Disney & Asperger's

[Guest guest]

Well, we just got home this week from Disney World. I went with my best friend

and her 2 children. She has a 4yo and an 8yo with sensory issues, and

Asperger's.

Here are some tips for others that we learned along the way.

- If they don't like dark, bring glow bracelets, glow necklaces, glow sticks,

etc. A LOT of the rides are indoors, including the waiting area, and they have

dimmed lights, dark lights, black lights, deep shadows, etc. If your child has

any qualms about the dark, bring a light they can wear through out the day. It

also helps to explain to the children what to expect ahead of time at each ride,

so you are not wasting time in line, only to have to leave when they freak out.

- Get a Guest Assistance Pass. These can be done at any of the main park's Guest

Relations (located near the entrance of each park, either just before or after

you pass through the ticket gates). We told them that her son has issues in

lines and with larger crowds (he can't handle them without pushing, shoving,

feeling encroached on, etc- he's VERY big into personal space), so they stamped

our card as alternate entrance. We were able to use the Fast Pass line on every

line. If there wasn't a Fast Pass, they routed us through the exit, or a side

door. (For Pirates of the Caribbean, we got to go 'back stage' behind the

fences, and went in through a back door to the building, where as on the Tea

Cups, we went in through the exit).

- Make sure to take breaks, and don't plan on being at the park late if you have

an early to bed kid. We found that even with breaks, 10pm was the ABSOLUTE

limit, with 9pm being preferable. After that time frame, melt downs happened

over any little thing.

- Check online for menus. Every quick (counter/fast food) and table service

restaurant, as well as snack bars or carts, have menu's available online.

Disboards is a great place to look (search disney menu disboards for the main

post). This allows you to check which places have menus your picky child will

eat off of. It's better than wandering around, looking for something they'll

eat. If you know they are exceedingly picky, pack some snacks or even sandwiches

you know they will eat to help out.

- Check out for predicted park crowds per day. There are a few places that show

which parks will be more crowded each day. Plan to avoid those parks, and go to

the ones predicted to be less crowded.

- If there is something or a movie you know your child absolutely loves, try to

head there earlier in the day and get it out of the way. Head over to disney.com

to order a set of FREE maps, and let your child study it, get to know the areas,

the rides, etc, and let them make a list of what they want to do. Map out a

plan, because wandering the park with no plan and no idea where you will go next

can lead to frustration on your child's part.

- If your child is stubborn, or very " rule " oriented, stick to what you say- if

you tell the child s/he can go on a specific ride next, head to that ride next.

Don't stop for other rides first. We ran into this issue twice, where one child

was set on a specific ride, and the other wanted to stop at every spot along the

way. We found it to be easier to give them an estimate, IE: We are next to these

three rides/attractions, so we'll do those first, but as soon as we are done

with ride 3, we'll go to the ride you want " . It was easier on the aspie when he

knew when to expect it.

- For the more rough thrill rides, try to explain them first. IE: our aspie

hates elevators. He loves coasters, thrill rides, etc, but hates elevators. The

entire stay, he would walk up and down 3 flights of stairs, but he had watched

and read about Tower of Terror, and was absolutely set on riding it. He hated

it, even knowing ahead of time what it was. That was the first ride of the day,

and he was 'off' the rest of the day, which wound up being a VERY early day (his

mom took the kids back to the hotel at 2 after lunch that day, because they were

both just not having a great day).

- If you buy new clothing, make sure it fits comfortable, that they like it,

that tags or feeling aren't bugging them, etc. Do all of this before expecting

them to wear it all day at a park.

- If you are planning an extended trip, plan for a day of doing nothing right in

the middle. You child will be exposed to long days, heat, crowds, chaos, noise,

and a host of sensory related issues. If you think they'll be able to handle it

for hours every single day for days on end, then you are in for a surprise. Even

NT children need a break, but Aspies and sensory sensitive kids especially need

a down day. Stay at the hotel, watch some tv, play in the pool, playground, etc,

but just stay 'home' for a day in the middle, and get them back on track. I

really wish we had done this, but we didn't. By the end of day 3, the kids were

just in melt down city, and started day 4 by crying and fighting from the moment

they woke up, and it didn't stop. That was why one day was cut WAY short, which

helped tremendously. They were great on day 5, which was our last full day.

- If you have a daydreaming wanderer, make SURE they have a tag on them that

identifies them, their dx, and the person to call. The Aspie wandered a LOT- we

never lost him, but we thought we did 1 day. Because he would be in his own

world, we didn't even know if he would realize he was lost before he was pretty

far away, so while I alerted staff (who was woefully unprepared for a " Lost but

not lost " aspie), we didn't know if he would stop and try letting a staff member

know he was lost or not. He did realize pretty fast, and headed right back to

where he saw us last. His mother was waiting there with his sister while I was

looking for him. After that, he was better, but still not great about wandering

around.

- On the note of ID tags, Disney sells engravable ID tags all over the parks in

various Disney characters in the form of dog tag necklaces. You can engrave them

on the spot for $10. They're $2 extra for the ball chain necklace, but a

wonderful souvenir and way for your child to id themselves if they do get lost.