Dyspraxia

[HappyGoLucky]

Hi
My 7 year old has dyspraxia so he has poor stamina and gets tired easily
. He also has aspergers so doesn't cope well socially.

We are currently on holiday and I bought his old buggy for him to sit in as its very hot and for him to hide in - he likes to pull the hood down and hide.

However - some folks have laughed at him as he is too big and asked why such a big child is in a buggy etc - he is tall for his age too.

So what would you do ? Are there bigger buggies you can get or would you just make him walk instead ( which I do at home but here's the heat is a killer )

[Mallky555]

TBH I would just ignore the comments people are ignorant and don't see that he has a disability so are passing judgement on something they know nothing about. If he is happy then that's all that matter, enjoy your holiday

[Megandllsmum]

Originally Posted by HappyGoLucky

Hi
My 7 year old has dyspraxia so he has poor stamina and gets tired easily
. He also has aspergers so doesn't cope well socially.

We are currently on holiday and I bought his old buggy for him to sit in as its very hot and for him to hide in - he likes to pull the hood down and hide.

However - some folks have laughed at him as he is too big and asked why such a big child is in a buggy etc - he is tall for his age too.

So what would you do ? Are there bigger buggies you can get or would you just make him walk instead ( which I do at home but here's the heat is a killer )

See more...

Is your son getting upset by the people laughing? I don't mean that harshly but my daughter is the same age and has aspergers and stuff like this she doesnt get... its me that tends to see it and be more upset.
My daughter has joint hypermobility and we never use a buggy and take everything at her pace but that being said we've only ever gone in April or October, I don't think she would cope well with the heat this time of year.
I certainly wouldn't judge though even if it's not something I would do, but I'm aware of hidden disabilities because of my little girl so like to think I'm a bit more tolerant than some people.
The only bigger buggies I can think of are the disabled pushchairs you get here like the Mclaren majors...over there what about the plastic strollers you can hire in Disney although I've not used them I've seen them and they look pretty big.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday

[ansi41]

I get sick and tired of ignorant people passing judgement on something they know nothing about :angry: This happened to us last time in Florida. DS has aspergers and doesn't like loud noises so he had his headphones on playing a game whilst watching the fire works. Some idiot, pointed, tutted and said "can you believe it, here of all places, can he not put that down?" Back then I ignored it but unfortunately it was one of those situations that played on my mind for a long time and I wish I had given him a piece of my mind. I vowed since then to never do that again.
So I am sure there are bigger buggies that you can use, sorry no advice for that but I would say to do what you feel is best, never mind all the ignorant buffoons out there. Would anyone pass comment if it was someone visibly disabled, definitely not, so I am afraid idiots get a piecd of my mind, and yes it doesn't change the situation but it sure does make me feel better

[hibbie]

Just carry on and ignore the comments (I know easier said than done!). We were there in July and were so glad we had a buggy for my son nearly 6.5 (he has always been small but now it's easy he is probably just about average height) at home we never use the buggy however the heat was so intense we really needed it. As a bit of a background my has weak core muscles, hypermobility and originally I was querying dyspraxia however we (myself, educational psychologist and school depute head) are more thinking along the lines of sensory processing disorder and have a tac meeting lined up for the start of term with his ot and physio. My sil who works with adults with additional needs has been honest and thinks we could be dealing with aspergers as well (which I was already worried about for a bit as well, although the school and his team haven't picked up on this... he is very different at school and home!)... Anyway we used the buggy all of the time and I tried to block out any stares and comments although tbh I never actually heard many. The times we didn't use the buggy if when queuing or at the beginning of the holiday when we were in a bit of denial were a night mare... He randomly licked people, bit random objects, stroked people's legs and swung from anything/anyone that was near him! If he wasn,t in the buggy and it was parked up he would disappear and to help us get it back ramrading anyone who got in his way... It don't think he realised they were so close to him! We fairly quickly decided any stares were better than comments from other people regards to his behaviour! (We had a few of those!) Plus we saw children much bigger than him in buggies. We actually had a double buggy with us as he has a very petite twin sister who we knew would create a fuss if he was in the buggy and she wasn't (the heat totally floored her so we were so glad we had a double!). We just had a standard umbrella fold (really small) o baby buggy with us however if I had of known my boy would have found being in florida so hard in general we would probably have hired a baby jogger... From reviews the seem much more spacious. Just realised reading that back it sounds like we just have a badly behaved little boy... In familiar situations he is the most sweet, intelligent cuddle loving child who might chew on you/your clothes who just wants to talk all day about flight paths, bus/train routes, motorway junctions and premier inns!

[stupet11]

Been there, grown the thick skin! As long as he doesn't mind, carry on...otherwise if it bothers him, try regular breaks, shows between walks...is what we used to do... but I do like to plan!

[HappyGoLucky]

Thanks for the replies and reassurance - we have a month away and it has included the west coast , Yellowstone and now Florida so the amount of walking etc was just too much for him - hence the buggy .
As I have two older children we cannot revolve our days around my 7 ur olds needs and the buggy allows us to spend longer days out etc

And my son also gets aggressive and says some foul things when he doesn't have his hiding place .
He is very sensitive to loud noises and touch - and had to hide when fireworks etc go off .

But yes it's me that notices - he doesn't .

[storm]

DD has hypermobility syndrome & we used a Maclaren major ( special needs buggy looks like a regular folding buggy) while there when she was 12yrs old (shes very petite looked 9).
Ignore the stares, it's your holiday and you know your family best.
Yes the stares aren't nice but life's to short to bother what strangers think. Have a lovely Holiday.

[Maxymoo]

MY ds 17 has dyspraxia and Asperger's- I was still pushing him in a buggy occasionally at DLP upto when he was 10- same reason he liked to hide under the hood. We have just been WDW in july and I pushed my 7 yr old with no issues quite a lot- take no notice of what people say or do

[curlysue2]

You know what tell them where to go, it has nothing to do with them. It's your Holiday and you want it to be the best for you and your family who cares about anyone else.
On the buggy not I am sure the ones I saw around the park were pretty big, failing that hire one of the scooters.