Question regarding Sensory Processing Disorder

[LIMom2010]

Hello all,

DH and I have been to WDW many, many times as a married couple (even got married in Epcot ), and we have taken our DS when he was 13 months, and again at almost 3. We are planning our third family trip in February 2015, when he will be 4.

We first started noticing DS having issues during our last trip. He would get upset in dark environments, crowds, or around loud noises. He would shout "leave! leave!" and cry uncontrollably until we left. This happened while waiting for the Tiki Birds, Beauty and the Beast, PhilharMagic, Muppets 3D, and even once on the Little Mermaid ride (which he had done previously during this trip without incident). Even at the Country Bear Jamboree.

Several months later he has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, particularly in regard to loud noises, and has been in occupational therapy since this summer to address these issues. I do believe it has been helping, as we did some amusement parks including Sesame Place this summer, and while he wasn't perfect, he was greatly improved over the WDW trip. However, his noise sensitivities have been increasing again, and he is already expressing anxiety about viewing some of the shows.

We have been discussing what attractions are must-do's for this upcoming trip, and now that we know a little bit more about what bothers him, we're thinking he may have difficulty in certain waiting areas for shows.

My question for this board is: would a GAC allow us to wait outside for shows to begin (i.e. PhilharMagic) rather than waiting in a confining room with possibly loud noises inside? We have no problem waiting our turn and don't expect to be able to skip the line, but we just want our son to be able to enjoy the attractions we know he will love if he just gives it a chance. It is so upsetting for him to miss out on something that we know he would love, due to his sensory issues. And any other suggestions for a sensitive child?

TIA for any help you can provide

 

[Aladora]

I don't have any advice relating to the DAS and WDW since we have only ever used it on the west coast at DL but I can give you some advice about helping your little one cope with the noise and crowds.

Definitely look at getting the stroller as a wheelchair tag, that will give him a safe place to go when things get too much.

Find quiet places to allow him to chill out and regroup, again when things get too much. I am not sure if there is a place like this at WDW, but my son's favourite place is the Main St Cinema. It's cool, rarely busy and dark so he can just sit and watch a cartoon when he needs to.

Noise cancelling headphones. If you allow electronics, I recommend either an iPod with his favourite music or a hand held gaming device. Our son has his Nintendo ds and that in combination with his headphones allows him to tune out the outside stimuli that is ever present at DL.

Listen to him. If he says that he has had enough, then go back to the hotel for a break. Nothing good ever comes out of pushing a child to the breaking point. Our first three trips to DL our son would take a short nap in the early afternoon and the. He was good to go back for the evening. The last three trips we have gone back to the hotel for an hour of quiet time where he won't sleep but he still needs that time to chill out and decompress.

Hope that helps a bit!

 

[SueM in MN]

Guest Assistance card (GAC) has been changed to a new program - DAS (Disability Access Card). There is more information in a WDW DAS thread stuck near the top of this board.

DAS allows for waits outside of the line; you get a return time that is equal to the wait in the standby line, minus 10 minutes. So, if the wait is one hour, you will be able to come back in 50 minutes.
At that time, you will return to the Fastpass Return line.

There is not ability avoid the waiting area (for example, the wait area for Mickey's Philharmagic), but your wait in the 'holding areas' like that will be shorter.

A couple of things that will help
- noise deadening ear muffs (also called ear protectors) - the ones most often recommended are Peltor. You can find them on Amazon.com and they come in sizes for children.

- using a touring plan , for example from touringplans.com or easywdw.com
Even if you don't t follow a plan exactly, having a general plan will help you avoid crowds and help you to be in the least busy areas at the least busy times.

- using a stroller as wheelchair. Even though they can walk, many kids with disabilities involving sensitivities use a stroller as sort of a 'safe haven cocoon' where they know they are separated from others.

 

[SueM in MN]

These are the kind of earmuffs I'm talking about

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Jun...keywords=peltor+children's+hearing+protection

 

[zumbergc]

My ds has sensory issues too. Is there a list somewhere of all the rides and shows that have alternate wait spaces?

Im just wondering if the things we ride its worth getting the das or not,
We tend to not make it that long in the parks with my 3yr old, and this could help out.

thanks

 

[aaarcher86]

My ds has sensory issues too. Is there a list somewhere of all the rides and shows that have alternate wait spaces? Im just wondering if the things we ride its worth getting the das or not, We tend to not make it that long in the parks with my 3yr old, and this could help out. thanks

With the DAS it's not a designated space. You wait wherever you want.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

My ds has sensory issues too. Is there a list somewhere of all the rides and shows that have alternate wait spaces?. . .

1) There are no specified "quiet" alternative waiting areas.
2) You simply wait outside of the normal long lines.
3) However, you then enter the Fast Pass line, and MANY are noisy and/or crowded.
4) And, as mentioned above, the time in noises or crowds can be 10-15 minutes.

 

[DLgal]

Our son has SPD with noise sensitivities also and the Peltor earmuffs have been a Godsend for him. He wears them at home when I use the blender but they got him to try tons of new rides at Disney that he previously would not do because of how loud they were. He is 8 now and it does get better with age.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

These are the kind of earmuffs I'm talking about

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Jun...keywords=peltor+children's+hearing+protection

Yes, this is what you need. Noise canceling headphones don't really work to block loud noises.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

My son is on on the spectrum but they also think he has spd as well. We were never able to put him through the rigorous testing for it bc he's had so much ear issues and has a slight hearing loss.

Even though he has the hearing loss he still has a sensory issue with loud sounds. It's like we have to find a happy medium it's very tough. Anyways we got him the DAS on our last trip. It helped immensely with the meltdowns plus he didn't have to wait as long in the loud crowded lines. With certain shows though unfortunately he still had to be in the waiting area for a period of time. If I saw that he was getting upset or antsy I gave him my phone to play on and it focused him on something other than what was going on around him.

I highly suggest looking into the DAS. It really was a life saver for us. We got to do everything we wanted to do without the added attraction of a meltdown.

 

[LIMom2010]

Thank you so much to you all for your thoughtful responses and great ideas.

I have started reading the sticky (so much helpful information!) and I will look into the earmuffs as well.

The idea for using the stroller as a wheelchair is brilliant - I never would have thought of that, but I do believe that would help him with his issues as well because it helps to give him his own personal space and also blocks off some of the stimuli as well.

It's so hard to deal with these issues on a daily basis. I appreciate your help to make our vacation less stressful for all of us.

 

[zumbergc]

Thanks for the info about the ear muffs and das
I think the earmuffs are going to be helpful at home too. We have a new baby and sometimes in the car he starts crying and it will help ds1,

The last time we were at Disney we didn't know about his sensory issues so some better insight to his meltdowns and noise is going to be helpful.

I had previously heard about using headphones here for fireworks etc and that does help too. Great people here.
Thanks

 

[DisGirl819]

Oh I know how you feel. I have a six year old with ASD and sensory issues and a four year old with SPD. One trip, he (the four year old) refused to ride ANY ride that wasn't a boat...and wasn't dark. Well that limited us to Living with the Land and Its a Small World...we've never used the DAS because when either of our kids get sensory overload, we stop. We just don't do a lot of rides sometimes and we're ok with it. I know that doesn't work for everyone though. My SPD kiddo even flipped out on Soarin' screaming in terror for the whole ride. I was so embarrassed for him and felt SO bad for everyone else on the ride. I had no idea he would do that, he'd been on it before. I guess what I'm saying is, try to play it by ear with your child and if its too much for him, take a break. I am actually considering the noise canceling headphones for him because fireworks are a complete no go for him right now, as are a lot of other loud rides. If he'll ride in a stroller we rented the City Mini with the very large umbrella and he and my daughter would both "hide" in there when they had had too much stimuli.

 

[ncnewbie739]

I second the noise reducing headphones. My son wore them on every ride we went on in the MK and he actually able to enjoy the rides. Life changing!

 

[airis]

My older son (almost 7yo now but 5.5yo on our last trip) is sensitive to noise, frightened of the dark, and gets overwhelmed easily. We schedule our trips for the lowest crowd that we can and I use touringplans.com to both choose the lowest crowd level park for the day and to get the rides we want with low wait times. It was just me, my 5.5yo and my going-on-3yo so we didn't go on the rides with 40" and above height requirements.

I also read a lot before our trips to know what rides are potentially a bad idea and have mostly had good luck. The Tomorrowland People Mover was an unexpected surprise since it's supposedly "not scary" but he freaked out and hid under my legs going through Space Mountain.

We rent a City Mini double stroller ... which has a huge sun shade that helps create a calm space for him. We also try to find quiet, out of the way areas every so often to relax for a little while. We spent hours in the Boneyard in AK once we found it.

I found we were able to stay at parks fairly late providing we had an afternoon break and had the stroller. The parks are well lit and the stroller provides him space. I absolutely avoided any TS meals in the evenings figuring by then his coping ability was pretty low.

We were touch and go a few times but did not have any grand meltdowns during the trip (until my 3yo lost it at the Orlando airport in our 6th hour of storm delays).

 

[cattywampus]

We rent a City Mini double stroller ... which has a huge sun shade that helps create a calm space for him.

This x 100 for ANY kid. We also purchased the snack tray and brought it with us (rental did not offer it -- we got City Elite). The sunshade pulled almost all the way down to snack tray and created a secure spot. DS always wants the tray -- not for snacks but because I think he feels more separated from crowds. I peeked in and kinda wanted to join him because it looked so cozy!

Our home stroller has a good sunshade but not as good as City. I usually kept a larger very lightweight "receiving" type blanket in stroller and draped over sunshade and snack tray for similar effect.