My 8yr old daughter has been referred by our ped to an educactional psych. He has not made a diagnosis, mainly because she does not have overly disruptive behavior in school. New situations and places are what totally throw her into a tizzy, and I am concerned about Disney being eveything it can be for her. Any advice?
I need advice for a suspected ADHD child at Disney
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Cheshire Figment
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First of all, 
to disABILTIES!
Not sure, but many people with children on the Autism Spectrum tend to indicate that going to Disney is very good for the kids.
You might want to scroll down through the list of threads and look at some where the titles might be related. Note that at the bottom of the index page is a selector which allows you to look back more than 30 days.
to disABILTIES!Not sure, but many people with children on the Autism Spectrum tend to indicate that going to Disney is very good for the kids.
You might want to scroll down through the list of threads and look at some where the titles might be related. Note that at the bottom of the index page is a selector which allows you to look back more than 30 days.
one issue my ds has with his adhd is noise impact. if we are in a setting where there are multiple people talking (like holiday get togethers) or crowds with music in the background it just seems to feed into his adhd and make it hard for him stay focused or calm (he can seem to handle it fine initaily then melt down once we're back in a quieter setting). one thing that's helped has been to get him a set of ear protectors (like hunters use-look like headphones)-he puts these on to filter out allot of the noise at wdw.
another thing that seems to work for us is to spend time starting to familiarize him with where we are going. with wdw we showed him books with pictures of the layout, the rides and the hotel we were staying at. we talked about what things we wanted to do and planned things out. that way well before the trip we could start going over with him 'on monday we are going to magic kingdom in the morning-then we'll go back to the hotel and swim, on tuesday...) it just seems he handles changes better when he has an idea of whats coming next in a given day/week. we also made our schedual such that nothing could'nt be 'aborted' if the need arrised to get out of the parks and back to a quieter place.
the last thing we do is make sure to bring along some items he's familiar with from home that we know helps him 'wind down'. we have a travel size dvd player so we pack some of the movies he enjoys, and since coloring seems to be a relaxing thing for him i grab some crayons, color books and paper. it gives him something to do in the hotel room thats not new (and new things can realy overstimulate him), he's comfortable with and tens to relax him.
another thing that seems to work for us is to spend time starting to familiarize him with where we are going. with wdw we showed him books with pictures of the layout, the rides and the hotel we were staying at. we talked about what things we wanted to do and planned things out. that way well before the trip we could start going over with him 'on monday we are going to magic kingdom in the morning-then we'll go back to the hotel and swim, on tuesday...) it just seems he handles changes better when he has an idea of whats coming next in a given day/week. we also made our schedual such that nothing could'nt be 'aborted' if the need arrised to get out of the parks and back to a quieter place.
the last thing we do is make sure to bring along some items he's familiar with from home that we know helps him 'wind down'. we have a travel size dvd player so we pack some of the movies he enjoys, and since coloring seems to be a relaxing thing for him i grab some crayons, color books and paper. it gives him something to do in the hotel room thats not new (and new things can realy overstimulate him), he's comfortable with and tens to relax him.
Does he normally have problems adjusting to change? This is where I am concerned. Heck, Chrsitmas vacation and the mere prospect of WDW has Emelie in a tail spin. She does best with schedules, consistancy and limits (which is why she is not noticable in a school environment). Once she is outside of that structure, she spirals, gets hyper, can't focus, melts down, sleeps very little and eats compulsively. She's a terrific kid, and gets frustrated with herself when she gets like this. She's also a Disney freak, and I want her to enjoy this to the fullest. It's a once in a lifetime trip for us!
Thanks for your advice above. I am still surfing through this category, trying to find a flavor of behavior that relates to her.
Tracy
ducklite
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He still doesn't react well to change. In WDW we tried to keep on a normal dining schedule. We were not the parents booking 9:00pm dinners so we could see the fireworks from the CG. We tried to keep to our normal mealtimes, and adjusted sleep times a bit to accomodate fireworks--not every night. We never allowed him to become exhausted, and I remember one day he was tired around 2:00, so we all went and took naps for a couple hours. If we had an early breakfast there were no fireworks the night before, or that night. We also set groundrules well in advance as to what was and was not acceptable behaviour.
Anne
OneLittleSpark
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If you wanted something to help get her used to the idea of Disney, you can send off for a free holiday planning pack that comes with a DVD (see the website). Being able to show her a film of the place might just give her a bit of a feel for it, so it isn't quite so much of a shock to the system when you arrive.
However you go about it, I'm sure you'll all have a magical time!
However you go about it, I'm sure you'll all have a magical time!
/
ducklite
<font color=teal>Take the Poly, it's fabulous!<br>
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Here's how we prepared for WDW.
1. We made all of our ADR's and set a schedule rather tightly as to when we would leave in the morning, what time we had to get up, when we would eat, which parks we were going to, which rides and attractions we would tray to get done each day. We left a LOT of time in that schedule, never tried to pack it too tightly. We also had a "break day" in the middle of the week where we stayed at our resort and played in the pool or just relaxed. It was all written up in a grid format broken into the following:
Across the top the days we would be there.
Down the side,
Wake-up/shower/breakfast
Morning park
Lunch
Afternoon park
Dinner
After dinner
Return to room/bed
The blocks for each were filled in with times and any details.
2. We read the Official Guide and watched the planning video. We reread a lot of it, and had a good idea of what might be very stimulating.
3. We set a dollar amount for the trip for souveniers. He had an envelope with his money and Disney Dollars. We made it VERY clear before we even left home that there was TONS of stuff to buy, and we weren't buying any of it for him, he needed to use his money, and when it was gone, it was gone. He divided it up equally among the days, and if he didn't spend money one day he had it for the next. We bought any snacks he wanted, because frankly he's not a snacker and would rather have a hot dog than a bag of candy. If your child is a snacker, you might want to figure that out before you leave as well. He didn't use all of his money ($50 or so IIR) and we did end up buying him a couple of things when we saw that he wasn't going nuts asking for things--as a reward for outstanding behaviour.
4. We told him in advance in no uncertain terms that he needed to stay with us (he was a runner) and behave, and not be a nudge, and that there would be lines and that he wasn't allowed to ask how much longer, and if he misbehaved we'd go back to the room for the day. We set very rigid rules for expected behaviour and consequences for breaking those rules well in advance.
5. We never specifically told him he would be "rewarded" for good behaviour, being at WDW was enough of a reward. But when he had a very good day we would give him something (a Goofy hat, a little bag of candy, etc.) and let him know that it was because he had been so good.
6. Because we took him out of school for a week, he had school work every day. He did quite a bit of it in the airport and on the plane, but he still had to do 30 minutes each day, more if he got behind. We had him do it first thing in the morning while DH and I were getting ready so he was fresh. He knew we wouldn't leave for the parks until it was done. We only had one day that he dawdled on it, and we held tight to making him finish, even though it meant missing and early entry morning and because of that he had to wait in line over an hour to ride something he really wanted to ride. (BTMR I think)
7. We realized that his needs and wants came first on that trip, so when he wanted to spend an hour playing video games in Innoventions we went with the flow. BUT we showed him DH's watch and said "ONE HOUR" no fighting to leave, no "one more game" or "you blew it" and he understood that would mean consequences, so when an hour was up he was willing to leave.
Hope all this helps! Let me know if you ahve any other questions.
Anne
1. We made all of our ADR's and set a schedule rather tightly as to when we would leave in the morning, what time we had to get up, when we would eat, which parks we were going to, which rides and attractions we would tray to get done each day. We left a LOT of time in that schedule, never tried to pack it too tightly. We also had a "break day" in the middle of the week where we stayed at our resort and played in the pool or just relaxed. It was all written up in a grid format broken into the following:
Across the top the days we would be there.
Down the side,
Wake-up/shower/breakfast
Morning park
Lunch
Afternoon park
Dinner
After dinner
Return to room/bed
The blocks for each were filled in with times and any details.
2. We read the Official Guide and watched the planning video. We reread a lot of it, and had a good idea of what might be very stimulating.
3. We set a dollar amount for the trip for souveniers. He had an envelope with his money and Disney Dollars. We made it VERY clear before we even left home that there was TONS of stuff to buy, and we weren't buying any of it for him, he needed to use his money, and when it was gone, it was gone. He divided it up equally among the days, and if he didn't spend money one day he had it for the next. We bought any snacks he wanted, because frankly he's not a snacker and would rather have a hot dog than a bag of candy. If your child is a snacker, you might want to figure that out before you leave as well. He didn't use all of his money ($50 or so IIR) and we did end up buying him a couple of things when we saw that he wasn't going nuts asking for things--as a reward for outstanding behaviour.
4. We told him in advance in no uncertain terms that he needed to stay with us (he was a runner) and behave, and not be a nudge, and that there would be lines and that he wasn't allowed to ask how much longer, and if he misbehaved we'd go back to the room for the day. We set very rigid rules for expected behaviour and consequences for breaking those rules well in advance.
5. We never specifically told him he would be "rewarded" for good behaviour, being at WDW was enough of a reward. But when he had a very good day we would give him something (a Goofy hat, a little bag of candy, etc.) and let him know that it was because he had been so good.
6. Because we took him out of school for a week, he had school work every day. He did quite a bit of it in the airport and on the plane, but he still had to do 30 minutes each day, more if he got behind. We had him do it first thing in the morning while DH and I were getting ready so he was fresh. He knew we wouldn't leave for the parks until it was done. We only had one day that he dawdled on it, and we held tight to making him finish, even though it meant missing and early entry morning and because of that he had to wait in line over an hour to ride something he really wanted to ride. (BTMR I think)
7. We realized that his needs and wants came first on that trip, so when he wanted to spend an hour playing video games in Innoventions we went with the flow. BUT we showed him DH's watch and said "ONE HOUR" no fighting to leave, no "one more game" or "you blew it" and he understood that would mean consequences, so when an hour was up he was willing to leave.
Hope all this helps! Let me know if you ahve any other questions.
Anne
Hi Anne,
Your schedule/ideas are great. Can I ask how old your son was during this WDW trip? My son is 5 years old and I/we seem to pattern what you do - always preparing and setting limitations ahead of time. Sometimes it works so well. I hope so for our upcoming trip in February.
Thanks!
Ann
Your schedule/ideas are great. Can I ask how old your son was during this WDW trip? My son is 5 years old and I/we seem to pattern what you do - always preparing and setting limitations ahead of time. Sometimes it works so well. I hope so for our upcoming trip in February.
Thanks!
Ann
If your kid really needs to see some things about disney, you could always look at the videos on youtube.com .
They seem to have lots of parades and other things online.
I would recommend you watch the videos before showing to a child, since I'm not sure if inapropriate things could be mixed in w/ the videos, as they aren't made by disney but regular people, and we never know if other peoples values are the same as our own.
http://www.youtube.com
Good luck on your trip,
They seem to have lots of parades and other things online.
I would recommend you watch the videos before showing to a child, since I'm not sure if inapropriate things could be mixed in w/ the videos, as they aren't made by disney but regular people, and we never know if other peoples values are the same as our own.
http://www.youtube.com
Good luck on your trip,
ducklite
<font color=teal>Take the Poly, it's fabulous!<br>
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PatMcDuck
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Anne, good post because it was very specific. some people post vague things, like "set limits and stick to them!" which is true perhaps, but not completely helpful.
My ADD son (NOT ADHD) never had problems at WDW, but his symptoms are not severe (never took meds for example). He does get lost easily though, we dubbed him "wrong way Kevin" on an early trip. (Still DOES get lost, I got him a GPS for his last birthday, so he can always find HOME without stress-- he is now 19 and driving) Anyway, not having the H in his diagnosis made it easier for him, I am sure.
I have another son with Downs/autism. He is not really verbal. We take it easy with him, take mid day breaks (we go in August so we need to anyway, too hot to tour all day). He LOVES LOVES WDW. He is obsessed actually. Watches the free preview DVDs over and over, and plays that ancient game for the computer "Disney Explorer". Disney is the best place to take him for vacation.
My ADD son (NOT ADHD) never had problems at WDW, but his symptoms are not severe (never took meds for example). He does get lost easily though, we dubbed him "wrong way Kevin" on an early trip. (Still DOES get lost, I got him a GPS for his last birthday, so he can always find HOME without stress-- he is now 19 and driving) Anyway, not having the H in his diagnosis made it easier for him, I am sure.
I have another son with Downs/autism. He is not really verbal. We take it easy with him, take mid day breaks (we go in August so we need to anyway, too hot to tour all day). He LOVES LOVES WDW. He is obsessed actually. Watches the free preview DVDs over and over, and plays that ancient game for the computer "Disney Explorer". Disney is the best place to take him for vacation.
wvdislover
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Your DD8 should be fine at WDW, especially if she's a Disney freak! You might want to get her a copy of Birnbaum's WDW For Kids, By Kids. I agree with the idea that if she works well with schedules, set a schedule for each day. Know where you're going to eat and when for each day. Let her help in the planning. Get earplugs for her, if she doesn't already have some,and let her get used to them ahead of time. WDW can be really loud and overstimulating. You may want to consider renting a stroller, depending on her level of stamina. It's a good place to rest (if she gets overtired, she'll "meltdown" on you), to "escape," or just carry stuff. Get her a Gameboy or something similar to help her deal with waiting in line or to keep her entertained at meals. If she has difficulty waiting in line or being in big crowds, check into the GAC, which will allow her some accomodations to help her. Good luck--have a GREAT trip!
lunabkat
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Hi
I have a girl who has Central Auditiory Processing Disorder witch presents alot of issues for her when placed with large groups of people. I am no expert, but i think it is all the work she does to filter out the voices she is familiar with (and therefore understands better) that makes her "stomache hurt" I had tests done and her doctor said that the seratonin the brain releases when stressed goes into the stomache and can cause discomfort. i thought perhaps your son may also have trouble filtering and I would suggest the "afternoon break" as a must so he can relax and recharge in the room or at the "quiet pool" so he is given a break from all that work. Also, we have had great success with two programs called Fast Forword and Metronome, these have helped us immensely. Feel free to PM me if I can give you any helpful info - have fun!
I have a girl who has Central Auditiory Processing Disorder witch presents alot of issues for her when placed with large groups of people. I am no expert, but i think it is all the work she does to filter out the voices she is familiar with (and therefore understands better) that makes her "stomache hurt" I had tests done and her doctor said that the seratonin the brain releases when stressed goes into the stomache and can cause discomfort. i thought perhaps your son may also have trouble filtering and I would suggest the "afternoon break" as a must so he can relax and recharge in the room or at the "quiet pool" so he is given a break from all that work. Also, we have had great success with two programs called Fast Forword and Metronome, these have helped us immensely. Feel free to PM me if I can give you any helpful info - have fun!
Ambassador
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One of our Little Delegations cannot tolerate loud sounds like fireworks or Mickeys Philharmagic. Not surprisingly, Mission Space and Test Track are right up their alley. And yet they were frightened of Soarin' because fireworks are protrayed, which they had seen in marketing video.
Quite simply, we go to the Parks early in the morning, back to our Resort pool early afternoon, dinner at our usual time, and bedtime. Repeat. We give a lot of advance notice of our daily plan to allow for transition or changes, and are very laid back about our pace; we don't even try to do everything. And it have been wonderful!
Quite simply, we go to the Parks early in the morning, back to our Resort pool early afternoon, dinner at our usual time, and bedtime. Repeat. We give a lot of advance notice of our daily plan to allow for transition or changes, and are very laid back about our pace; we don't even try to do everything. And it have been wonderful!
CanadianGuy
<font color=green><br><br><font color=blue>Me and
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A friend of mine has a wonderful DS who's 6 almost 7 now... he's pretty ADHD. I don't know if there's a scale to indicate the symptom level, but bless his heart I'm sure he'd be near the top.
In preparation for their family trip, his mom spent some time showing him the planning DVD.. talking about what he wanted to do or so.. and tryin to spend a few minutes every day.. (5 or 10 minutes tops) planning the trip.
They had their 'Disney Planning Time' every day and one day they might talk about rides he thought looked fun.. or the next day what foods or restaurants .. and so on.
This worked AMAZINGLY well for him. The planning sessions were short enough that he didn't usually become distracted from the material. It was a good lesson for him in terms of being able to plan something out. Obviously his mom still did a big portion of the work, but he really felt he had contributed.
So by the time they got to the parks, he was following 'his' plan.. and not some plan he didn't know anything about.
According to his mom.. it all worked VERY well. They were worried about outbursts and some of his other behaviors that occur in high stress or 'crowd' situations when he becomes over stimulated but he kept checking the plan to see what was next and this worked very well to keep him focused.
The only problem was... It worked a little too well. When they got home, the next day at 7pm, he was at the desk ready to start "Disney Planning" for the next trip.
I thought that was cute.
J
In preparation for their family trip, his mom spent some time showing him the planning DVD.. talking about what he wanted to do or so.. and tryin to spend a few minutes every day.. (5 or 10 minutes tops) planning the trip.
They had their 'Disney Planning Time' every day and one day they might talk about rides he thought looked fun.. or the next day what foods or restaurants .. and so on.
This worked AMAZINGLY well for him. The planning sessions were short enough that he didn't usually become distracted from the material. It was a good lesson for him in terms of being able to plan something out. Obviously his mom still did a big portion of the work, but he really felt he had contributed.
So by the time they got to the parks, he was following 'his' plan.. and not some plan he didn't know anything about.
According to his mom.. it all worked VERY well. They were worried about outbursts and some of his other behaviors that occur in high stress or 'crowd' situations when he becomes over stimulated but he kept checking the plan to see what was next and this worked very well to keep him focused.
The only problem was... It worked a little too well. When they got home, the next day at 7pm, he was at the desk ready to start "Disney Planning" for the next trip.
I thought that was cute.
J
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another rthing we have noticed is that kids with ADHD can wait a lot better for attractions they want to see than those they don't care about.
We're pretty used to DD (who has ADD, among other things).
A few years ago we took our nephew, who has ADHD. He was very good waiting for things he wanted to go on, like Space Mountain. He had a lot of difficulty (to the point of sitting on the ground and refusing to move) when we went on some things like Country Bears that he had absolutely no interest in. Once he was in, he was fine and enjoyed it, but since he didn't really know what it was, he wasn't interested.
One book that is really good for kids is called Walt Disney World for Kids, by Kids. It's nice because it is written from a kids point of view and covers things like - how scary is it.
We're pretty used to DD (who has ADD, among other things).
A few years ago we took our nephew, who has ADHD. He was very good waiting for things he wanted to go on, like Space Mountain. He had a lot of difficulty (to the point of sitting on the ground and refusing to move) when we went on some things like Country Bears that he had absolutely no interest in. Once he was in, he was fine and enjoyed it, but since he didn't really know what it was, he wasn't interested.
One book that is really good for kids is called Walt Disney World for Kids, by Kids. It's nice because it is written from a kids point of view and covers things like - how scary is it.
fostrmom2mny
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The first trip that I took with my seven year old son (he's now 18) was a short trip and was just the two of us. I did everything that he wanted and he seemed to be able to handle things just fine. Our next trip he was nine years old. We went with his older sister, his best friend, best friend's little sister and his best friend's mother. The environmental stimulus pushed him and me to the limit!! He was diagnosed with ADHD, but he was not on medication at that time. He was VERY anxious and irritable. The evening pool time was what helped him to calm down each evening. (Me too!)
The second trip our group tried to do everything and see as much as we possibly could. The pace that we set was completely ridiculous and we paid for it.
He would tend to be very anxious anytime we left on vacation, pushing the limits more than normal.
My son has very fond memories of his first trip with me, but he has choose not to return to WDW with me since then. When I took the girls, he told them that I was too grippey at WDW. He's 18 and will be graduating from High School this May. He has asked me to take him back.
I'm looking forward to new fresh memories.
The second trip our group tried to do everything and see as much as we possibly could. The pace that we set was completely ridiculous and we paid for it.
He would tend to be very anxious anytime we left on vacation, pushing the limits more than normal.
My son has very fond memories of his first trip with me, but he has choose not to return to WDW with me since then. When I took the girls, he told them that I was too grippey at WDW. He's 18 and will be graduating from High School this May. He has asked me to take him back.
I'm looking forward to new fresh memories.
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