Sample schedule for children with ADHD

[foreverlost]

Does anyone have an example of a schedule that they've used for a child with ADHD? I know I've read several, but I mean an actual Excel spreadsheet type schedule that can be printed out and taken along.

My 7 y/o has severe ADHD and if he isn't kept on a schedule ... havoc. I'm going there with him alone (gasp) and won't have any backup. I'm kind of at a loss as to how to break up the day.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[BeckyScott]

We did the afternoon break every day except for AK. The DS's didn't nap of course, but we hung out in the hotel room or went to the pool.

It's hard to make an exact schedule because there are so many variables. About the closest I got was to make a plan of which direction to head. For example, we did two days at Epcot. The first day we did the right "side", starting on the right side of Future World, then the countries on the right side. Second day we did the left side. (taking the afternoon break back to the hotel between the Future World and World Showcase, it broke itself up very nicely) MK we did two days, and the plan was to do the right half first day and left half second day, with a rough idea of what areas would be morning and what ones evening. AK we hit the Safari first, then went back to DinoLand and worked our way counter-clockwise. BUT. Whatever plans we had, we also had ADR's to deal with. I tried to incorporate them in the most logical way. (first day at Epcot we had lunch at Garden Grill, second day was dinner at Biergarten, we were already in the area both times) And the Studios, I couldn't really get a logical path in place, or maybe I had just given up by then. You are going to run into the unexpected, it's pretty inevitable, a really long line or a character showing up or some other distraction (as ADHD kids tend to find easily) which will throw your schedule completely off-track. There's not much you can do except plan for it to happen, build in extra time, or make it so that there is catch-up time at the end.

Youngest DS really liked the park maps. Maybe someone who is going before you could send you some? Or if you call WDW? It wasn't a plan, but we could plot out the next two or three stops ahead and he could look at the map and give us directions.

You might also take a look at either the Unofficial Guide website or Bob (I don't know his website link but he's here on the boards) which gives very step-by-step touring plans.

 

[Selket]

I usually post here about my younger one who has more medical issues but my older one has ADD (not the hyper type though).

I have had excellent results for all my trips the past 6 years by using Tour Guide Mike website (discount code on the Theme Parks board cause he sponsors it). His site is extensive and takes time to learn, but his touring plans and the ideas behind them are sound advice. He also gives best days to visit which park - very helpful.

The thought behind using the touring plans he gives is that it will keep you moving and keep you almost completely from ANY long lines. He also gives sound advice on taking afternoon breaks and not doing too much - which keeps the stress level way down.

I am assuming the waiting is the hardest part (that's a song isn't it? ) - TGM could be your answer - not too expensive and worth every penny.

 

[foreverlost]

Thank you both!

See, I've already let him know that we'll be taking breaks in the afternoons to go back to our hotel to rest, swim, watch tv, etc, or even watch a movie outside the park. I know he gets WAY overstimulated by 6 flags, so I can't imagine how Disney will be.

I'm off to check out that tour guide thingie right now

 

[foreverlost]

Oh, and I ordered customized park maps, but they haven't came yet We sat down at the computer and chose 10 rides/things we absolutely HAD to do (lol) and chose them. We'll plan our day around that and see how that goes. That's what I did the last time I went to Disney and it worked out great for us (but I didn't have kids then, either)

 

[Selket]

I just noticed you are one week away from your trip. Hmmm...if you have flexibility to change your touring plans then I think TGM would be helpful. If you have a lot of sit down ressies for meals and need to be at certain parks on certain days for them....perhaps less helpful. Still worth the money for his touring plans I think - but his site is extensive and you should ask for help over on his forums (there is a special needs forum there too).

There is also a park touring tool called Ride Max at http://www.ridemax.com/

I did subscribe to it once for a WDW trip - right when it first came out for those parks (they had their disneyland info out first I think). I didn't use it except to play around - I kept with the TGM. Some of the advice offered seemed very odd to me (like if you show up at the MK at rope drop and your kid wants to do Dumbo - you should probably go there first - RideMax had us doing the freakin' TEACUPS - LOL!). It also had us sitting around for sometimes more than an hour between rides - and also waiting a very long time (40+ mins) for some rides. Perhaps the kinks are worked out.

This sort of park touring plan might work well for you if you don't have much time to figure it all out and want to just input your preferred rides and let it plan for you. RideMax will not make a Sunday plan for you either. All in all I think the money is better spent on TGM but it depends on your style, your park experience and so forth.

 

[PrincessMom4]

I have a child with special needs (right now they are ODD and ADHD, but it may be "adjusted" soon). I made her a daily schedule that went something like this:
7:30-wake-up and get dressed;7:45am Eat breakfast;8am Brush hair and teeth;8:15 get shoes on and get ready to head out for the bus...etc

You get my point and unfortuntely its really hard to do this BUT we all have to adjust that life is not going to be easy when you have a special needs (my hubby likes the term High needs better) child. I am a planner by bature so if u need any further help don't hesitate to message me : )

 

[BeckyScott]

I bought the Disney for Kids book and had them look thru that, to give me an idea of what things they wanted to do.

It worked sort of. Neither kid wanted anything to do with Princesses, so that knocked out quite a bit right there. But then other things came up, stuff they had initially said they weren't interested in, but once they saw it, they wanted to go. And I dragged everyone onto "It's a Small World" with them groaning and rolling their eyes, because IMHO it just isn't a trip to Disney unless you go on Small World, and since I didn't get to go to any princess stuff, tough luck. The other factor was that youngest DS is really a ride wimp, and looking at the book, there were lots of things he didn't want to go on. But as the trip progressed he got much braver and ended up on things we didn't think he'd go on.

The other thing you'll need to think about is some of the character greetings. Like Buzz and Woody, you wouldn't know their schedule until you showed up that morning. There are lots of characters that show up in areas during the day, but they're not permanent locations, so the times can change daily. It can be avoided if you just neglect to tell your DS that those things even exist. Or the shows, you won't really know in advance what time they'll be. So you either plan ahead to totally avoid them, or you'll have to adjust your schedule when you arrive.