Shannon Sullivan is a special educator currently working with blind or low vision students. She also is a specialist in assistive technology for students with print-based disabilities, writing issues, and social skills concerns. Many of the tools and strategies used by teachers, therapists, and special educators in educational settings may help parents to have a more positive vacation experience with their children.
Some families don’t find a week away from home as a “break” at all. In fact, a new setting, challenges in finding medical care, and a change in routine can throw families of children with special needs back because of the meltdowns, financial considerations, and overall stress. Other families may find that their “little angels” just can’t fly on a plane, or tolerate Florida sunshine, and be at a loss as far as what to do. This site’s goal is to help all families to experience the magic, stay on budget, and create positive memories.
Shannon holds Masters Degrees in Education from Boston College, and Harvard University, in Special Education and Technology In Education, respectively. She studied Writing & Media/Photography at Loyola College in Maryland. She has taught in Baltimore, The Greater Boston area, and the Metro DC area. Shannon was also the producer of a standards-based Web Site for teachers called Xpeditions for the National Geographic Society and Thinkfinity. She has two children under 7 who are practically perfect in every way (in her eyes).
Dear Shannon,
We just returned from our first trip to Disneyworld with our 12-year old son who has Asperger’s and our two daughters ages 10 and 3. I found your site very helpful in our planning and preparation and thought I’d send you a few comments and observations on experiencing Disneyworld with an older child on the spectrum.
1) I was impressed by and grateful for the level of accommodation offered to our son. His biggest challenges revolve around sensory integration (he is hypersensitive to touch, taste, sound, and smell). Disneyworld was major sensory overload for him, and I’m not sure we would have made it without the graciousness and accommodation of Disney castmembers. The best thing we did was to stop by Guest Relations at Epcot our first day at the parks. We explained his disability and they gave us a red and white guest assistance card. This card got our whole party in through the Fastpass lane at all Fastpass attractions and on the few non-Fastpass attractions where we used it (such as It’s a Small World), it put us through an alternate entrance that reduced the wait time. I had heard of similar accommodations and thought it wouldn’t be necessary for our son, but it was a huge help. Even with this pass, we could only manage 2-3 attractions tops without needing a significant break. It would have been meltdown city if we had tried to navigate the parks without this assistance. We also used it at restaurants and found it very helpful in explaining that our son’s limited diet goes beyond that of typical childhood picky eater syndrome. At all the table service restaurants a chef came out to discuss options with us and they were amazingly accommodating. The only restaurant where we didn’t have a great experience was at Chefs de France – and that was due to a cranky server.
2) I should have taken your advice about breaks more seriously. It’s hard not to try to use every possible moment in the parks! The sights, sounds, and heat (even in April) were overwhelming and we had to drastically downsize our expectations for each day. We didn’t do the full day off every three days you suggest (tickets were already purchased plus our 10-year old daughter would have been seriously bummed), but we tried to work in significant morning time at the hotel or a long afternoon break each day. We also found that it helped to work in down time at the parks. We’d find a quiet place and just chill out on a bench or in a quick service restaurant for 30 minutes and let him play on his iPod or read. Sometimes this worked better than the trouble of getting on a bus to go back to our hotel. It was much harder than I anticipated to get ready to go in the mornings. It worked well to have leisurely mornings and some time at the pool and then head to the parks around lunchtime or later. For younger children, the opposite might be true but with our almost teenager, lazy mornings were key.
3) We learned to avoid some rides. I’m not sure I could have predicted in advance which ones would cause trouble. Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom was an awful experience for him and almost ruined the entire day. I think it was the loud noises and unpredictability. Space Mountain was also not a good option – even though he loved Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. He loved Mission Space Orange and rode Expedition Everest twice. Go figure. By the time we got to Hollywood Studios he chose not to ride Rock’n Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror.
I thought this would be our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disneyworld… but we loved it and can’t wait to return. I would love some suggestions for a few issues we didn’t solve on this trip. Do you have any tips for managing the often competing demands of a child on the spectrum and his or her neurotypical siblings? I found this to be a particular challenge as we could not go through the parks at the pace our daughter would have preferred. Any suggestions for dealing with rain and a hypersensitive child? We were fortunate to have only two rainy afternoon/evenings – but just getting to our dinner reservations was an ordeal even with a poncho and baseball cap.
Amy,
So glad you had a great trip. Isn’t it amazing how you think of it as “once in a lifetime” but as things go off a bit, you just want to dig in deeper? A great place.
The sibling piece is a great idea that I can ask a friend to guest blog about. She runs “sib shops” which are workshops for brothers and sisters. I’m a fan of the Mickey of the Day RULE (rules work well for fixated kids) so if the other child is having the day, it is the rule to follow their lead. Splitting up helps, too, if you have the hands on deck. I loved discovering unexpected characters, like Mulan, with my 3 year old as my DH and other son did the 5th Kim Possible mission. Do you have a planning DVD (free from Disney)? If you watch it together, and your other child makes of list of what she wants to do, it may help your child on the spectrum to prepare. What can be seen is easier to understand than “her choice”. “She wants to do the (x,y, and z) like we saw on television.” Keeps away from the abstract.
Glad you had lazy mornings. What a gift! Someone on another board suggested an over the door shoe bag to bring with, so less time is spent collecting and deciding on what come in the backpack.
So glad the guest assistance pass worked for you. Amazing how you max out, though, no matter what. Glad you got to enjoy what you did.
Reviewing a map with a cast member can help, too. I was surprised about the mist in Pirates of the Caribbean, for example.
What part of the rain is hard? The soft touch or the anxiety about lightening? Could it be the change in schedule that comes with rain? Long sleeve shirt or short? Was it unexpected?
So glad you like the site, and had a great time. Hope to see you there!!
Hi Shannon,
Sorry to do this as a comment, but I couldn’t find a contact option.
I just posted a Disney vacation countdown on my blog and thought to share it with you and if you’re interested, your readers. It is simple, but a fun way to involve and excite children and help reduce the endless stream of “When do we leave?”
Thanks!
Kristen, Celebrate Every Day With Me
http://www.celebrateeverydaywithme.com/2011/09/disney-vacation-countdown.html