DLC GAP and Autism questions

[hobbit]

A few questions about the Guest Assistance Pass for our son aged 9:
1. What proof do we need that our son has autism? Will just a statement of the disorder do, or does he need a letter from a doctor stating which behaviors might be problematic? (ie our son is more "inappropriate" than anything, so if he stands too long in a queue, he might start doing weird things that attract everyone's attention, and gives us a lot of stress).

2. What more does a GAP offer than the FastPass arrangement?

3. Are there any babysitting services anywhere, in case we need a break from him (and him from us)? We're staying at the Park Vue inn.

thanks in advance!

 

[Peace.love.mickey]

I have no idea about what you need to prove about him being AUT, however, have you taken him to places with such loud noises before? Maybe, call the information line.

The GAD options are free ticket to any park, the FP option, donate your ticket, or a special pin set.

Also, I would be hesitant to just hire any old babysitter knowing that he has special needs, etc.

Have a super fun time!

 

[DizNee Luver]

The Guest Assistance Card can be picked up from Guest Services. You will need to take your son in with you when you make the request. No documentation will be needed.

I agree on the babysitting issue.......they do have some companies down there that are recommended by some of the area hotels.....but at a very HIGH price. Adding special needs to it would probably make it even higher.

We will be traveling end of July to DL with twin 3 yr olds with autism.....I understand needing the break, but thankfully, we will have our 2 grown sons with us as well as one of the grandmas.

I hope you have a great trip!!

 

[glendalais]

The Guest Assistance Card can be picked up from Guest Services. You will need to take your son in with you when you make the request. No documentation will be needed.

Yep.

You do not need to provide documentation. Simply visit City Hall in Disneyland Park or the Guest Relations Lobby in Disney's California Adventure Park and explain your specific needs to a Guest Relations Host or Hostess. They will make the final determination as to whether or not to issue a Guest Assistance Card and what accomodations the card would provide.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Just to clarify in an effort prevent confusion...

...2. What more does a GAP offer than the FastPass arrangement?...

At DLR it's called a Guest Assistance Card (or GAC for short).

The GAD options are free ticket to any park, the FP option, donate your ticket, or a special pin set.

This is the Give a Day, Get a Day promotion (which many here on DIS refer to as "GAD") and has nothing to do with a GAC card.



- Dreams

 

[Peace.love.mickey]

This is the Give a Day, Get a Day promotion (which many here on DIS refer to as "GAD") and has nothing to do with a GAC card.

HA HA! I thought that is what she was asking! !!!!

 

[hobbit]

Thanks for your replies. Instead of the babysitter, I've heard that some parents with ASDs rent strollers and put them in that so they can be enclosed a bit. We'll see how it goes! He's very high functioning, friendly and chatty. I just wish he'd get excited about visiting DL. When we tell him where he's going, even with pics, he just says: "oh" and goes back to his toy planes. I have bought the Secret Tour of DL to play for him nearer the time we leave in the hope that might build some excitement! Any other tips appreciated.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Thanks for your replies. Instead of the babysitter, I've heard that some parents with ASDs rent strollers and put them in that so they can be enclosed a bit. We'll see how it goes! He's very high functioning, friendly and chatty. I just wish he'd get excited about visiting DL. When we tell him where he's going, even with pics, he just says: "oh" and goes back to his toy planes. I have bought the Secret Tour of DL to play for him nearer the time we leave in the hope that might build some excitement! Any other tips appreciated.

Maybe he'll get excited once he's there and sees everything. Our DS is somewhere on the spectrum (everyone's still trying to figure out exactly what is going on with him) and he loves being at DLR. One thing that has helped us is to show him things that have the characters he will see. Before we took him for the first time I made him a book with pictures and stickers of various characters. I also went online and printed out some pictures of the rides i thought he would like and put those in the book. That way he was already familiar with the things he was going to see. I know a lot of people recommend watching YouTube videos of the rides with their kids to prepare them. Have a great trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for your replies. Instead of the babysitter, I've heard that some parents with ASDs rent strollers and put them in that so they can be enclosed a bit. We'll see how it goes! He's very high functioning, friendly and chatty. I just wish he'd get excited about visiting DL. When we tell him where he's going, even with pics, he just says: "oh" and goes back to his toy planes. I have bought the Secret Tour of DL to play for him nearer the time we leave in the hope that might build some excitement! Any other tips appreciated.

Some people do use a stroller to help cut down on stimulation a bit. That can make it more comfortable for the child in and out of lines.

The Guest Assistance Card is basically the same at Disneyland as at WDW; they use the same procedure in giving them out. The main difference comes in Disneyland being an older park, with less possible ways to accommodate needs.
If you click the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread, you will find information about GACs in post #6. That was written about WDW, but the basic information about how to apply and how it works is the same for Disneyland.
Post # 3 of that thread has information and hints about dealing with specific conditions and concerns. There is a section of links related to autism. Some of the hints are specific to WDW, but many would work anywhere.

 

[samkj]

Hobbit, I think the idea of Disneyland is too hard to imagine for many kids let alone one with ASD if they have never been there. I teach in a high functioning ASD preschool class. We have one girl going next week who is VERY, VERY excited (but she has been before). She tells every one she meets, "I'm going to Disneyland!", but none of the other kids seem to have any idea what she's talking about.

I hope you have an amazing trip!

 

[jenniferrose]

Thanks for your replies. Instead of the babysitter, I've heard that some parents with ASDs rent strollers and put them in that so they can be enclosed a bit. We'll see how it goes! He's very high functioning, friendly and chatty. I just wish he'd get excited about visiting DL. When we tell him where he's going, even with pics, he just says: "oh" and goes back to his toy planes. I have bought the Secret Tour of DL to play for him nearer the time we leave in the hope that might build some excitement! Any other tips appreciated.

For me, I have decided that I won't tell my kids before hand, the next time we go to Disneyland. My son has Down syndrome (I know, totally different than ASD, just go with me)... he starts out being excited. Then it changes to "No, I no go to Disneyland". Then once we finally get down there, he gets so anxious and doesn't want to go in the park. He hides out in the stroller and pulls the sunshade all the way over so he doesn't have to look around, but he will peek out and eventually wants to go on rides. But he gets pretty bad anxiety when we talk about things too early on.

 

[LavenderPeach]

For me, I have decided that I won't tell my kids before hand, the next time we go to Disneyland. My son has Down syndrome (I know, totally different than ASD, just go with me)... he starts out being excited. Then it changes to "No, I no go to Disneyland". Then once we finally get down there, he gets so anxious and doesn't want to go in the park. He hides out in the stroller and pulls the sunshade all the way over so he doesn't have to look around, but he will peek out and eventually wants to go on rides. But he gets pretty bad anxiety when we talk about things too early on.

My DS used to do that too sometimes so we used to just do things without telling him exactly what and he was fine with it but now it's turned around to where he needs to be warned ahead of time about certain things. Funny how kids change how they like things done.

 

[buddydecat]

Hobbit,
My son has special needs as well and he wasn't excited about the first trip to DL. However, he is 9 now and LOVES DL! He gets very excited about it now.

We've gone annually since he was 4 and it has been very good for him. Standing in line for a ride that he wants to do, has helped with patience. Also, the over stimulation has been a great lesson over the last 5 years not only for him, but for us as well. We've learned how far to push him and ourselves before it's just too much. We usually go all day and return to hotel after dinner and he handles it very well. We usually push him late the last night to see parades and fireworks then he can recover with a down day on the drive home.

The beauty of DL is all kids get overly tired, overly stimulated, sugared up and cranky. I've seen typical kids throw major fits. I feel for their parents, however, it's refreshing to fit in so well there.

I just recently found out about GAP, so we've never used it before. Best to you and hope you have a great visit!

 

[LavenderPeach]

Hobbit,
My son has special needs as well and he wasn't excited about the first trip to DL. However, he is 9 now and LOVES DL! He gets very excited about it now.

We've gone annually since he was 4 and it has been very good for him. Standing in line for a ride that he wants to do, has helped with patience. Also, the over stimulation has been a great lesson over the last 5 years not only for him, but for us as well. We've learned how far to push him and ourselves before it's just too much. We usually go all day and return to hotel after dinner and he handles it very well. We usually push him late the last night to see parades and fireworks then he can recover with a down day on the drive home.

The beauty of DL is all kids get overly tired, overly stimulated, sugared up and cranky. I've seen typical kids throw major fits. I feel for their parents, however, it's refreshing to fit in so well there.

I just recently found out about GAP, so we've never used it before. Best to you and hope you have a great visit!

DLR has been great for our DS as well. I've been telling people that we do Disneyland therapy!

 

[hobbit]

I've been telling people that we do Disneyland therapy!

LOL. You probably have a very valid point there! I've told our RDI consultant that we are taking our son to DL to enhance his Episodic Memory! (EM is to give the child good experiences to recall themselves being successful in unfamiliar places).

 

[heatherleigh]

You are not required to provide any documentation. There are different types of passes, I think, depending on the condition. We got something for my husband's hearing (hearing is VERY poor and he does not have a hearing aid) on our last trip. It was just a pass that had him seated in special areas so he could enjoy shows (not a front of the line one).

 

[Brady's Mom]

You are not required to provide any documentation. There are different types of passes, I think, depending on the condition. We got something for my husband's hearing (hearing is VERY poor and he does not have a hearing aid) on our last trip. It was just a pass that had him seated in special areas so he could enjoy shows (not a front of the line one).

They also have something that will automatically turn on closed captioning, too. I don't know what it is, exactly - but when my Dad went with us to DLR I just asked the CM to turn on the closed captioning for ToT and Soarin' and that totally helped him enjoy the ride more. It didn't work with Aladdin, I wish we'd known about the seats so he could hear it better - he just didn't go to Aladdin and that was kind of sad.

ETA: I was just looking at my DL map and it says that there is Reflective Captioning, Hand-Held captioning, Assistive Listening - receivers available at City Hall and Closed Captioning - activators available at City Hall.