non severe CP at the parks

[temiskamingguy]

my son has CP (not severe) which leaves him a little tired as walking is a little more onerous for him than for other kids. as well, he has less ise of hia left hand than with his right.. any suggestions about how to make our visit as easy as posible for him?

we have requested a certian building at the Caribbean Beach Resort that limits our need to walk. we did not ask for an accessible one as we dont need one and dont want to take one up that another family might need.

 

[Gracie09]

Not knowing his age or other factors I really can only tell you what we do with our dd, age 5, with mild cp. We brought our stroller and used it for long distances to conserve her energy and didn't do rope drop to close. We did like rope drop to early dinner then back to the hotel for pool. There wasn't really anything Disney did for us, not did we ask, because using the stroller solved our issues.

 

[temiskamingguy]

thanks Gracie we did the stroller when we were there 2 yrs ago he is 9 now and we are thinking that he may have outgrown that solution. it is a poont well taken regarding the not doing rope drop to close. thanks

 

[peemagg]

What about renting a child size wheelchair for him instead of a stroller? It would give him a place to rest when needed and would be his size, not one built for adults. I know that there are a few places out there that rents child size wheelchairs.

 

[Amii]

My son has spastic diplegia. We didn't use wheelchair once he got older but it may help your son. The only advice I can give is to take it slow and try to find frequent rides or places where he can sit and rest. A slow, relaxing vacation where you don't get to do everything is much better than a high speed vacation where your son is tired and his muscles are in pain.

 

[Tissa]

I always rent a wheelchair for my ds from an offsite vendor. That way we can use it at the resort and the parks. He does not need it all the time so he will get out and walk and I push it empty but it is there when he needs it. I made the mistake one time of not getting one and carrying him from the bus to the room at POP is one I do not want to repeat.

The thing is, all the walking around the resort, to and from the bus or car and around the parks adds up quick and can wipe them out.

 

[rivey]

My daughter just turned 10 and she had mild right side CP (hemiparesis). Like your son it is mostly stamina issues/easy fatigue and affects her right arm and leg. She's doing great and has improved so much since she was a toddler when she got her diagnosis- she can even ride a bike now. But- the parks still bring out her underlying issues. We have an adaptive stroller (larger push chair style stroller) we use for these types of situations. One day or a partial day might be ok but multiday trips with miles of walking bring out the tone/spasticity and weakness. We also dont need accessible rooms etc. I really urge you to buy or rent a well fitting adaptive stroller or pediatric wheelchair. I now urge my Dd to walk the first half mile and walk whenever she wants but this allows us to stay later etc and have fuller more normal days. She has an ID twin sister so the chair puts her back on par with her healthy stamina sister. Please remember that the pArks are so big and there is so much walking that can just push CP kids bodies further than we think (or want). I've twice tried the "she's stronger/older now" and tried to go unassisted and both times I regretted it as it was pushing too far. You can always park the stroller or chair for a while.

I recall one time when we were staying at art Wilderness and it had been a no. Park day- we did swimming and the playground and archery and then headed to DTD for dinner. She swore she'd be fine - we only ate and did a few stores but bAM her tone kicked in with spasms and we had to rent a chair there. Similar experiences twice at DLR. The cumulative effect of days really makes an impact too- day 1 is way different than day 3. Be prepared is always best.

We did a GAC at WDW in 2013. We used it one time I think, otherwise stroller as wheelchair was perfect. I also found that I had to just insist that her chair be treated as a true chair- the one we have may LOOK strollerish but it is rated for up to 100lbs and is therefore heavy duty and it is cumbersome to break down- takes a few mins so by the end of our trip I got used to saying "I can't break it down", etc. (on the disney buses etc).

I haven't been back to wdw since the change to the DAS. You might want to see what others Inout is about that. At DLR we used to use a GAC as I had to for wheelchair as stroller- now they use the stickers. We have just been consistent in using the wheelchair line BUT it isn't good for the kids to be IN the chairs all day so much f he wants to walk as much as he can you MAY want to ask about being allowed to walk the wheelchair lines- when DD was younger and wearing legs brace fulltime We did this at DLR- after she fell twice on stairs we asked for no stairs and just ability to enter through the easier WC lines. Now her balance and gait is so improved at DLR we havent needed to ask for it. In the past her leg brace was recognized as a walking assistance device, etc.

 

[rivey]

My daughter just turned 10 and she had mild right side CP (hemiparesis). Like your son it is mostly stamina issues/easy fatigue and affects her right arm and leg. She's doing great and has improved so much since she was a toddler when she got her diagnosis- she can even ride a bike now. But- the parks still bring out her underlying issues. We have an adaptive stroller (larger push chair style stroller) we use for these types of situations. One day or a partial day might be ok but multiday trips with miles of walking bring out the tone/spasticity and weakness. We also dont need accessible rooms etc. I really urge you to buy or rent a well fitting adaptive stroller or pediatric wheelchair. I now urge my Dd to walk the first half mile and walk whenever she wants but this allows us to stay later etc and have fuller more normal days. She has an ID twin sister so the chair puts her back on par with her healthy stamina sister. Please remember that the pArks are so big and there is so much walking that can just push CP kids bodies further than we think (or want). I've twice tried the "she's stronger/older now" and tried to go unassisted and both times I regretted it as it was pushing too far. You can always park the stroller or chair for a while.

I recall one time when we were staying at art Wilderness and it had been a no. Park day- we did swimming and the playground and archery and then headed to DTD for dinner. She swore she'd be fine - we only ate and did a few stores but bAM her tone kicked in with spasms and we had to rent a chair there. Similar experiences twice at DLR. The cumulative effect of days really makes an impact too- day 1 is way different than day 3. Be prepared is always best.

We did a GAC at WDW in 2013. We used it one time I think, otherwise stroller as wheelchair was perfect. I also found that I had to just insist that her chair be treated as a true chair- the one we have may LOOK strollerish but it is rated for up to 100lbs and is therefore heavy duty and it is cumbersome to break down- takes a few mins so by the end of our trip I got used to saying "I can't break it down", etc. (on the disney buses etc).

I haven't been back to wdw since the change to the DAS. You might want to see what others Inout is about that. At DLR we used to use a GAC as I had to for wheelchair as stroller- now they use the stickers. We have just been consistent in using the wheelchair line BUT it isn't good for the kids to be IN the chairs all day so much f he wants to walk as much as he can you MAY want to ask about being allowed to walk the wheelchair lines- when DD was younger and wearing legs brace fulltime We did this at DLR- after she fell twice on stairs we asked for no stairs and just ability to enter through the easier WC lines. Now her balance and gait is so improved at DLR we havent needed to ask for it. In the past her leg brace was recognized as a walking assistance device, etc.