Loud noises for Autistic son.

[jondvl]

We have a 7 years DS with Autism and he does not like loud noises. He is getting better with them but still has quite a bit of trouble with them such as Sirens and fireworks.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can help him have an enjoyable vacation with some of the loud sounds?

 

[bookwormde]

There are typically 2 issues with loud noises, one is the sensory sensitivity and the other is the “surprise”. For the sensory issues if your child can tolerate ear plugs or hearing protectors that helps a lot. With fireworks, distance is your friend, We have actually moved “closer” each visit”. Also remember that the concussive effect is a sensory item also which is not helped by ear protection, only distance and familiarity helps with this

As for the surprise issues “briefing” can help significantly, particularly Utube, but during repetition showing increasing the volume is often needed to mimic the real world effect. For our child loud noises combined with darkness is a big issue so preparing for this is also useful (small flashlight or glow sticks are helpful).

bookwormde

 

[AJKMOM]

Try and see if he'll wear headphones with an Ipod or cd player. Most of WDW is very loud, from the train whistles and music on Main St. to the sounds on each attraction. I was planning to go with friends who had a one year old and I was paying attention to all the loud noises. I noticed Fantasmic was extremely loud.

They do make "noise cancelling" headphones that need batteries, but do a good job of blocking out the outside noises.

 

[nursymel]

I actually purchased the noise cancelling headphones for my DS .He is 5 and also autistic with at the time hypersensitivity to noises .They worked wonderfully.Amazon has a bunch.They do not require batteries and were fairly inexpensive (under $20).Good luck.

 

[blondietink]

Go to your local Wal-Mart or hardware store. Go to the garden, sporting goods, or power tools section. You can pick up a pair of noise canceling headphones for as cheap as $4.00. My son uses the cheap ones at home, but when we go out to the mall or places like WDW, we use the more expensive $14.99 ones. We always bring a spare, too.

 

[Brightsy]

I got some earmuffler things in the sporting goods section of Wal-MArt. Mine are designed for guys shooting on the range. I've even seen some types that have a dial on them that controls the decibels a bit.
My DS7 has been using his headphones for about 3 almost 4 years now.

 

[toodycat]

For my son, the context of the noise was sometimes half the battle. If it was also a scary attraction, that was too much to deal with. Something fun and not scary had a better shot at his approval, even if he did put his hands on his ears. I would totally avoid the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom and the stunt attraction at DHS. We rented a boat and watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the lagoon. True, you couldn't hear everything, but that was sort of the idea. We didn't use the noise cancelling headphones; we didn't know about them. I bought the earplugs that musicians use onstage at Sam Ash and those worked pretty well. As for Fantasmic, he has never been able to make it all the way through a performance and we've tried a number of times. I've despaired of seeing the whole show unless I go with DH on our own some day.

 

[Hankshouse]

Although my DD(8) does not have autism, she does have a neurological disorder which results among other things, in a startle reflex similar to what newborns have. This can be triggered by all sorts of things from loud noises to sudden surprise movements. We considered earplugs/earphones when she was small but she would not tolerate them. During our first trips to WDW, we learned to heed the "warning" signs posted at attraction entrances. They were always right! And it helped her have a great time. If we were ever somewhere where there "might" be something to trigger this severe startle, I would make sure I was physically close to her, either standing tightly next to her or crouching down and putting my arm around her. If a trigger did occur, I would smile and try to put some humor on it...it that didn't work, I always made sure I was sat near an exit so I could make a fast departure CM's were always helpful and understanding.

 

[lucigo]

My son hated the fireworks and had a lot of anxiety with any of the inside rides (even Nemo - his favorite movie). It was the fear of what was going to happen next, being pinned in, and the noise.

For the fireworks we found it more pleasant to watch them from one of the resorts or from the monorail. For the rides, we picked a couple and rode them 3-4 times so that he could get used to them and see that nothing bad was going to happen, and then he could relax and enjoy them.

Good luck!

 

[disneybell]

Ear plugs saved our last two trips!! My DS6 (with aspergers) can not handle ANY loud noises. He didn't mind the ear plugs at all. This last trip he kind of acted like maybe he'd skip using them in Mickeys Philharmagic, but I had them out and ready just in case - he wanted them almost immediately, as soon as the show began. As we were heading in to every ride, show, fireworks, and even the parades he'd put his little hand out for his ear plugs. I honestly don't think he could have handled any of it without the ear plugs.

I liked using ear plugs because he could still hear a bit of what was happening but it was not loud enough for him to panic. Good luck finding out what works for your DS!!

 

[SandrainNC]

My son has Down syndrome but with some sensory issues. He refuses to wear earplugs or anything over his ears so he spent a lot of time covering his ears this past trip. He covered them in Muppets 3D, Philharmagic and the Nemo musical at AK. I felt the worst at Hoop Dee Doo Review. We had never been and I had no idea how loud it is. It didn't help that we were pretty close too, but they have the audience yell and that type of thing and I thought I was going to have to take him out. Poor little guy. But he is fine with fireworks so go figure.

Sandra

 

[bookwormde]

I will second that Hoop Dee Doo is loud. We were surprised that DS10 had a great time (We had gotten a seat where he was near the outside). One thing with our DS is that “slapstick comedy” cures all ills, so I thing we could have set a firecracker off underneath his seat and it would not have bothered him. Just goes to show how interlinked sensory sensitivities and emotional state are.

bookwormde

 

[PrincessMom4]

My DD10 has Sensory Processing Disorder and noise is one of the biggest problems she has. We have an MP3 with headphones that she uses. She also has a gameboy to help and we use the headphones with it so that she can focus.

 

[DIS-NH]

I carry a set of Shooters ear protection for my son. These fit tightly over the ears (like head phones) and cancel out virtually all noise. They are made to have a gun fired right next to them.

Any Walmart or sporting goods store will sell them..

Also...He like the sensory part of having them on...Just a bonus