Question about meals for a child with SID

[Nascia]

My four year old has SID and as such, has a VERY limited diet. Basically he will only eat foods that are dry, grainy, crunchy and room temp. He really only eats crackers (and cracker sandwiches the boxed kind), hard pretzels, cereal, multigrain chips, and gummie snacks (don't know how that fits in). Occassionally, maybe 1X a day if we're lucky, he will eat raisins, carrots, or strawberries with sugar. I understand for the Character Meals we will have to pay for him, but can we bring his food in with us for sit down meals? Would it be appropriate to do so?

We are considering getting a GAC for him. Do we need to provide any documentation and how do you use it? He gets very anxious around unfamiliar people. He also tends to "scare himself" during long waits. Example, we had gone to NYC this December and were going to take a carriage ride through central park. Initially he was all for it, but after waiting and worrying in line for nearly 1 1/2 hours he decided it would not be a good thing and refused (kicking and screaming) to go on.

He also gets overwhelmed by some but not all loud noises and anything that is "too hot" or messy. We do have mister fan that he can use to stay cool.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is a disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board; one of the posts in that thread should be able to help with all your questions about GACs (Guest Assistance Cards). If you still have questions after reading it, then feel free to ask whatever you still need help on.
The GAC doesn't necessarily shorten your wait in line, but would help the wait to be in an environment that is more comfortable for him. Using Fastpass is a good way to shorten waits. Another thing that really helps is to get to the parks early. Even during the busiest times, you can see a lot of things with very short (5-10 minute) waits early in the morning.

The only meals where you would be likely to have any problems with bringing food in for him would be the character meals or buffets. For the sit down meals where each person orders off the menu, they won't care if he is ordering or not. In fact, when I have shared an entree with my DD, they even brought an extra plate so we could each have our own.

 

[KathyRN137]

Hello, Nascia!

My 8 yr old DS is autistic and has many sensory issues when it comes to food, so if you're like me, you probably carry around a ziplock bag of crackers or cheerios in your purse every day! We have made 3 trips to WDW in the past 3 yrs with the kids and we've ALWAYS brought Billy's special foods and have NEVER had any problems in any WDW dining venues, whether counter service, table service, buffet, or character meal.

The only character meal we ever did that required payment in advance was when we had ADR for Cindarella's Royal Table back in '03. We just let him pick at his Cheerios and figured the $ we spent was for the experience....SO WORTH IT!! When we told the characters of his autism, they paid special attention to him (and I was so glad because he was frightened of all the non-face characters in the parks and all the princesses are face characters). Princess Aurora even sat down and sang a duet with him when he began singing to her, "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream...". It was so DISNEY!! My daughter still talks about Aurora singing to her brother!

At all the other character meals, we just told the CMs that he was autistic and there was no problem if he did not feel like eating the food. They are all very well aquainted with special needs. In fact, if you wanted to, I believe that WDW chefs will accommodate special diet requests if you give them a call ahead of time (24 hrs).

HAVE A GREAT TIME!

 

[Nascia]

Thanks for the advice! We will have the extra packs of crackers ready to go . It is so frustrating, he will not even look at other foods. He's been going to OT since January and has improved ever so slighty (he will now touch wet sand for up to 4 minutes at a time), but that is improvement none the less .

We are currently having him evaluated for Asperger's or some form of a social phobia/ anxiety. He hates strangers, and will not even look at the characters. I'm hoping that by exposing him to them in a very relaxed setting it will help. He's also been watching the planning DVD several times a day for the past few weeks , although he says he is going nowhere near Mickey. Guess we'll see how it goes and may be canceling a few ADR's if it doesn't go over well.

 

[KathyRN137]

I wouldn't be suprised if ANY 4 yr old was afraid of the characters!! Even though they are trained to be super gentle with the kids (they just stand there and let the child come to them, if they want). The 1st time we went to WDW, I was a bit disappointed that our then 5yr old son wanted nothing to do with the non-face characters, even those he loved like Pooh and Tigger! They are rather large when you look at them from a child's point of view.

Then, the following year, he walked up to all of them like it was the most natural thing in the world!

 

[SueM in MN]

I wouldn't be suprised if ANY 4 yr old was afraid of the characters!!

You are absolutely right. Many little kids (even those without special needs) are a bit afraid of the characters. Some of them are so big and the kids are so little.
One nice thing about character meals is that you can watch the progress of the characters as they get closer to your table. And, seeing the other kids interacting with the characters provides a good model of interaction for kids who are a bit scared or timid.

 

[Harmony]

Thanks for the advice! We will have the extra packs of crackers ready to go . It is so frustrating, he will not even look at other foods. He's been going to OT since January and has improved ever so slighty (he will now touch wet sand for up to 4 minutes at a time), but that is improvement none the less .

Way to go! Sensory issues are so difficult to deal with so the fact that he is able to touch sand means he is making progress!

My son came home from the hospital with a severe oral aversion and sensory issues. (due to a lengthy hospital stay at birth) We worked with both an OT and Speech therapist. This time last year, he was not eating much at all. We were concerned that during our trip to WDW he wouldn't be eating and therefore, lose weight. (weight is another concern) Still, DH and I decided to relax and let him do what he wanted and eat when he wanted...after all a week or so of not eating properly wasn't going to harm him in the long run. We figured we could always 'make up' for it when we got back home and he was back in his "routine."

Imagine our suprise, when during our 2nd day there, he grabbed a blueberry off my dessert and starting eating it! He managed to sample most of the food we ate while at Disney!

Of course, he wasn't "cured" right then and there...we came home and still had more work to do but he did do better on vacation than I had anticipated. As a result, our vacation was more "magical" than we could've expected. We still say that Disney *is* truly a magical place 'cause it got him to start eating. lol

Today, he is eating most things! (after many tears and hard work...*constant* hard work) We now call him our "eating fool" 'cause he enjoys everything. The one thing we are working on now is quantity. I want to fatten him up more!

Just wanted to post to let you know that if you aggressively work with your child, sensory issues *can* be overcome. (it's the 'day to day' that gets soooo frustrating!) Good luck to you both!

 

[TDS373X]

You may want to pack earplugs, which you can find at WalMart, for things like the 3D movies/attractions which are VERY VERY loud especially for a kiddo with sensory issues. I unfortunatly tortured ASD dd6 with MuppetVision and Mickey's Philharmagic for several trips before I figured out that the combination of the extremly loud sound and the 3D visual affect totally overloaded her. She hated these things. Now that we have earplugs(along with a diagnosis and understanding) they are among her favorites things to see. DD always seems to have breakthroughs on our trips to see Mickey. Place does wonders for her. Have a great trip

 

[Harmony]

DD always seems to have breakthroughs on our trips to see Mickey. Place does wonders for her.

Same thing happened with us! I think it's a combination of relaxed parents, relaxed environment and relaxed kiddo. I know that's what probably made the difference with us. When we went last summer, we'd already decided that we weren't going to "stress" over the 'little' things and I think he felt that and was able to respond positively!

 

[minnie61650]

You are absolutely right. Many little kids (even those without special needs) are a bit afraid of the characters. Some of them are so big and the kids are so little.
One nice thing about character meals is that you can watch the progress of the characters as they get closer to your table. And, seeing the other kids interacting with the characters provides a good model of interaction for kids who are a bit scared or timid.

I used the Sing-Along videos to help my grandson learn how big the Disney Characters really are.

My (now 4 ) year old grandson (he is autistic and SID ) and I love watching the Disneyland Fun Sing-A-Long.
We stared watching them when he was about 2.

Other Sing-a-longs with the Real Disney characters (not cartoon) are:
The Twelve Days of Christmas--even has Uncle Scrooge and Huey Dewy and Louie

Campout at Walt Disney World--Includes Fort Wilderness and the original Discovery Island.

Beach Party--Takes place at TL BB and some beaches -- It has a luau at the poly with Minnie and the gang and even has a nice part with Ariel in it.
Also a part on the pirate ship. Alex loves it when Captain Hook and Peter pan have a duel and Captain hook falls over the side of the ship into the water!
Flik's Musical Adventure takes place at the Animal Kingdom. Flik is the ant in TTBB. Mickey and Minnie have some small parts in it but Flik is the host.

Alex's favorite one is Happy Haunting.
It is a Halloween party at the HM in Disney complete with Trick or Treating in Toon Town.

He loves that one. So we took him and his mom (dd )and dad (dsil)
to MNSSHP last October for his first Disney Trip.

He knew all the characters and was not afraid of them. (he is still afraid of Chuck-E-Cheese)He had a wonderful time and as Sue said the Character meals are really good way to help the children warm up to the Characters.

Have fun at Disney!

 

[Nascia]

It's great to hear that you've had a lot of success while at Disney!

KathyRN137: That must of truely been a magical moment when you're son started singing. I know how excited I was when Nick started singing privately with me.

Harmony: I'm glad your son has overcome a lot his aversions!! It's very comforting to know we can work through these things. I have found a lot of info on SID and treatment, but very little on long term outlooks.

TDS373X: Thanks for the earplug idea. We'll have to pick up a few pair to use now so he can become accustomed to them before our trip. Otherwise I'm afraid he'll refuse to use them.

Minnie61650: Thanks for the additional videos. I'll have to pick some up. We only have the trip planning one, and after watching it several times a day, everyday for a month, its becoming a bit, well you know .

SueM in MN: Thank you for the link. I did find a lot of helpful information there. I thought he was just afraid on his first visit in '04. But that coupled with his other behavior patterns proved to be bit more.

Thanks for all your wonderful advice and support!