How will DD7 ever manage WDW?

[riu girl]

We just came back from a small (15 or so people) family birthday party and it was a disaster. My DD7 (severe ADHD, SID tendencies, ASD tendencies) was "hyper" beyond believe the whole party. It was in a place where she had never been but had the usual family members. DD was excited beyond belief and couldn't sit still AT ALL and was "wound up" for the duration of the party. I tried several times to remove her to try and calm her down but it didn't work (removing her, usually going for a short walk and getting her to slow down physically and do some deep breathing or Yoga excerises works just fine) but this time NOTHING worked.

She has never been medicated and usually using behaviour management techniques she calms down but today, nothing worked.

How will she ever handle WDW???

I spoke to her in depth about it (after she was home and calmed down) and SHE said she had better stop going to parties of any sort and expect her to be "wound up"at WDW since her brain is different and this is how she has fun. I have never told her that her brain is different but being a bright kid, she often says things that I have no idea how to respond to. At the party she was a totally different kid and could hardly put two words together.

Any suggestions?
Thanks for letting me vent.

Suzy V.

 

[mellbe113]

Hey Suzy V.

My DD8 is Autistic and has been to the World twice, (in August) and did just fine. Disney magic at its best. If you have any kind of amusment park, science museum, art fair, anything to practice on it will help a lot. Take her there as a trial run. Don't expect a lot on the first go round. Learn from each experience. Keep it short, take breaks and remember to eat. I promise, each time gets better.

By the time you get to Disney, you will be pros.

Have fun,

Julie L.

 

[Figment1964]

My DS11 is ASD, AD/HD and has some sensory integration problems and does pretty well at WDW.

What we do is to start preparing him as soon as we know we're going. We get him the Birnbaum book for kids and let him take the lead in talking about what we will or won't be doing. We get out the pictures we've taken on previous trips and TALK, TALK, TALK about WDW and what stimulating things will be taking place, what he can do if he gets over-stimulated, etc. We get a Guest Assistance Card and use it as needed to help eliminate the excess stimuli that comes with crowds, etc.

I write schedules for every day beginning with the day we leave and fill in as much detail as possible. I make sure I write down "This might change. Mom and Dad will tell you as soon as we know if something is going to change." on every page. It's like having that statement gives him the freedom not to have to stress about changes. Since we stay in condos I always make a copy for him and a copy to hang on the fridge where he can see it every day. Since we were there for Hurricane Frances a few weeks ago our schedule really got messed up but I just crossed off what wasn't happening and rewrote it. For him to see it in writing calms him.

We also carry ear plugs everywhere with us. He keeps a pair in his fanny pack, too. It helps so much to calm him when it gets loud. Sometimes he'd have them in during times when I wouldn't have guessed he'd want them.

We go when the crowds aren't as big, too.

He's on a very restricted diet (gluten free/casein free) and the chef's at Disney are incredible about working to accomodate that. Because we had this dietary restriction we made a lot of PS's so I was able to include a lot of that information on the schedules too.

We don't push him if he doesn't want to go on something (well, with 1 exception this last trip). My dh and I decided that we wanted to go as a family on Test Track and that it was something that was definitely within his ability (he'd just gone knee-boarding behind a ski boat a week prior so we knew he could do it). We talked him through every thing he'd experience inside long, long before even getting in line. He said he'd try it and ended up loving it! He said he was frightened about it but that "I should have just listened to you and Dad about going on it!"

I guess in a nutshell I try to live the trip in my head ahead of time and write down everything I can. Then we talk about it as much as we can as well as let him read about it (or look at the pictures). ASD kids tend to be very visual and that's for sure how my DS processes!

I always say that I have to live 2 lives at once...one in the present and one in the near future since I have to think about what is going to affect him and how everywhere we go.

I hope that helps some!

 

[riu girl]

Thanks so much for the advice. I felt so much better after reading it. I will definately try out some of your ideas suggested. DD7's behaviour seems much more "on track" this week so I am feeling better about that to.

Thanks again!

Have a great day!

Suzy V.

 

[mbb]

Originally posted by Figment1964

I guess in a nutshell I try to live the trip in my head ahead of time and write down everything I can. ......

I always say that I have to live 2 lives at once...one in the present and one in the near future since I have to think about what is going to affect him and how everywhere we go.

I hope that helps some!

LOL!!
I do this as well

I always say that we have to plan for EVERYTHING, and then somehow, manage to find the fun and spontaneity and in a moment...what WDW does for us

Good luck Suzy...she, and you will do fine

 

[sn00zn]

You may want to look into "brushing", deep pressure, and joint compression. We used to have an OT who specialized in SID and she highly recommended all these. My daughter hasn't needed these as much recently, but they can all help keep a nice balanced energy level. If you have an OT just ask him/her about these techniques if you're not familiar with them.

snoozn

 

[GoofySuse]

My daughter is dyslexic and was also considered "hyperkinetic"...before they started diagnosing ADHD...she also had a slight convulsive disorder(febrile convulsions)...in any case I didn't want her to be one of those kids who were constantly on meds so I had a long talk with her pediatrician...this may sound odd, but it worked...when she was especially wound up I would give her a cup of black coffee (with artificial sweetener)...for whatever reason the caffiene had the reverse effect on her. On a daily basis we started running with her (she was only in kindergarten at this time btw)...just using that extra energy helped so much on a day-to-day basis...

I think kids, today, have so much outside stimulus...with Dee we kept her busy with various activities, swimming, band, church, scouts...rather than the TV and computer...it really helped.

 

[riu girl]

I just re-read this thread and am feeling much more confident about our upcoming holiday.

Thanks again for all of the wonderful suggestions.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Suzy V.