Stroller or Wheelchair?

[Dawson'sMom]

Hi everyone,
I have a question thst I hope you can help with. DS9 has Asperger's Syndrome. This will be our fourth trip. He has always used the double stroller you rent at each park in the past. He really has grown over the past year and I am worrried that he will not have enough room in the stroller this trip. Has any of you had to move from the stroller to the wheelchair? I am thinking that he will have a problem with the switch. We will aslo be getting our first GAC this trip since he seems to have a harder time with waiting in lines this year. With the GAC do you still need to rent the wheelchair or is it available to those that need them without renting?

 

[mechurchlady]

GAC is for anyone with limitations even if they do not need a wheelchair. You can rent locally a wheelchair and get him used to it at home and in malls. Make it fun for him or buy a cheap one. Worst that could happen is you have to donate the chair to charity. Trips to the mall or store teaches kids how to behave and rewards them for good behavior and let them slowly get used to waiting in lines.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

How about renting him a medical stroller from on offsite place? Sue has linked them in the FAQ at the top of the disABILITIES board. Bonus of that would be that it would fit his size better. Also it might make the switch easier as it tends to look less wheelchairy then the rental wheelchairs.

The GAC does not 'come with' a diagnosis or specific aid. It simply explains unvisable needs of an individual to the CM's. A wheelchair is visable and therefor a wheelchairuser needs no GAC if the have no other needs. In your sons case, it could mean that you explain his difficulties at Guest Relations and get a GAC issues allowing him to wait in a different -and more quit- area than the regular line.

The easiest way to understand the GAC (and get across what you might need when talking to GR) is to see it as a shortlist stating your sons invisable needs that will need to be specifically addressed because not allready being standardly provided, like for instance wheelchairentrance at shops.

 

[SueM in MN]

With the GAC do you still need to rent the wheelchair or is it available to those that need them without renting?

I think you are asking whether they will give a wheelchair without cost if the person has a GAC??
If so, the answer is no. If you want a wheelchair, you will need to bring or rent one.

The stroller vs wheelchair answer will depend partly on his size. If you think he will still fit comfortably in a WDW double stroller, you might want to go that way. You can get a GAC that would allow the stroller to be used in lines and treated like a wheelchair.
There is more information about GAC (Guest Assistance Cards) in post #6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

The WDW rental wheelchairs are adult size and would likely be too big for him unless he is a pretty big 9 yr old. My youngest DD is 5 feet tall and about 90 pounds - the WDW rental wheelchairs are too big for her. The footrests are not adjustable and his feet will probably not reach them. The armrests would be rather high. The seat back and seat are sling-type (think of a director's chair with a long back). That makes them rather 'jiggly' and the rider tends to slide to the center. Besides that, the seat is likely to be too deep; if the rider sits all the way back in the seat, the bend of the knee will come before the edge of the seat. If the rider sits forward so they can bend their knees, that means no back support. For anyone else who doesn't really 'fit' the chair, that might be annoying, but to many people with ASD, it may be way, way beyond annoying.

There are places that rent special needs strollers - most of the special needs strollers look like giant umbrella strollers. There are some companies listed in the disABILITIES FAQs thread that rent them. If you think a special needs stroller would be helpful for outings around home, you may want to look at whether insurance would help you pay for one. Adaptivemall is a good place to look at what is available to buy.

 

[scottsod]

our DS 9 is a Aspie and our DS 2 is PDD-NOS. It would probably be easier for him, and for you, and for the CM's if you used a medical stroller. It is like a comfortable chair on wheels, looks like a stroller, handles and even fold like one. And if he gets tired it is more comfortable for him to use then a regular rented wheelchair. if you choose not to do that and you want to use the double stroller you can get "stroller as wheelchair" sticker from guest services when you get your GAC. My DS 9 happens to already be in a wheelchair cause he has CP too but my DS 2 is all over the place, extremely hard to control, and can't wait at all so we got one of those stickers and it worked great. it was much easier then trying to wrangle him and the wheelchair and our other DS 1.

All you have to do is go to guest assistance and ask for a GAC and explain what your child's needs are. that he has a hard time standing in lines and if the heat gets to him (like it does my boys) let them know that too. if he has meltdowns like my kids do the GAC is a must have in order to be able to have any kind of a "normal" day in the park.