Having a few worries...

[sunset30]

Hi everone...

DS is being assessedfor some form of ASD. he is hyperlexic, but exhibits many ASD traits.

We are going to WDW in October for our wedding / 2 week holiday.

I was feeling quite optimistic about it after some advise I got on here before, BUT...

yesterday we had one of the worst days we have had for a while. We went to a classical concert in London (BBC Children's Prom)

DS went into extreme sensory overload / meltdown. Too many people, too much lighting, too much noise etc etc.

it tipped over to the rest of the day - meltdowns in shops, (if you are in London, with a meltdown prone child, I do reccomend Harrods, the staff were AMAZING) refusal to eat, screaming and hitting out etc.

He's still not really over it this morning

he's been to UK theme parks with not too much bother but this has made me worry about Disney.

How can I make it a good experience for him?

 

[bookwormde]

I think you have a good idea of the sensory and social level that caused the overload so now you have a benchmark to work from at WDW. Large orchestras with lots of competing instruments can be difficult when our kids try to discriminate between them (instead of just hearing them as a group).
Sorcerer's apprentice is something that you might want to prep him for with the video (for Fantasmic this would be helpful)

 

[Karalynn]

Your post sounds just like my life!! (except I'm not getting married!) I'm worried for my dd as well. I guess I am expecting some meltdowns and will try to prepare everyone mentally so that there isn't so much disappointment if we have to leave a park, restaurant, ride etc.
I think having a back up plan where one of you can have a quiet place mapped out in each park to take him if need be. Or even go back to the resort for some down time.

I've read a few posts where ipods are good if he has music that he likes and can tolerate the head phones.

What type of things calm him? I am going to bring a bunch of things in dds backpack so hopefully she can be occupied by that. She has a plastic play-doh table cloth that is folded up, a baby toy that is cloth with crinkly paper inside the pages, and she likes packages of baby wipes. (notice the sensory trend here!! plastic/noisy/crinkly)

Last time we went dd didn't do to well in the theater type shows so we will be avoiding those this time. Too dark and loud. They are also soundproof so that is a weird sensation too!

Congrats on your wedding! Hopefully some others will have some more tips and reassurance for you guys.

 

[curemyreed]

DD uses noise-canceling/dampening headphones in environments that are loud or may have unexpectedly loud or jarring sounds. After breaking/losing expensive ones we started going to the sporting goods section at WalMart and buying the ones with the Winchester brand on them for less than $15. They are designed to be worn while shooting guns. They do a GREAT job blocking loud noises. You can see/order them at Amazon. com....put in "Silencio Winchester Earmuffs".

How old is your son? I ask because while at WDW we rent a special needs stroller which can accommodate a child up to 100 lbs. It is a jogger-type stroller. When my daughter is feeling "sensory overload" she reaches up and pulls the canopy which allows her to block out whatever is bothering her visually. If you go to the website for Orlando Stroller Rentals it is the Liberty Special Needs Push Chair---good pics and even a video of it I think. You can see how the extended canopy really blocks well. The prominent sides help to cocoon her somewhat which appeals to her pressure-seeking. DD also has low tone so being able to travel in this stroller allowed her to "go all day" with the rest of our kids.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Your issues and worries are one's we have dealt with though as Joshua gets older the 'meltdowns' become less & less.

We try and not set too many expectations, there are attractions that either test his patience or just push it too far. It's just a matter of finding out what those limits are and working on them or trying just to gently increase & push them further.

We have taken Joshua, he is autistic & non verbal to Orlando 7 times now. There have been times when he gets stressed out in a shopping mall, or refuses to go in a restaurant - often when he is tired. Most rides at the parks we have used our experience to know which one's suit our needs, tend to avoid long shows or one's with a long pre-show, and generally his patience levels have improved.
Although we get a GAC card for his disABILITIES we do encourage him to queue for attractions if we feel the wait time is reasonable.
You will find most parents with special needs children just want to do what everyone else does - it is just a matter of knowing when that can be pushed too far.

The problem is there is a likelihood a child could get stressed out anywhere, at WDW, at home or even at your local Asda I am sure you will be fine and if you just confront the issues you will see an improvement in your child's patience & tolerance levels.

 

[clanmcculloch]

For us, something that is VERY important is to stick with our daughter's regular schedule. At home we get up early so at WDW we get up early (no alarm clocks required). This means we can get to the parks bright and early before the crowds. At home we eat lunch fairly early which works well at WDW since that means beating the crowds in restaurants. Same with dinner and bedtime. We stick VERY strictly to our at home schedule. We're in an unfamiliar environment so some kind of consistency with home is very important for us. It also means that our kids are getting fed before they get to the point of hunger meltdowns (getting too hungry is a guarantee of a meltdown for many).

We only schedule maybe 3 hours in a park per day. As DD12 is getting older we've been able to extend that closer to 4 hours at Epcot (there's something about Epcot that she finds soothing; I don't know what but I'm not going to argue with what works for us). I use a great touring plan service called TourGuide Mike to help me come up with a plan that not only maximizes that time since we don't have as much park time as many other people but more importantly keeps us out of crowds by telling us where the crowds will and won't be on every given day and every time of day. We hardly ever have to use our GAC because TGM has us at each attraction at times where there aren't any real lines, plus the areas between rides are pretty easy to navigate as the crowds all over the place are pretty low as well (a GAC can't help with that).

TGM also helps me come up with a plan that ensures we go to all of our must-do attractions. Everything else beyond that is just bonus. It's a great feeling having done everything that you REALLY wanted and then being able to say "you know what, I feel like just doing whatever now".

I've also learned the hard way that if I see a meltdown coming, I don't try to push any farther and we just leave the park. Staying will only make things worse. I've learned that we have to give up attractions at times in order to have a smooth overall vacation. It's a really easy decision to make once you realize that missing something won't ruin a vacation and that all you'll remember is that you had such a wonderful trip by not pushing.

Something we have given up on is night time activities. Because of sticking with our regular at home schedule, they just don't fit in. I try to schedule 1 per trip but don't always make it. I really liked when we were at the Polynesian being able to just walk to the beach or the lounge (we stayed club level) to watch the Electric Water Parade and Wishes so we didn't have to factor in transportation time. If we ever stay at an Epcot area resort then maybe we'll take in Illuminations or Fantasmic (we did actually watch Illuminations this past trip but we spent the day enjoying our resort before that and didn't head to Epcot until maybe 6:00 so we only spent a few hours there that day).

It's very important to understand your child's limits for sensory and social inputs as well as fatigue and hunger. Work WITH those limits. An expensive, cross the pond vacation is not the time to try to push beyond those limits.

Don't forget that this is a 2 week vacation. You've got plenty of time to do things. Take your time and relax.

 

[persimmondeb]

In addition to taking it easy and being aware of his limits, I'm going to recommend that you get him several guidebooks before you go, so he has a good sense of what to expect. I'm not entirely sure what is available in the UK, but if you can lay your hands upon a Birnbaum's (Official Guide), they have a lot of pictures and very detailed text, written on a fairly straightforward level. I am assuming that since your son is hyperlexic, he is fairly literate for seven.

My DS15 (Asperger's/HFA) loves guidebooks, and I also make up printed schedules of each day's activities (what park we'll be in, where we are eating, etc.) for him. Knowing exactly what to expect makes for a lovely vacation for him.

 

[Bugsmom73]

You have gotten great advice. WE just follow our kids lead. Sometimes he can do the whole day, other times only a few hours.

 

[sunset30]

Thank so much for all the ideas!

he;s only three, but he reads AMAZINGLY - I mean, seriously, he is sick of his class library books already. So I am showing him the guide books and also showing him the films so that he can understand the characters (He is really only excited for meeting Mickey mouse (and having a bed at Mickey Mouse's House) and we have booked Mickey and Donald at the wedding so he can meet them in a more quiet, less hurried environment)

We have drawn up a schedule too. I know lots of people don't like to be tied to one, but DS NEEDS to know what will happen on what day, so we know already which days we are going to parks, and we have completely empty days too, incase we have had to abandon something and want to go back, or in case he just LOVES something and wants to see it again.

Shops are odd for him, clearly Harrods is a whirl of colours and noise, so maybe it was a bad choice, but even between supermarkets, some work for him, and some drive him to meltdown in only a couple minutes.

Bizzarely, he just loves fireworks, so I have booked the pirates and pals. I figure that since he wants to go ona boat (he has done it before, and been really intrigued rather than worried) it might be a quieter, less crowded way of seeing them well? I booked it on a day with NOTHING else planned, so we cna have a quiet day and then see the fireworks.

Noise cancelling earphones might work for him, but a stroller would not. He's a great walker, and can walk 10 miles in a day without too much bother, but he thinks strollers are "for babies, and I'm not a baby"

Thanks you again, I really can't believe how much better the DIS is making our trip!

 

[persimmondeb]

Pirates and Pals sounds like a good idea. We looked into it vs. the wishes dessert party, which was what we went with, since it was a little cheaper and involved unlimited chocolate. Mine also loves fireworks (and isn't even bothered by the noise), but being squished in a crowd, not so much. I don't know where I got the idea that your son was seven, but I'm glad the guidebook idea is good for you.

I would leave some time in your schedule for Downtown Disney too. It has many wonderful things, and while he's obviously much older, my guy perserverates on it non-stop. The Lego store is a particular draw, but he loves it all. We really need to leave at least a full day to visit, or he will make us completely crazy, since no matter what we are doing, he wants to go back to to Downtown Disney.

 

[sunset30]

Was thinking about adding a DTD day - we don't currently have one in the schedule, but we do have empty days so....

yeah, he would HATE getting squished in the crowds too much especially when his attention is TRYING to be on the fireworks. We looked at the wishes dessert party, but a)no one could tell us at the time whether it would be available for the dates we are there and b) DP and I are not big dessert eaters, so hopefully the boat trip will be just perfect.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Was thinking about adding a DTD day - we don't currently have one in the schedule, but we do have empty days so....

yeah, he would HATE getting squished in the crowds too much especially when his attention is TRYING to be on the fireworks. We looked at the wishes dessert party, but a)no one could tell us at the time whether it would be available for the dates we are there and b) DP and I are not big dessert eaters, so hopefully the boat trip will be just perfect.

I think it's nice, you could say essential, to have quieter days. To be honest I couldn't face day after day at the theme parks without some contrast to the vacation.
It is good to do other things also. We always plan a drive out to the beach for example.