Dine with Imagineer - Worth it w/speech issues?

[Agri]

I hope this is the best place to put this!

My mom really wants to do the Dine with an Imagineer event this trip. Since her surgery, however, she has trouble speaking and would not be likely to ask a lot of questions (if any). Will the experience be less than enjoyable for her, or will the Imagineer have enough to talk about from the other guests' questions?

I really want to fulfill her wish since its our last trip for awhile, but I don't want her to end up feeling awkward for the entire time.

 

[passthepixiedust]

I think you should do it. We did this a few years ago and the imagineer was very entertaining, with stories of his own.
I am sure they come prepared for all possible types of guests. The other guests at the meal will also have questions so I am sure it won't fall upon your mom to keep the conversation going. I don't think she would need to feel awkward at all! Would you be going with her? We had a great time!

 

[Agri]

I think you should do it. We did this a few years ago and the imagineer was very entertaining, with stories of his own.
I am sure they come prepared for all possible types of guests. The other guests at the meal will also have questions so I am sure it won't fall upon your mom to keep the conversation going. I don't think she would need to feel awkward at all! Would you be going with her? We had a great time!

Yes, I will be. Due to her health problems, she really can't do much on her own.

She's fine for the most part, she just has problems communicating effectively - especially when agitated - so if something happened to her she would not reliably be able to convey important information. I have her emergency info in her cell phone, but the local EMS responders rarely check for it, from personal experience. The situation can be frustrating for both of us since she does not have extreme handicaps, her problems are just of a kind that she needs a caregiver with her at all times outside of the house.

Thanks - this really puts my mind at ease!

 

[Wonders10]

Yes, I will be. Due to her health problems, she really can't do much on her own.

She's fine for the most part, she just has problems communicating effectively - especially when agitated - so if something happened to her she would not reliably be able to convey important information. I have her emergency info in her cell phone, but the local EMS responders rarely check for it, from personal experience. The situation can be frustrating for both of us since she does not have extreme handicaps, her problems are just of a kind that she needs a caregiver with her at all times outside of the house.

Thanks - this really puts my mind at ease!

I haven't done this event, but I'm a speech pathologist so wanted to offer my "expertise" in that area. Maybe before you have the dinner, you can see if your mom has any special questions or things she wants to know about, you can write them down and see if the imagineer or another guest addresses them. If during the lunch, your mom thinks of something, would she be able to quietly tell it to you so that you could ask or write it down for you? Even mentioning it to the CM running the event so that you could pass along a note with some questions for the imagineer, if necessary.

Not to get too personal, but is your mom receiving any Speech/Language therapy? They might also be able to offer some suggestions or practice scenarios for her so that she is more comfortable when the time comes.

Have fun!

 

[kaybird]

I also think you should go for it! We were caregivers for my wonderful father for 15 years. His speech was slow, and people had difficulty understanding him, but he loved to be in the thick of things, and would listen and take it all in. We would talk later many times about what we had done, who we met, what we learned, and generally, his reccolections were better than mine!

 

[Agri]

Thank you all so much!! It sounds like she will be just fine. I was concerned that it would be more Q&A, but from you descriptions it sounds like she'll enjoy herself a lot.