WDW Experiences w/ PDD (autistic like behaviors) child...

[prcoamo]

Hello. Newbie here. Very 1st time for both of us going to WDW.
I have a 6 (soon to be 7) yr old daughter who is PDD(w/ autistic like behaviors). She has language, expresses some needs, does not have any behavioral/control issues. Looking at her she outwardly seems like a normal child, one would think that she was just extremely shy, but it goes much deeper than that. She does suffer in outside social communication, has sensory issues/sensory overload can be hypersensitive to her surroundings at times (i.e. does not like loud noises so fireworks would be out)and can somewhat tolerate large group settings however I'm afraid it may get little overwhelming for her at the parks.

I was hoping that someone would be able to share any experiences they have had w/ taking a child similar to her special needs to WDW? Such as experiences in parks, which hotel accomodadtions they chose. Also, I've read about obtaining a letter from the child's family doctor outlining the medical condition your child suffers from and their needs, and then obtaining a "Special Needs Pass" or "GAC" pass. How do these passes exactly work? What is difference, if any, between the two?

Many thanks

 

[cjhaus]

I have read that you should do the following...
Have your doctor write a letter similair to this...

"__________is a wonderful child who has been diagnosed with ____________.
She is especially sensitive to (noises, crowds)_____________. She struggles with sensory issues...etc. This can affect her ability to wait in long lines. Please make any accomodations possible for this child and her family."

Take this letter to Guest Relations in the park to get a Guest Assistance card. If they do not give you one, ask to see a manager.
Also, get a "Guests with disabilities guide" to alert you to rides with loud noises, etc.

I highly recommend that you purchase and read "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" by Sehlinger, Their chapter on Guests with disabilities is where I found this info. Plan your trip well and in advance.

I hope all Disney visitors will remember many disabilities are not outwardly visible.

Good luck to you!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have read that you should do the following...
Have your doctor write a letter similair to this...

"__________is a wonderful child who has been diagnosed with ____________.
She is especially sensitive to (noises, crowds)_____________. She struggles with sensory issues...etc. This can affect her ability to wait in long lines. Please make any accomodations possible for this child and her family."

Take this letter to Guest Relations in the park to get a Guest Assistance card. If they do not give you one, ask to see a manager.
Also, get a "Guests with disabilities guide" to alert you to rides with loud noises, etc.

I highly recommend that you purchase and read "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" by Sehlinger, Their chapter on Guests with disabilities is where I found this info. Plan your trip well and in advance.

Unfortunately many of the Guide books are incorrect. A note as the one above will not do anything, as FOTL access is given only to MAW/GKTW people. A doctor's note, especially a diagnoses, is not required. What is required is an explanation of the needs of the individual and Guest Services will attempt to accomodate those needs (other than FOTL). If you want to, you can make a list yourself and bring it with you so you don't forget anything; you can even show that list to the person at Guest Services if you do not want to talk about your child when present.

Actually there is a book os several hundred pages designed just for guests with various disabilities and it can be orfered from www.passporter.com which published it.

 

[SueM in MN]

Actually there is a book os several hundred pages designed just for guests with various disabilities and it can be orfered from www.passporter.com which published it.

The passporter book gives the same "form letter".
A letter is not required (the ADA says that you can not be required to "prove" your disability or need for accomidation.
Some people do prefer to have a letter (especially with invisible disabilities), but as Cheshire Figment mentioned, the form letter that a lot of websites or books recommend doesn't really tell much about the needs.
Check out the GAC (Guest Assistance Card) information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. It should be helpful to you.

 

[lentesta]

Hi guys,

I wrote this section of the Unofficial Guide. As SueM notes, a doctor's note is not required, and the Unofficial Guide doesn't say it is. A doctor's note does, however, convey a professional opinion on the child's condition to the CM that has to make a decision on whether to honor the request; It makes the request easier approve.

The reason we put the sample letter in the book is that we heard from several readers who said their own GAC requests (without letters) were denied, as the CMs said they didn't see any obvious disabilities. While the letter doesn't guarantee anything, I would be shocked if an area manager ignored a professional diagnosis in this context.

Hope this helps.

Len

 

[kdtwiss]

Hi,
I would be very surprised if any GAC has been refused just with a mother's explanation. I did not even have my son in the building with me when I got to speak to someone as the wait was so long (about 20 minutes) he could not take it and had to leave with my dh. The GAC was invaluable to us, and will be to you with a child with sensory issues.

As far as accomadations, I would say you just need to choose carefully according to what upsets/overstimulates her. If sound is a burden for her, maybe try not to do the Value resorts which are loud, in color and noise level as well as more "packed" therefore appearing more crowded, if crowds are an issue. Honestly if you can afford it, and you feel she may be overloaded during the day it will be easier for you to take breaks if you stay at a monorail resort. If that is too much $$ (it was for us) we really loved POR. It was VERY quiet, very spread out, very relaxed in decor and atmosphere. If food is more important (as in if she is REALLY picky) I would choose the resort that sounds as though it has the best menu for her. Food will be sooooo much more important than you think1 We had several meltdowns simply because my poor (vERY VERY picky ds who is asd) was o darn hungry! Pizza is terrible at DW! POR has inedible pizza imho, as well as his. So, I would look to what is most important - check out the menus closely! I did not realize how nearly impossible it is to get a plate of spaghetti or a grilled cheese at DW till we went!
We chose POR because #1 - all 5 of us could be in one room
#2 - pool slides are very important - my ds could have stayed there all day!

Next time - we will choose according to food first, pool slides next, ease of transportation to parks 3rd. But that is just us!


I forgot - if fireworks are too much and you can afford to book it - try the fireworks cruise - absolutely magical, they pipe in the music, but no loud firworks noises. OUr first night in MK we were right by the tea cups I believe when the firworks started! We were in the shop covering the kids ears and they were still screaming/crying. They were so loud you could feel the boom in your chest! I would be sure to find someplace FAR away from there! I did bring headphones for smoe of the louder rides which worked quite well.

 

[Calliaz]

I have a son who was 2.5 when we went in October. He's got a few sensory problems, though they are moderate. I found that Pop Century was a little overstimulating for him. He fixated on the large statues and the bright colors and it made it very difficult to walk back and forth to our room. I was glad that we rented a car since I think that riding a bus all the time might have overwhelmed him (people, excitement). We also ate a lot of meals in our room instead of the food court to try and avoid a lot of distractions.

For the most part, we couldn't ride a lot of rides in a row--he needed lots of breaks.

 

[SueM in MN]

Also, I've read about obtaining a letter from the child's family doctor outlining the medical condition your child suffers from and their needs, and then obtaining a "Special Needs Pass" or "GAC" pass. How do these passes exactly work? What is difference, if any, between the two?

Many thanks

Missed this when I answered before.
Some books and websites mention a "Special Needs Pass" or "Special Assistance Pass". There is not anything available at WDW by that name.
Before 1999, they did have a Guest Assistance Pass at WDW and they had a Special Assistance Pass at Disneyland until last January.
In 1999, WDW changed the name of their card from Guest Assistance Pass to Guest Assistance Card. I was told by CMs that one of the reasons for the change was that many people thought a "Pass" meant they would be boarded on the attraction right away (a front of the line pass).

So, what they have is a Guest Assistance Card (which we call a GAC) on the boards so we don't have to type so much. It is basically a tool to let the CMs know what sorts of assistance are needed.

As I already mentioned, a doctor's note is not required. Also, a diagnosis is not really helpful - some people with the exact same diagnosis have very different needs and would need very different types or levels of accomidations.

 

[prcoamo]

Thank you all so much for your replies. This clears up alot of my confusion.
I now know what I need to do.
I was at Borders yesterday evening and picked up a copy of Passporter WDW For Your Special Needs to look over (i didn't purchase it yet) however the book is great, goes overs all kinds of different needs from autism, to asthma, to general fears. Also addresses different kinds of rides and notes how need(s) is affected by it.

DD was looking at my copy of Birnbaum's 2006 guides w/ all colorful photos and came upon photo of i believe it was Splash Mountain ride and stated she wanted to go on that ride. I was somewhat surprised giving her fears, but who knows maybe she'll actually want to do it when we are there. The fact that she's interested in it at all is a big plus. It's a big step forward. I think this trip is going to be great and beneficial for her in so many ways.

 

[Kitty-chan]

My DS9 has somewhat similar special needs (he's either AS or PDD-NOS, depending on who you ask, plus some other issues we're still tracking down). We've been doing regular WDW trips for three years now.

One thing that's been essential is following the frequently-offered advice to take the afternoon out of the parks, and go get a little rest. We have a real schedule every day: park in the AM, relax at the hotel in the afternoon, and usually back to a park in the PM. Staying on-site or nearby has also been important, to make it possible to easily get this afternoon time off.

I'm pretty careful about attractions. I study rides pretty carefully in the Unofficial Guide to get a sense of them, and have sometimes posted here on this board for advice about specific rides (or other attractions) if I couldn't quite tell if they were going to set him off. Every kid's different, and his particular quirks don't fit well into any particular category so it's been important for me to really read up. (For example, he loves Star Tours but Snow White is waaaaaaay too scary.)

It's taken a little extra planning perhaps, but we've always had a great time at WDW.

 

[leise]

Another thing that we have found invaluable for our DS, who is 6 with autism, is to hire a park stroller for him. The strollers in WDW parks are enclosed and they help him feel safe and block out a great deal of the stimulation. They also stop him feeling intimidated in crowds.
They are also large enough for bigger kids, I think I've read that a double stroller will hold a 12 year old. My son certainly fit into them and he is about 46 inches tall.

 

[larklynn]

my ds 5 has SID and loves wdw. He watched the videos and we play it by ear each trip. It helped to have a stroller so he could feel secure when he needed to and he sometimes had to be held in line or during fire works so he could feel secure this will be our 4th trip and he has really surprised us with the strides he makes each trip even after returning. Just take your time and help to feel as secure as you can. We didn't even know about the gac until this trip and our older son has cp/encephlopathy. We really had to look for places that would accomadate ds5 food fetishes.

 

[OneMoreTry]

Our 6yo DD has severe myoclonic epilepsy with significant PDD. It is very difficult to stand in line with her for more than 10 minutes. Heat or stress will trigger seizures. She talks a little, but is not toilet-trained yet. She loves rides and doesn't get scared. Stimulation doesn't bother her too much at first, but she wouldn't tolerate it all day -- she loves rides.

Over the past year it doesn't take much observation to tell she is not normal, but when she was younger it wasn't so obvious with casual observation.

Even when her disability wasn't obvious (unless she had a seizure in front of you) we had no problems getting a GAC. Onetime the cast member seemed a little suspicious, but didn't argue. I had a doctor's note the first time, but have never been asked for it.

We always get to the parks early and finish our rides by about 11, which is when lines get longer. In most cases the lines were short enough we didn't need to use the card. In some cases we used the fastpass. for the few times we did use the cards (not more than once or twice a day), we didn't expect or receive FOTL. We were allowed to wait out of the line in a special area either in the shade or inside the attraction, where our girl had freedom to move about. I think the wait in some cases was shorter than it would have been otherwise, but it was long enough that I didn't feel guilty.

Cast members were very helpful and sympathetic. Technically the card only allows a total of 6 people, but we have 5 kids and were never hassled about using it for 7. (All the kids look alike and are stair step in size so it's obvious we're all one family.)

Now DD is too big for a stroller and needs a wheelchair and the disability is quite plain to see. She looks normal but acts odd. I don't anticipate any problems using the same strategy of riding when the lines are short in the am and getting out of parks for the afternoon. We will use fastpass and only use the GAC occasionally if at all -- but we'll definitely get it. For our next trip MIL will be there and she has Parkinson's -- so she will get a GAC too.

I think the keys for PDD are:

Get a GAC. Suck up to the CM. Don't be demanding. Use the card sparingly

Get in and out of parks early. Even on busy days lines aren't too bad before 11.

Plan only a few rides each day -- if you can get in an extra GREAT but don't expect it

Use fast pass

use stroller or wheel chair

Know where the first aid stations are -- they've always been helpful to us when needed

Plan the day around your kids and not rides YOU want to see. You'll have more fun when they have fun.

If you go a lot, consider DVc. The 1BR and 2BR condos are SOOO nice for kids with behavioral issues.