Florida with a child with Autism

[pers5579]

Hi all,

Do you have any top tips to make a trip with an autistic 6 year old easier?


Thanks

[duchy]

Plan , plan and plan some more.
My ASD son knew all about Disney and the characters and rides long before we went . This was pre YouTube but we were part of one of the very early Disney newsgroups , I'm sure many of those FDCers are the DIS and DIBbers early members

Disney does have provision for kids with disabilities and it's a lifesaver not to queue for everything.

We found suite hotels worked best with space to spread ourselves and the ability to eat in comfortably as often after a busy , over stimulated park day going out to eat would just be too much ( doesn't mean you have to cook we had dinner delivered from places like TGIs as well as the ever popular pizza)

Consider splitting the day , go to the parks early and beat the crowds and heat then when it gets busy and hot late morning go back to your suite for lunch/nap/swim and go back later refreshed when it is quieter and cooler.

[Jedi_Angie]

Have a look at the special needs forum - lots of info there. Two of my three children are autistic, and the first time we went to Florida they were 9 and 6. A villa worked well for us, so they could have their own space and their own pool.

[DisneyBride08]

We have been watching you tube vlogs for a while now. This helped us make choices on our hotel etc. We wont do full days in the parks. I look at the busy day guides and work out where we want to eat and plan around that.

This will be the first time for us using FP+ and the new DAS system. I'm going to book in the rides I know we feel safe taking him on. Our DD will be three so there won't be that many big rides on our list. But our son is a thrill seeker.

I'm going to make visuals to show our son what we will be doing for that day. I'm going to take that day by day as I have found that knowing too much can sometimes cause a meltdown as he has got older. He will be 7. I'm also going to let him look at the maps of the parks. This will probably be when there to be honest. Again to stop excitement meltdowns.

We basically go with how the children are feeling. Making sure there is down time at the hotel. We have also decided not to drive and use transport as car journeys are not easy at home.

It will be hard work but rewarding at the same time.

[Gryff]

Check out Autism@theparks.com loads of good info on there

[Cindy2015]

Hi there, as the other posters have said there is a lot of info out there and its very helpful.

We prepared well for the trip and he knew all about the travelling and what to expect in the airport. He was so nervous of flying we had to be careful to make sure he didn't see any aircrash disaster programmes on TV or in the news before we went. We showed him the parks and the rides and he knew what to expect. We been twice now and on our next trip our DS will be 11. We've not used any assistance prior to this but last trip we found he has less patience waiting in line and gets stressed and anxious in the airports and it can be quite frustrating for him, being rushed through security, passport control and so on (for anyone truth be told).

I've been in contact with Dublin Airport, Aer Lingus, Gatwick Airport, Virgin Atlantic and MCO to see if we can make things like security, passport control, immigration etc a little less stressful. Gatwick were very helpful, immediately offered an escort in the airport but I just opted for the lanyard for hidden disability. You might find the option of an escort in the airports very helpful. MCO also very helpful. Virgin also helpful. Dublin Airport and Aer Lingus least as they require a doctors letter - understandable to avoid abuse of the system but another cost - I expect they will be good on travel day. Once on the plane he will be happy with his ds and ipad and in the IFE - loves all that. We also bring some snacks that he can eat as the plane food is a no no.

We stay in a villa too - own space, quiet, pool for just us, no issues with food as we can get what he likes.

For the parks we have FOLP for our days in Universal and will ask about the Disability Assistance at the park entry - we should only have to do it on the first visit and they will issue for the duration of our stay as I understand. These allow you to get a time to come back for the ride. We're not doing Disney this year but I think they offer something similar.

Check out the special needs forum on here - I found a lot of good info there.

There will be a little more organising and planning but you and your 6 year will have a great time.

[pers5579]

Thanks for the replies

[Guest]

Hi we are travelling for the second time in November this year. First visit did not go to well at MCO both ways, the 2 hour long wait to get through security caused problems what with it being so packed in the area as well, and the same coming home we found a very long wait to get through security causing meltdowns etc

[amandajane10]

Originally Posted by LolaBearBaloo

Hi we are travelling for the second time in November this year. First visit did not go to well at MCO both ways, the 2 hour long wait to get through security caused problems what with it being so packed in the area as well, and the same coming home we found a very long wait to get through security causing meltdowns etc

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You can ask for special assistance. We got through security really fast as we had someone meet us off the plane.

[JK's Mummy]

Originally Posted by amandajane10

You can ask for special assistance. We got through security really fast as we had someone meet us off the plane.

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Can I please ask how you organised this... I'm really bothered about ds waiting in line in the airport however didn't know you could request assistance at that end.