will do fine- now coming home might be a different story. He might not want to get back on the plane - but I guess we will cross that bridge when it get here.

I was wondering - disneydenisel - do you give your children anything for the flight(benedryl or dramamine)?

 

[disneydenisel]

I was wondering - disneydenisel - do you give your children anything for the flight(benedryl or dramamine)?

Great to hear that your son gets around fine. My DD7 has low muscle tone and can't walk for long periods of time without giving up.

We haven't given our kids anything for the flights. Last year, we did many social stories (DD7 has severe anxiety disorder, too) and our psychologist talked with DD7 about how to calm herself on the airplane. She did great to MCO but on an earlier trip to Hawaii in 2005, she was yelling "Turn the plane around," for a few minutes & then crying a lot before she settled down. That, and she was kicking the back seat of the airport van driver who picked us up at home (my mistake, I ordered the cheap-o van service versus the sedan/limo).

I've never thought of using medicine, but Benadryl would definitely knock my kids out for at least 2 hours.

 

[MommytoMJM]

I have gotten a social story together and we are going over it daily. I also have put away some of his favorite things so I can pull them out in case of a crisis.

I was just wondering if any of you have ever used Dramamine- the nurse from the doctor's office called and said that if I didnt want to use benedryl that I could give him a dose of Dramamine. Since that will help with the upset stomach and possibly make him calm- chilled out. I just have never heard of any giving their children Dramamine before. Granted I MUST take it for long car rides or if I am going to be in the back seat of a car for any length of time.

Let me know what you think- Dramamine, Benedryl or NOTHING-

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart for all your input and suggestions along the way- we have 9 days till we leave it is crunch time.

Dramamine is essentially Benadryl...

From Wikipedia:

brand names Dramamine and Gravol) is an over-the-counter drug used to prevent motion sickness, (emesis). It is closely related to diphenhydramine HCl, or Benadryl.

 

[mommyandmore]

We were really worried about my son (5 years old with traumatic brain injury- lots of different disabilities) on our Thanksgiving trip to Disneyworld since we were traveling from CA so quite a long ride. I actually did a trial run with both Dramamine and Benadryl a couple of weekends before we left- one on Sat and one on Sun. He usually naps around 1pm-4 pm so what I did was gave him the med at around 9am and tried putting him down for a nap around 10. Benadryl didn't have any effect on him and with the Dramamine he did sleep but he was very crabby before hand. So I brought Dramamine to use just in case. We did end up giving it to him once on the way there when he was obviously tired but not settling down for a nap and it worked like a charm. Other than that, he was actually pretty easy on the plane. He is big into lining cars and little figures up so I gave him some new cars and he used the tray on the airplane and was entertained for hours at a time. The REAL issue we had was with the airplane bathroom. We were on the plane for 6 hours and he is still potty training so he has to go several times. The first time I tried to squeeze in with him and shut the door and he ended up peeing all over the place because I couldn't get him positioned right (I kind of have to hold him on the toilet because of his muscle weakness/cp)> After that, I just kept the door open but I don't know how you would cope with older kids- those bathrooms are TINY if your son needs help in there.
Katrina

 

[lovemickeya]

Ok I got the dramamine- we are going to try a "trial run" this weekend (going about 45 minutes away to a Christmas tree farm) and see how it goes- which should be interesting since he HATES to take meds. I wonder how awful the taste of the pill is disolved since he only gets 1/2 a pill -- ummm- I am going to have to keep thinking on how I can "trick" him into taking it- and then I will have to fool him again at the airport- break out the Mommy Manuals for this one- LOL

I will keep all of you guys posted.

 

[flying_babyb]

apple sauce! You stick in there and let him eat it, Most of the time it works well for pills. My sister does this with g-ma all the time and they do it at the school where my mom works (special ed).

 

[lovemickeya]

OK We leave in 3 Hours!!! I am so excited

- I did a trial run with the dramamine last weekend. I just cut the pill in half and stuck it in a doughnut hole. He feel for it hook, line and sinker. So I am stopping to get doughnut on the way to the airport and we will do it again. He never went to sleep but it did calm him down alot, which is all I was asking for.

Thanks again for all the advice- I will post when we get back.