*Updated* Any tips for a vacation with language delayed toddler?

[Ladygoldenhair]

We took my grandson with Ephasia, is that the term. Actually never gave it a thought. The trip was wonderful. I remember his hesitancy to meet Mickey. He got down on his hands and knees creeping ever slow cautiously close. Mickey knelt down with his hand out, the moment the touch and grandson sprung to hug him was precious. Mickey was his buddy. There was so much stimulation with Disney I had more concerns that he would have melt downs, but he just fell asleep in the stroller.

 

[branv]

My older is autistic, and my younger is speech delayed. I wouldn't worry too much while at the park, but visuals and social stories will really help. You can make a little story on your computer and print out before the trip. For example:

My name is X, I live with my mom, brother, etc. (photo of you), and we are going to go on a trip to Disneyland! (Picture)
We'll have to wake up very early and go to the airport (picture), where we'll get on a plane (picture)
On the plane we'll sit in our seats and watch movies and read books. (picture)
Then we'll take the bus to our hotel at Disneyland! (picture)
At Disneyland we'll get to meet some of our favourite characters (pictures), go on rides (picture.) We are going to have a lot of fun, and get to eat churros and corn dogs (picture.)

etc, etc, you get the idea. Some airports are very good and will have a social story on their website like this one: https://www.phl.org/passengerinfo/Accessibility/Documents/SocialStories.pdf

Again, these are mainly designed with ASD families in mind, but they're super helpful with speech delays as well.

That is amazing!! What a wonderful tool! Thank you so much. I'm definitely going to have to share this with a few friends.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Our son is non verbal, he's almost 4 and is developmentally and cognitively 18-24mn. He signs and also mimics some and does have a handful or words after ongoing twice a week speech therapy. We took him last August when he was almost 3 and he had a FANTASTIC time. I was worried how he would do as it is very difficult at times figuring out his wants and needs which then results in screaming and this is at home so how would he be in the parks but we had very few meltdowns. He ADORED meeting the characters and I was VERY pleasantly surprised when the Mickey at Epcot one day actually SIGNED back to him the ASL sign for Mickey, he had been doing it every time we saw Mickey. Our son got SO EXCITED when Mickey signed back to him it was one of THE greatest moments of our trip. The picture in my avatar is actually the picture we took during that exact visit just after it happened.

I must admit our son is a VERY easy going guy. He has been through a LOT in his little life and spends the large majority of his time in hospitals and with therapists so he is used to change and new people and places. We do use visual cues and stories for him and try to prepare him by watching videos of things before hand. It's hard though when he is mentally still so young it's both a blessing and a curse because most of the time he just doesn't "get" what's going on to be anxious or upset.

 

[branv]

I can't tell you all how touched I am reading the stories of your children and the ways in which they were each affected by your trips. Say or read what you will about the state of the parks or Disney in general, moments like these remind you that the magic is still happening. Best wishes to you and the amazing children in your lives.

 

[DopeyDame]

Ds has been in speech therapy since he was 18 months old for expressive language and articulation delays. (He's 6 now. Still delayed, but he can absolutely communicate effectively now, which is huge!) Anyway, his first trip to WDW was when he was just over 2. He was still functionally non-verbal at the time. We had a fantastic trip! Cast members did frequently try to talk to him, and we'd just step in and answer for him or direct the conversation to us. Other than that, I can't remember any way that his speech caused any problems or issues. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[ophelia2002]

I would highly recommend something like this:

http://www.safetytat.com/

in case your child gets separated from you.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I would highly recommend something like this:

http://www.safetytat.com/

in case your child gets separated from you.

If you do go this route, make sure to put it in a visible place, not under clothing. CMs won't look inside/under clothing to find information like this.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

My son was 2.5 when we went, he has a speech delay (was in early intervention when we went) and we had a fantastic time. He did have moments where he got pretty overwhelmed, but I would just find a quiet spot and calm him down. My mom actually got me a Disney planning book for Christmas and he ended up "reading" it (flipping through all of the pictures) all the time. He was a huge fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and we watched tons of YouTube videos of kids meeting characters so he wouldn't be scared when he met him. He will be fine. Just listen to his cues and be flexible with your schedule and expectations.

 

[SwimMom2]

Your post really touched me.

My oldest son was 7 on his first trip to WDW because he was language delayed as a toddler. I thought he would hate it because he struggled in some environments (church, theaters), but he loved others (pools, waterparks, beaches). I didn't want to spend so much on a trip when there was a good chance he would react negatively.

I regret this every single day. I should have done it. I must have some sort of a guilt complex. We visited WDW 5 times between ages 7 and 9, plus one Disney cruise. Now he is a developmentally normal kid in every way, but his way of getting there was very uneven. My little one was 15 months on our first trip and 3.5 on our most recent.

I bet you know what strategies work for your child. No one knows him like you do. You can make this awesome for him. WDW is a fantastic place to bring all types of people, including your child. There is something for everyone and the cast members, including characters, are awesome at reading people, including children. My one bit of advice is stay at least a week so you can take your time and figure out what works for you. I would give this advice to anyone.

 

[branv]

Update in original post Thanks everyone!

 

[TheSpooph]

**Update below**

When I'd started planning this trip for DS, I knew going a few months after his second birthday would mean not much in the way of response/expression of thoughts or wishes, but I definitely didn't expect him to be as behind as he's going to be. He is 22 months, but his ECI evaluation just showed him behind on expressive communication by about 8 months (only a little on responsive, which they're attributing more to slight immaturity on being able to focus/concentrate. And thankfully he's advanced on motor skills, and no apparent social issues so far. Very good at using other forms of communication to let us know what he wants).

I had hoped to do a few of the things to get him age-appropriately involved in the lead up to the trip, things to prep him or get him excited (especially since it will be his first plane trip). I planned stuff for on the trip based upon recommendations from parents on here of similarly aged kids. But now, I'm at a loss as to if he will process things the same, if his inability or unwillingness to communicate will cause challenges I'm unprepared for due to lack of experience. He doesn't seem to get overly frustrated by inability to communicate yet, but I know the four months leading up to our trip can be a lifetime in toddler time.

He will start his speech therapy in a few weeks, and he is also starting MDO in a few months, which hopefully will help, but who knows.

Any parents out there who can tell me if speech delays affected how you approached your trip or how your child responded to the trip? Any tips?

Thanks.

**Update**

Sorry this took so long, but we just got dismissed from speech therapy and it made me remember this thread.

You guys were so right about how Disney helps stimulate language!

Our trip was a little challenging. DS is usually pretty good about listening/following direction in familiar places, but I underestimated how much novel environments stimulate him (I mean, I've seen it before with him... he acts like a hyper chihuahua for a bit...but failed to realize how unending the oversimulation is at WDW). So the trip was even more exhausting than anticipated (plus the whole way higher crowds and temps than expected). He constantly had to be held or strollered to keep from bolting. And let's just say he did not want to be held.

Largely, while there, I didn't see much difference communication wise. If anything, he was a little quieter except for when he met Tinker Bell and while waiting in-between characters at Crystal Palace (or vocalizing his extreme dislike of fireworks). But I did see some new words ("Fireworks, boomboom. Safe." "Mono(rail)!")

But about a week later, he started trying to talk about Disney (in his way), with words he'd acquired about it ('teacups!"). About two weeks later it was multiple new words a day. Three weeks later, it was an avalanche, and oh my goodness did he want to talk about Disney. Disney Disney Disney. Four weeks later, and I honestly felt like he was speaking/communicating at a rate typical for his age. Two months after our trip he was discharged from speech therapy as actually communicating slightly above his age level.

Now I know he probably just hit that avalanche that so many "nonverbal" kids do after two. But it definitely seems to have been either stimulated or encouraged by our trip. Our speech therapists were amazed.

Thanks so much for your tips and reassurances. Particularly about making a book to help prepare him for the trip. I can't tell you how much I believe that helped him for his first airplane trip. Nothing was unexpected for him, not even the loud airplane noise and the sensation in his ears. And it actually seemed to make him super excited to get on the airplane.

So excited for you!!