A few questions (ASD and ADHD related)

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions relating to our upcoming holiday to WDW in November and just thought I would ask for some of your thoughts on them. Bit of background is that my eldest who is 9 has ADHD and my middle son who will be 7 is Autistic.

1) We are flying with Virgin and we are unsure of whether or not to contact their special needs dept to see if Bulkhead seats would be possible. We are a party of 6 so thought we could get two rows of 3 one behind the other so we can swap round if necesary, just the boys do tend to get fidgity and would worry incase they kept kicking the seats in front of them?

2) Also have read about priority boarding but not sure if this would be better or to request to be boarded last - in order to spend less time on the plane as possible? But then again being boarded first while its quiet would give DS2 time to adjust to his surroundings ? Anyone been in similar situation?

3) GAC? I'm not overly keen on using this if we did get issued it to be honest as we had something similar at Legoland a few years ago and the looks and tuts we got was unreal and just made me feel very uncomfortable. But our first week is Thanksgiving and got a feeling the queues may be a bit longer than the boys would tolerate to stand in ( stupid me for booking those dates - the whole point of Nov/Dec was for it to be quieter for them!). Do you think using Fastpass itself would be a better option? Bearing in mind we would have to use Child Swap service also? Any opinions would be great.

Another quick question has anyone used these before with Autistic Children that have sensory issues? Found them but didn't know if they would be a bit over the top or not?

amazon/PELTOR-GREEN...3733983&sr=8-1

Thanks for reading and any opinions would be fab!

xxx

[buffalo]

You could always get the GAC and just see how it goes. If you use the fastpasses and keep the GAC until you really need it you should be fine. As for other people, just ignore them. Its your familys holiday and if it makes for an easier time for you then leave them tut.

[Guest]

Even when DS' hypersensitive hearing was at its very worst the most we needed to use was ear plugs. They cut out all the background noise but he could still hear us speaking to him providing we spoke clearly. He did take a short while to get used to them but he was soon quite happy with them. Fortunately we don't need them so much now thanks to Auditory Integration Therapy.

[Guest]

have you tried the simple in ear noise cancelling earphones you just plug them into an
mp3 player they tend to work fine for cancelling out background noise.

[rizzy135]

Hi

My youngest son George is Autistic, we have used the VA special assistance many times. I have always found them very helpful.

We request bulk head seats as George tends to kick the seats in front of him etc, on our flight this year we got 2 bulk head & 2 normal seats & on the return journey we all ended up with bulk heads.

As to the priorty boarding we have done this as well, all you need to do is tell the VA staff at the boarding gate and let will let you board with the wheelchair passageners (you can get some funny looks but i don't care, all i'm bothered about is George. Just because he looks normal people persume there nothing wrong with him).

You can also use the Premium Ecomony check in, even if your in the "cheap seats" (Ecomony).

As for the GAC, we have never used this, after reading up about it, i didn't think it would be much help to us but thats just me personnel opinon.

Penny

[Anotherbigkid]

Hi we have used these in DLP last year and they really helped my son.We will be taking them when we go over to WDW have also used them to go to things like Disney on Ice etc.You can still hear with them on so he does not miss out on what is happening.
They allow all the family to enjoy what is going on without him having a major meltdown because it is to noisey.
Hope that helps

[TinkTatoo]

Originally Posted by caz1712

... 2) Also have read about priority boarding but not sure if this would be better or to request to be boarded last - in order to spend less time on the plane as possible? But then again being boarded first while its quiet would give DS2 time to adjust to his surroundings ? Anyone been in similar situation?...

See more...

It really depends on your DS. My DS prefers to get on the plane first as he doesn't like trying to get on when everyone else is trying to get to their seats but I have a friend who's DS has to be one of the last on the plane.

Another quick question has anyone used these before with Autistic Children that have sensory issues? Found them but didn't know if they would be a bit over the top or not?

amazon/PELTOR-GREEN...3733983&sr=8-1

See more...

One of the children at my DS's school uses these whenever he goes out and they work well for him

[Jedi_Angie]

1) We've flown a few times with Virgin (I have a 12-year-old high-functioning autist and a 10-year-old 'classic' autist) and we always phone Special Assistance. Our youngest is actually better in non-bulkhead seats, but as he has been known to kick, etc. in the past, we have to have two rows of seats so he can sit behind someone he knows. SA can book you any seats on the plane that suit you, not just bulkheads - last year they booked us two rows of four near the back, as there were eight of us on the trip, and it worked really well.

2) We've tried boarding first and last, and first definitely suits our youngest. We get him settled in his seat with his iPod and/or Nintendo DS, headphones in, and he can go into his own wee world while everyone else gets themselves sorted. When we tried boarding last he got quite upset because he could 'see' all the people around him. Try whatever you think will suit your kids.

3) The GAC card is WONDERFUL! We couldn't do Florida without it, as my boys can't manage to queue for long (we've got the oldest up to about 20 mins, the youngest up to about 10 mins) and the littlest gets quite upset if there are a lot of people standing about, especially if they're making a lot of noise. For a lot of the rides you use the Fastpass entrance, so no one really needs to know you're using a GAC. I have had very few even slightly derogatory comments in Florida - most people I've come across are very understanding. Also, as you're going in November, you could always get one and then see how the queues are - hopefully they won't be too bad at that time of year.

Have a GREAT family holiday!

[Guest]

Thanks sooo much for all your replies really appreciate you taking the time.

Think we will definately call Virgin Special Assistance and see what they can work out for us. After much thought DH and I think it probably would be best to board first so that the boys (especially Aidan) have plenty of time to get themselves sorted. At least if the Nintendo or PSP is on whilst everyone else is boarding it will distract them hopefully.

Aidan doesn't like to have things "in" his ears and won't wear the inear headphones so we will either get those ear muffs on Amazon or get the over the head style noise reducing headphones I think.

Great to see so many families who have similar needs have done WDW successfully though. Have been a little bit apprehensive about it but as long as we properly prepared we can hopefully avoid any major meltdowns! LOL Famous last words though eh?

Thanks again
xxx

[Worgie]

Hi,

My son is nearly 8 and is ASD. We flew with Virgin in April & it is really worth ringing Customer Services as they are really helpful & very knowledgeable about ASD. It is our preference to board last as my son is better going into a situation which is already in place & not likely to change with lots of people coming on board but that is an individual choice. Also the flight is long enough without adding any extra time on the plane. We also requested that we disembark first as my son does not like people around him & they were really good and let us off the plane first, which also avoided the queues at immigration.
The GAC again is a personal choice. We could not do Disney without it as my son will only queue for about 15minutes if he is in the right mood! It was very busy at Easter and some of the queues were 180minutes! My NT son would not queue for that long so it did mean we could do all the big rides. Yes you get looks from people but we just ignored them. I am sure I would probably have done the same thing had I not had my son. Try to develop a thick skin!
Hope you have a fantastic time.
Louise.