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Old 30 Apr 18, 09:22 PM  
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caitlinsmummy
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Join Date: Dec 11
Location: Durham
Originally Posted by Buggles94 View Post
Hiya looks like you are going to have a wonderful time and it's not too far away now! You're going at a great time of year weather wise and crowd wise especially for a child with autism. DS has autism. He is a teenager now and lessons we have learnt with him are...

keep surprises to a minimum

go to Guest Services at Disney and ask about the DAS card - really has helped us

also use FP+ - essential for avoiding queues as much as possible

don't plan long days - allow sleep if needed and time around pool...

My DS loves WDW but really struggles with his emotions over the first few days... He settles in to it slowly and gets very upset when leaving... We have to repeat certain rides for him and I make sure he knows the schedule of rides so he knows he will be getting on the rides he wants to...

I know this is probably a bit different for a 5 year old but hope these tips help a little bit... It really is our favourite family place and despite the meltdowns etc it gives us some wonderful memories. I look forward to reading more of your plans and please let me know if you have any other questions about autism in general or autism at Disney
Yes, my little one struggles with surprises too, at home we use a visual timetable and hope to do the same for Disney so at least he know's where we are going each day.

Someone mentioned DAS to us but I didn't really understand it tbh. Do we just get it at guest services in the park? Do we need to do it each time we go into the park?

Most days the first week we have plenty of time in the afternoons free for the pool, I'm hoping he'll be in routine by then.

He was only diagnosed this month and we don't really know much at all about autism so any help at all is great. We still feel a little out of our depths at the moment! X
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