Getting a Disabled child to try

[Zooey72]

First let me tell you about kaitey. Kaitey is 18 years old and has cerebal paulsy. We took kaitey to Disney World in 05 and it was not what we expected. We may have made a mistake because we did not tell any of the girls where they were going until they were on the bus going to POFQ. We thought it would be a great suprise for them, but I think it was the wrong thing to do as far as kaitey is concerned.

Kaitey doesn't like fast rides, and that's fine. I wouldn't put her on a fast ride. The great thing about Disney is that most rides are not extreme, but are still fun. We got to EPCOT on the first day and the very first "ride" we went on was "honey I shrunk the audience". Katie can be a real couch potato when she is at home, and I had to practicaly beg the girl to watch a movie! It was like that the whole day, and the next. I don't want to have to be a disiplinarian on vacation, but the thing with katie is the more you kiss her but the worse she gets. On the 3rd day she hit her sister in the morning and that was the last straw (there is no hitting, no exceptions) and we "had it out" with her. Afterwards she did straighten up for the most part but I still had to beg her to go on rides. It's kind of ridiculous to have to convince someone that "small world" is not scary... but oh well.

This time we are going we are doing it different. Katie is not really afraid of the rides because she has voluntarily gone on Roller Coasters before on field trips (if her friends at school do it, she would do it - very teenagerish). Katie adores her step sister, and she will be coming with us. Her older sister is going this time too as well and she feels close to her as well. A month before the trip we are going to give katie less contact with these 2 because knowing katie when she sees them again she will be head over heals happy and do anything they want to do. We have also kept katie very informed of what we are doing so she can prepare for it.

At any rate, do any of you have suggestions on how to get the girl to ride rides? If left up to her she would have not gone on anything (which cheats her IMO).

 

[SueM in MN]

What is her understanding and reading level? Does she have good verbal skills to let you know what she likes/dislikes?

There is a good book called Walt Disney World for Kids by Kids which gives a good review of attractions in terms of what to expect and how scary they are. I have a feeling that part of her reluctance had to do with the 'unknown' and a book like that would help.
My youngest DD has CP - she's my daredevil, but she still likes to know what to expect. She doesn't especially like the 3D movies because of the way the picture looks to her. She also doesn't like the special effects in those (like the 'mice' in Honey I Shrunk the Audience) because many of them startle her too much and make her muscles tense up. She very much likes Mickey's Philharmagic because of the music (plus nothing really happens to you). Her most favorite is Soarin' and next is Test Track. She tolerates Small World, but for a long time didn't like it because it has so mcuh going on that she felt overstimulated by it.

Anyway, my biggest suggestion is to involve her in the planning of what she want to see/do. If she's more visual - there are videos of some rides/attractions on www.youtube.com
Sometimes seeing a movie of an attraction will help make someone comfortable.

 

[Chickysmom]

I bet having her sisters wanting to go on rides will convince her as well that all is good and it will be really fun.

 

[starbox]

If you enter the attraction name and search on youtube, you can watch ride-through videos of almost everything. This may help take away the fear of the unfamiliar.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Might creating a picture storybook help her? Get photos and information on the rides from the internet and stick things together in a scrap book. Talk to her about them, maybe a little bit each day, so the rides are exciting, not scary when she gets there. You can also get free personalised park maps from the website, highlighting her favourite rides.

Also, it sounds like she might benefit from feeling involved in the planning before you go "do you want to eat at this restaurant on the third night, or this one?", "When we go to Magic Kingdom, should we go to Adventureland first, or Tomorrowland?", "We're going to have a quiet day on this day, do you want to go swimming or to Downtown Disney?" that kind of thing. If she doesn't like surprises, feeling that you're working to her plan, might sit well with her (obviously, as I don't know her, this suggestion might be completely out, but I thought I'd throw it into the mix). If you do plan in advance, though, don't plan too strictly or tightly, as there can be unforeseen delays in Disney.

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[Zooey72]

This was all very helpfull, thank you all very much. Her verbal skills are more or less "humming" or making sounds like the words but she can not articulate into words. Her writing skills are poor as well, but she can understand words as well as you or I.

It is incredibly frustrating to get her to go on rides, and in some ways I resent it despite her handicap. She actualy did her sign for "haha" when I said it hurt our feelings that she would not go on any rides at Disney, but would go on every roller coaster with her friends at dollywood. Needless to say, I told her her friends could pay for her next trip to dollywood when her school went. Being handicapped does not give someone the excuse to act like a jerk.

 

[bopper]

Have you tried looking at the Disney website to see if there are pictures or videos of the rides? Maybe her knowing what to expect would help her more.

Also, dare I say, does she like thrill rides more than "small world" type rides? Maybe focus on those or, even, gasp, try Universal Studios?