Questions about Sensory Integration Disorder and Disney themeparks.

[DonnaS]

My Godson will be 4 years old in November. He has been diagnosed with SDI and has been undergoing speech and OT for nearly a year now.

He is very sensative to noises and will begin screaming and crying, especially when startled. For this reason, his parents have been unable to take him to Disneyland (only a couple hours away from where he lives) despite his mother and I being huge Disney fans.

His mother took him some place that had roller coasters and just the sound of those set him off.

I'm just curious as to what to expect in the future. I definitely don't want to take him to Disneyland before he is able to enjoy it. Will his tolerance to noises improve? What were your experiences? What tips do you have for dealing with themeparks and even things like "concerts." His mom would love to take him to a Wiggles concert or to see Bear in the Big Blue House live, but she knows right now he can't handle it.

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to disABILITIES with your questions.
A lot of people who have autism have sensory overload issues, so if you are not able to find anything else, some of the solutions they have used at the parks would probably be helpful.
Here's a website that has information/advice on dealing with sensitive (in terms of sensory overload and defensiveness) kids at the Disney parks.
If you go to Medhelp and do a search on sensory Integration, you will find a lot of questions and answers. Medhelp is one of the reputable sources of Medical information that I suggest to people. It has a lot of information, plus a forum to ask questions that is moderated by MDs from the Cleveland Clinic. It is well regarded in the medical community as being a site that has good, up to date information from reputable sources.

 

[DonnaS]

Thanks Sue.

I've looked over all of Teri's information and gave the parents links to them when Kyle was first diagnosed.

I would like to still hear from anyone here who has experience with this, whether it be SID by itself or with autism.

 

[BethanyF]

His ability to process the noise will improve. Through therapy he should be learning to process the sensory input he is receiving.
Have you ever been in a mall or loud restaraunt where the noise becomes so annoying you cant think straight? That is what your godson hears every day, that annoying background noise. And he probably hears it at a louder volume. It gets to a point where it is actually hurting him since he doesnt know how to process what he is hearing.
My son can handle the noise, but he has a harder time processing visual stimulus. Although to see my son you would think he has a noise issue, he covers his ears when he gets overwhelmed. But it really isnt for noise blocking, he is putting pressure on the joint in his jaw. This pressure helps him to remain calm and focus on one thing at a time. I have pics of him standing in the middle of the parade with the Pooh characters with his hands clamped over his ears. That gesture makes it look like he is miserable, but the smile on his face tells you something different. He was thrilled.
There are audio therapies available to SID kids. Maybe he could learn to wear ear plugs to help filter out some of the background noise.
I think you are right in waiting until he has progressed further in his therapy before taking him to something as stimulating as a Disney park. Start small, Chuck E Cheese (yuck) or some other place like that. Around here we have a couple indoor play places that have rides and games. These places have screaming kids, game bells and whistles, yelling parents, ride noises and so on. He will probably melt down immediately upon walking in there. But the next week he may want to see the prize selection, or maybe have a drink.
SID therapy is a lot of little steps. Get them used to a situation and talk them through when they get overwhelmed.
Ok, I have written a novel, please feel free to PM me with any more questions, I will do my best to answer them.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks Sue.
I've looked over all of Teri's information and gave the parents links to them when Kyle was first diagnosed.
I would like to still hear from anyone here who has
experience with this, whether it be SID by itself or with autism.

Great. Just keep bumping it up if you are not getting responses. We get a lot of people on this board who can only stop in now and then. It doesn't matter so much if we get off topic as it does on some of the really busy boards (besides, doesn't everything relate to Disney?).

My DD doesn't have a diagnosis of SI problems, but she has Cerebral Palsy, attention deficit, a lot of obsessive and compulsive thought processes and she does have problems when there is just too much stimulation - she sort of tunes out, which makes her appear to be much lower functioning than she is. She has improved a lot over the years.
One of my vivid first memories of WDW is how much trouble she had with the sensory overload of Small World. She would spend the whole ride with her rich arm up covering her right ear, over the top of her head to cover her other ear with her hand. Her head was down, eyes closed (or an occassional peak out). She had her left thumb in her mouth and in her left hands, she was stroking some of her hair and twisting it in her fingers to partly cover her eyes. It was a long time before she really semi-enjoyed Small World. She did much better on the Epcot rides (some of them no longer around ) like Horizons. Those had much less going one, less light and not as noisy.

 

[s&k'smom]

Hi just wanted to add words of encouragement. Things definately get better, he's only 4 and things will get better. My DS has SI issues and you can't believe what a year or two can do. He has a big "maturity jump" in the summer and as he gets older things change alot. I hope you get to take your trip soon. We took DS for the first time last year and he did really well, noise and all. Good luck.