Hi new to board an going on 1st trip to disney with asd son.

[jonesss]

Hi this is my 1st post, i'm going to disney in florida for the 1st time with my son who is 4 and is autistic, there's me my husband and our other 2 son's who are 7 and 10months when we travel. I have visted disneyland paris twice an we were given no help at all when we were there, we did not expect it to be as busy as it was and the queue's were terrible for our boy. Can anyone give me any advice what so ever, as what to avoid, or stuff i should look out for. We are travelling with Virgin and staying on international drive in the enclaves suites. Thankyou

 

[mechurchlady]

Welcome aboard. Autism is called the spectrum and has many variations. One child will shut down if touched while another child is a hugger. Some will love noise while others will be in pain and hiding or crying. What to do?

When getting help you need to have a list of limitations on the child as well as those things the kid loves. My mother is a neurovariant and she abhors new things. I had to get her into the spare wheelchair and she hated it even though it was better. She shutdown on me because she HATES change but loved the Goofy brunch at DLR. My limitations include no gluten, no soy, and I freak out on some rides like the Orange Stinger plus I cannot do stairs without paying big time in pain. What limitations does your kid have? What does he love to eat? What freaks him out? Waht causes meltdowns?

Read the threads and FAQs for great advice. There are many things that we can offer as tips like how to deal with diets, travel, GAC, waiting in line, and what to see and what to avoid. The others will be around later.

For Becky

Hugs and chocolates
Laurie

 

[ireland_nicole]

A good touring plan is essential. Many of us have found success with two subscription services, tourguide mike (there's a link at the top of the theme parks attractions forum) and www.touringplans.com (Personally, I use an amalgym of both, but I'm ever so slightly OCD). When are you travelling? Time of year makes a big difference. What are your child's needs? Many families find it very helpful to get a GAC( guest assistance card) that allows a stroller to be used as a wheelchair in queues. This allows the child to have a "nest" and not to be bombarded by stimuli all the time. (info on the GAC's are in the FAQ's sticky above) Good use of the fastpass system is also a lifesaver. Some families find character meals a great way to meet characters, others say the noise and hullaballoo too much for sensory avoiders. Many of our kids need ear plugs or ear protectors due to the incredible amount of noise. For my kids, I do the following:
1. use stroller as w/c GAC
2. provide a bum bag with a fidgit, gummy bears, Mp3 player, leapster, hat, sunglasses, ear protectors, a map, a deck of cards, a small notebook and mechanical pencil. This allows them to control the amount of stimulus and self calm.
3. travel in Sept.
4. use touring plan
We have a wonderful time at Disney, and our kids have made measurable progress each trip.

I know this is all overwhelming, but we're all here whenever you have questions

 

[Brer Shay]

Welcome to the boards! You'll find alot of great info here. As others mentioned, read the sticky on the GAC. It will be helpful to Castmembers and yourself if you can verbalize what his likely triggers are so that you can come up with a plan to avoid or minimize them. Be sure to bring along whatever items he uses for comfort, if appropriate for the parks. (Appropriate being a loose term - DS likes a particular blanket, even in June.) If you share some of his triggers, we can probably help you in terms of what rides/attractions may be problematic for him. Overall though, expect it to be a great trip. Many of our little ones make surprising strides while they are in the World.

 

[bookwormde]

Welcome,

If you dig back trough the treads you will find lots of good information and ideas. If you have any specific concerns pleas feel free to ask, you can be sure that there are many here who have face the same issues. Oh by the way fast passes are very helpful when available.


bookwormde

 

[jonesss]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have been having a read through the older post to gather some information about the site and disney.
We our travelling for 2 weeks in May then we our going back for 2 weeks for christmas and new year.
Just a little about my son, he is in nappies 24hrs, his main food in take is still baby formula from a bottle. Other than this it is very limited to apple, carrott, plain sausage hot dog and only fries (wont touch chips). He really stuggles with communication as he as little verbal and does not understand if you talk in sentences to him. He is unpredictale and does not mind being loved and hugged but is also prone to lash out. He doesn't like certain loud noise's or thing's such as balloons. For his own safety i keep him in his buggy as he run's off and as no sense of danger. He as a very short attention span and wont be able to stand in queue's for long or sit and watch long show's.
Sorry i'm just going to read back over other people's post to see if there is any question's i think i need to ask before we travel.

 

[mechurchlady]

The stroller will give the kid a security spot away from strangers and balloons. We can work on the balloon issues later as that is a bit hard to remember where they are located.

You can change the kid in the Baby Center, Nurses station and companion bathrooms if need be. The restaurants cannot legally take anything from a guest and nuke it for a guest or heat the item. They can provide you with ice for drinks and will make pureed foods for the kid. When you make the reservations for restaurants just tell them what needs the kid has.

You have a runner and those are fun until you chase them down. Make sure he has the number of your hotel in his clothing and your name. Calling you in Europe is not going to help the kid if he gets lost especially if they end up calling in our evenings which would wake up your family. There is 5 or 6 hours difference in time.

You should work iwth therapists to get the kid on pec boards and other communication devices and even sign language. I knew of a lady who raised her cousin's daughter who was born a vegetable. Last I heard the kid was using braces, sped around on her rump or the walker, and could sign her "uncle Sherman" around her little finger. With signing she was able to explain her needs and wants. You need to get over that communication thing.

SID is what I have and is common in spectrum, autistic, and neurovariants. The kid may freak out on you because that noise is not a beep beep but is more like BEEP BEEP. The kid may not understand why he must do somethings, talk to bookworm about the psychology and thinking of neurovariants. "Go back" to a neurovariant may literally mean walking backwards and not to turn around and go back.

There are many tricks like ear muffs to lesson sounds or ear plugs. Tricks for waiting includes rewards for good behavior while at the store which you practice at or in line using ipods, radios, games, gameboy, toys, beads, strings with knots, and tiny tidbits of food as a reward.

The worst thing for me in line is my brain. I am sitting there worrying about am I getting my dinner and my brain needs to be running. I use a straw nowadays. I just twist that around my fingers to get pressure which is good for my senses, I love that pressure and the working of the straw wastes that built up energy. MY MOTOR IS RUNNING, HURRY UP. Autistic kids often have hyped up motors than need to be in constant motion even if it is just quietly setting with beads, demolishing a piece of cloth, or reading a book.

For Becky
I will let the others come buy and thanks for the information as we want to help you very much but our experience is that neurovariants vary so much that they are called neurovariants and many are on the spectrum.

No balloons, special diet, runner, still in diapers, and communication skills. That is easy, I have read about these and and the people here are knowledgeable on such matters.

hugs and chocolates
Laurie

 

[wdwdreamingdcj]

Go to guest assistance and get a guest assistance card . We have been to disney quite a bit and last time we went our daughter turned one, our oldest was 8 and our autistic son was 3. My son can not stand noises did not have a problem at Disney at all. Loved the fast rides especially kid coaster barnstormer. We brought snacks with us because he can be a very picky eater. He has limited verbal but let me tell ya this was the first I have ever heard him say goodbye and wave to someone without a prompt was one of the characters. Some of the staff have special training in autism. I also had something attached to him little metal thing I made actually in epcot at the nemo attraction put his name and my cell number on it. I know sights have things to attach to shoes also. I also took pictures of all my kids prior to leaving the hotel room. Sounds silly but this way if they were to take off I had a picture so I didn't have to describe what they were wearing it was right infront of me. If you son is on any special diet rumor is disney is great with this if they know ahead of time. Also definetly bring at least the basic PECS food, etc. If anything else I can answer just let me know and enjoy your vacation!!