So, who do we have on board?

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

Hi All!
First, my prayers and a lot of pixie dust go out to all of you who are traveling a harder path than I am. God bless you all!

Ditto!!

Hi Guys..I am Allison and I have three amazing kids. Sean (DS 10) has ADD.
My middle guy is Riley and he will be 8 next month. Our little Princess is Taylor and just turned 4 in October. Both of them have Asthma and allergies. Riley is severly lactose intolerant. That can be quite a struggle but can be controlled with medication.
Sean is in 5th grade and has been on Adderall XR since 1st grade. He is in a "main stream" classroom and is a wonderful student. He does have a 504 plan for time and a half for testing for those of you familiar with Special Ed. Our school tries to place kids with ADD/ADHD in inclusion classrooms if they can but, Sean does not meet the requirements to be classified , he is 504 so not technically a "main stream" student either so...he would throw the balance off. He has trouble staying on task, focusing and organization. Thankfully, we have had great success with is medication and he shows no signs of those during the school day. We have considered other options but, are not as knowledgable as we would like to be about those options. Any input would be great.
I have to agree with those that mentioned Melatonin. We struggled for years with sleeping issues with Sean. Our Ped recommended it two years ago and it has been a great help for him. He still has a restless night here and there but no where near as often as he used to.

I had my third knee surgery on November 6th. Our trip in September was the first time I had any kind of mobility issues. I spent a lot of time on benches with ice as my friend. I hope our next trip will be pain free.

Our family loves everything Disney. I've learned lots of great things here on Intercot.

[MsMin]

Hi Guys..I am Allison and I have three amazing kids. Sean (DS 10) has ADD.
My middle guy is Riley and he will be 8 next month. Our little Princess is Taylor and just turned 4 in October. Both of them have Asthma and allergies. Riley is severly lactose intolerant. That can be quite a struggle but can be controlled with medication.
Sean is in 5th grade and has been on Adderall XR since 1st grade. He is in a "main stream" classroom and is a wonderful student. He does have a 504 plan for time and a half for testing for those of you familiar with Special Ed. Our school tries to place kids with ADD/ADHD in inclusion classrooms if they can but, Sean does not meet the requirements to be classified , he is 504 so not technically a "main stream" student either so...he would throw the balance off. He has trouble staying on task, focusing and organization. Thankfully, we have had great success with is medication and he shows no signs of those during the school day. We have considered other options but, are not as knowledgable as we would like to be about those options. Any input would be great.
I have to agree with those that mentioned Melatonin. We struggled for years with sleeping issues with Sean. Our Ped recommended it two years ago and it has been a great help for him. He still has a restless night here and there but no where near as often as he used to.
I had my third knee surgery on November 6th. Our trip in September was the first time I had any kind of mobility issues. I spent a lot of time on benches with ice as my friend. I hope our next trip will be pain free.
Our family loves everything Disney. I've learned lots of great things here on Intercot.

Allison, all of mine are grown and all have graduated from college but as our Dr. says at our house everyone just grabs an an adderall out of the basket on their way out the door. I've attended seminars w/ Dr. Barkley, one of the leading Docs in ADD. so I can offer a lot from my experiences.
(for everyone) Remember that each ADD/ADHD child is different especially if there are other conditions- every child is not the same. One child may need one behavior plan while another needs a different one. Mental health is a little like cooking, some families need a little more spice while some families can't tolerate milk and others are vegetarian. It's an artform in knowing which blends are needed and a little trial and error. The wrong suggestion to the wrong family can be very damaging
I'm glad to see someone mention asthma b/c my dd has a lot of trouble with her asthma when at Disney especially in the more humid weather. She has had asthma since she was 1. The smells can often get to her especially in the shops with the fragrances and room fresheners.
Coke is our biggest friend at WDW, or any other drink with caffeine like coffee or tea. It's a great to stimulate to help the lungs stop spasming if needed for asthma or to help focus for ADD and someone forgot a med. Anyone else use caffeine as a substitute drug??
Christin is allergic to milk (triggers her asthma) but only in liquid so I don't have to worry b/c she knows not to drink it or have cereal.
We use Disney to recover from a traumatic loss and build new traditions and memories.....

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

Allison, all of mine are grown and all have graduated from college but as our Dr. says at our house everyone just grabs an an adderall out of the basket on their way out the door. I've attended seminars w/ Dr. Barkley, one of the leading Docs in ADD. so I can offer a lot from my experiences.
(for everyone) Remember that each ADD/ADHD child is different especially if there are other conditions- every child is not the same. One child may need one behavior plan while another needs a different one. Mental health is a little like cooking, some families need a little more spice while some families can't tolerate milk and others are vegetarian. It's an artform in knowing which blends are needed and a little trial and error. The wrong suggestion to the wrong family can be very damaging
I'm glad to see someone mention asthma b/c my dd has a lot of trouble with her asthma when at Disney especially in the more humid weather. She has had asthma since she was 1. The smells can often get to her especially in the shops with the fragrances and room fresheners.
Coke is our biggest friend at WDW, or any other drink with caffeine like coffee or tea. It's a great to stimulate to help the lungs stop spasming if needed for asthma or to help focus for ADD and someone forgot a med. Anyone else use caffeine as a substitute drug??
Christin is allergic to milk (triggers her asthma) but only in liquid so I don't have to worry b/c she knows not to drink it or have cereal.
We use Disney to recover from a traumatic loss and build new traditions and memories.....

Thanks for the input.
I agree with everything you said. We are so pleased with how well Sean does on Adderall but, we are always open to new suggestions and input. We have been lucky that we have not had to go through trying many different meds, etc, to find the right match. Adderall worked from the beginning.
I like your cooking analogy...makes lots of sense.
Both my DD's and my asthma act up in Florida. We always go in September, which is really tough with the heat and humidity. We were so pleased with SSR when we stayed there. Usually we have issues with the rooms we have stayed in.
I have never made a connection with Coke and my asthma. Maybe because I drink it a lot on vacation..lol. Great thinking.
I always make sure I bring more inhalers and meds then I think we will need. I had three Albuterol inhalers each for Taylor, Riley and I. Of course, their Singulair and Flovent too. Taylor uses a spacer for her inhalers so I brought two of those in case we misplaced one on vacation. I look like a medicine cabinet on vacation..lol. We were pretty good last trip.

Thanks again for your input!!

[brown1442]

Hi all!

My name is Sarah and I have two boys on the autism spectrum. My oldest will be 5 in January and recently had his diagnosis changed to Aspergers. My younger son is 2.5 and has yet to be evaluated (appt in January) but is certainly on the spectrum as well.

We have a trip to Disney World scheduled for next week... Dec 3-9 and I can't wait!!! We'll be staying at the Polynesian. I hope and pray it goes smoothly.

[merlinmagic4]

Hi all!

My name is Sarah and I have two boys on the autism spectrum. My oldest will be 5 in January and recently had his diagnosis changed to Aspergers. My younger son is 2.5 and has yet to be evaluated (appt in January) but is certainly on the spectrum as well.

We have a trip to Disney World scheduled for next week... Dec 3-9 and I can't wait!!! We'll be staying at the Polynesian. I hope and pray it goes smoothly.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!! Don't hesitate to drop in at Guest Relations if you think they can do anything to make your trip go more smoothly. They are WONDERFUL at making sure families with children who have special needs have a fantastic trip

[nifty48]

Hi my name is Naomi and I’m Grammy to Jacob (4 ½) and Abby (22 Months). Jacob was diagnosed with Autism just prior to his third birthday. My daughter and I were Disney fans for many years before Jacob arrived and we were excited to share our love of Disney with him. We’re Florida residents with Season Passes and like to visit often. As we are learning about the world of Autism we are also learning how to share our love of Disney with Jacob who is now a total fan. It has taken some trial and effort and we are always ready to adapt but we have after many visits learned what works for us. We would love to share what works for us with anyone who has questions.

[brown1442]

Hi my name is Naomi and I’m Grammy to Jacob (4 ½) and Abby (22 Months). Jacob was diagnosed with Autism just prior to his third birthday. My daughter and I were Disney fans for many years before Jacob arrived and we were excited to share our love of Disney with him. We’re Florida residents with Season Passes and like to visit often. As we are learning about the world of Autism we are also learning how to share our love of Disney with Jacob who is now a total fan. It has taken some trial and effort and we are always ready to adapt but we have after many visits learned what works for us. We would love to share what works for us with anyone who has questions.

I'd love to hear any suggestions that you have!!

[nifty48]

I'd love to hear any suggestions that you have!!

Not sure what tips you’re looking for but what really worked for us was a variation of the “we are going to” folder. My daughter got a coupon clipper folder that you use in the supermarket. with your coupons. She created a “We are going to “front page with a place for a picture of a ride. In the folder she has pictures of all the rides. As we leave a ride she places a picture of the next ride on the “we are going to” page. It really helps with the transition from ride to ride. We had to carry him away from the Speedway cars to another ride one visit. The next visit we showed him the picture of the teacups after he exited the speedway cars saying “again, again”. Once he saw the picture of the teacups he jumped in the stroller saying “teacups” and off we went. We were amazed at how easily it redirected him. As I said not sure what hints you’re looking for but this was something that worked for us.

[nifty48]

I'd love to hear any suggestions that you have!!

I forgot to mention the Guest Special Assistance Pass. You can get it from Guest Relations at any of the parks. My daughter brings a letter from her Doctor stating my DGS has Autism and this makes it difficult for him to wait in long noisy lines with lots of other people close by. Sometimes the CM asks to see the letter sometimes they do not. The pass should be dated to last the length of your stay so you only need to get it once and it's good in all the parks at Disney. If the lines are short you may not need it but it is great to have if the lines are crowded and noisy. On rides that have a fast pass lane you show it to the CM at the fast pass entrance and they let you in there. On rides that do not have a fast pass entrance we ask a CM what to do. Even with the pass and avoiding the lines we have had instances when my DGS just would not go on a ride. Something about it just scares him. So be prepared that something might turn them off to a ride. We have learned to just move on to the next ride.

Have a great trip!

[Mickey'sGirl]

I'd love to hear any suggestions that you have!!

Sarah -- My oldest has Asperger's and my youngest has ASD. My best advice is to USE FASTPASSES whenever possible and to take breaks during the day. The Poly is such a great hotel and your guys are sure to LOVE hanging out by the pool there for a bit.

We have also had to avoid LIVE shows. The anticipation and waiting and staying in the seat and the volume is all too much for our children to handle (including Turtle Talk, unfortunately). We give our kids maps to hold/use at the parks. It gives them something to focus on, as the stimuli around them is sometimes far too exciting.

I hope you have a fantaublous holiday!

[Here we go again...]

Not sure what tips you’re looking for but what really worked for us was a variation of the “we are going to” folder. My daughter got a coupon clipper folder that you use in the supermarket. with your coupons. She created a “We are going to “front page with a place for a picture of a ride. In the folder she has pictures of all the rides. As we leave a ride she places a picture of the next ride on the “we are going to” page. It really helps with the transition from ride to ride. We had to carry him away from the Speedway cars to another ride one visit. The next visit we showed him the picture of the teacups after he exited the speedway cars saying “again, again”. Once he saw the picture of the teacups he jumped in the stroller saying “teacups” and off we went. We were amazed at how easily it redirected him. As I said not sure what hints you’re looking for but this was something that worked for us.

What a great idea!

[tiggerifictwo]

Hi I'm melissa . I have a 4 year old son with mild MR ,adhd, SPD.We are saving for a big trip to WDW in 2011.

[luvdiznee]

Some of you may remember from my post a few weeks ago, I have a 10 yr old DD who is a Type I Diabetic. She wears an insulin pump which is a good help. I try not to consider her special need, she will never eat anything sugar free. So thank goodness again for that pump. She does have asthma as well, to the point where we bring the nebulizer with us just in case. And she takes 3 types of medications per day for that. Good to know a thread like this is around.

[duckhere]

I'm going to love this thread! I'm Rob, I have a daughter, 7, with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She is wheelchair bound and needs help with pretty much everything, including eating and drinking. She tires very quickly but is such a trooper! Our first trip to WDW was in Nov 04, Make a wish sent us and we were addicted. I've spend the last 3 years planning our next trip and we leave tomorrow 12/2!!! It's finally here!

[Kennywife]

I'm Anna Gibson-Farringer and I have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, possibly Celiac Disease. I stay on a gluten free diet for my condition and avoid drinking milk and eating eggs. I also have Catamenial Epilepsy, meaning I have seizures most often during my menstrual cycle. I also have metal plates in my leg from a crushed tibia femur bone.

I am married for a year and a half to a wonderful man. I work from home doing writing and research. I loooove to cook, watch tv such as cooking shows and shop online.

Despite my challenges, I strive every day to do my best and not live my life poo-pooing about my problems....well...most of the time.

My husband and I looove Disney and plan to go every two years. We have a trip coming up in late April. I never got to go till last year fro my honeymoon and plan to make up for all the years lost!

Walt Disney World 04/30/08-05/03/08 Carribbean Beach Resort
Disney Wonder 05/04/08-05/07/08--Two-year anniversary/birthdays vacation!

Walt Disney World 06/18/06-06/21/06 Port Orleans Riverside--honeymoon
06/22/06-06/25/06 Disney Wonder

[merlinmagic4]

I'm going to love this thread! I'm Rob, I have a daughter, 7, with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She is wheelchair bound and needs help with pretty much everything, including eating and drinking. She tires very quickly but is such a trooper! Our first trip to WDW was in Nov 04, Make a wish sent us and we were addicted. I've spend the last 3 years planning our next trip and we leave tomorrow 12/2!!! It's finally here!

to another Make a Wish family!!! Glad to see you here and have a wonderful trip

[Von-Drake]

My son is 4 1/2 years old and was diagnosed with Mile to Moderate Autism just before turning 3. He has been to Disney 4 times and will be going for a fifth time next April for his birthday. He loves it. We even planned a spur of the moment trip this past August when after watching some playhouse Disney, he turned to my wife and I and said plain as can be: "I go to DisneyWorld?" (it could have been a statement, but the tone of his voice was that of a question.) We always make sure we tell the Disney person who takes our reservations and the last time we checked in, the Cast Member was great. He does have a hard time when he gets surrounded by a lot of people and so many conversations going on... it makes it very difficult to wait for a show and/or in line sometimes. He is getting better in lines if we are able to make sure we are constantly talking to him and he sees us talking to him, but if he loses that focus on us..... it gets a little tough. We did the Guest Assistance Pass in August and it was very helpful. We are debating about using it again, since he is getting better at waiting in lines. He LOVES the characters, even those he does not know the names of.

[robyn221]

My 11-year-old son, Rhys, has autism. He was first diagnosed as having a severe language delay, but after a couple of years of intensive speech therapy, he still had issues with socialization and his fine and gross motor skills were also not developing normally. That's when we visited a pediatric neurologist who confirmed our suspicions that this was indeed autism.

Rhys is currently in the 4th grade (just like his 9-year-old sister Callie Jane). He spends a portion of his day in a regular classroom with an aide or his SPED teacher for reading & social studies. He gets one-on-one instruction for math, English, & science (only because it's easier to schedule the science around his adaptive PE this way). He uses a special keyboard for most of his writing assignments which beams the input directly to the classroom's computer for printing. In addition to the speech therapy, occupational therapy, and APE at school, we're still doing private speech therapy and tutoring in math, each one day a week. Unless you know him, you really can't tell he had a language issue, although his speech is still somewhat scripted. Rhys is Lafayette's foremost expert on dinosaurs & paleontology and will talk your ear off about the tyranosaurus rex and a number of other dinosaurs whose names I can't spell. He still has some difficulties with socialization and appropriate behaviors with others and making friends. It kills me to see him want to play & interact with other boys his age but not really being sure how to do it.

We took the kids to WDW twice in 2003 (once at Mardi Gras and again at Thanksgiving when a family member just happened to be getting married the weekend before on nearby Captiva Island) and again this year to celebrate Callie's 9th birthday at the end of September. We had a few issues on this last trip that we probably could have avoided with a little better planning (for example, being better aware of the CS options in EPCOT's World Showcase), but overall it was truly fabulous (of course, the best part was that neither kid had A CLUE we were going until we picked them up at school and they saw the suitcases in the back of their dad's truck! We're still patting ourselves on the back for being able to pull that one off!)!

Robyn

[robyn221]

We did the Guest Assistance Pass in August and it was very helpful. We are debating about using it again, since he is getting better at waiting in lines.

I am of the belief that it is better to have and not need than to need and not have. On our last trip to WDW, we got a GAC for Rhys. Because we were there just after the free dining promotion had ended, the crowds were not terribly large and we didn't have to wait very long for much of anything, so we didn't have to use it. But it was nice knowing we had the card just in case.

Robyn

[crazykids]

Hello, my name is Theresa.

My oldest child (age 5) was diagnosed with mild PDD-NOS & ADHD just before he turned 3. He was in a special ed class focusing on autism at age 3 & spent two years going full time to school year round. This year he has moved up to the regular class w/ typical peers & has been without the aide since last spring! He is making so many improvements, but it is not without a lot of hard work on everyone's part. We too have been trying out different meds for about a year now, right now he's on Concerta and it has made an improvement. I can also vouch for the use of melatonin on days when it's hard for him to settle down to be able to fall asleep - works like a charm! Because of his sensory needs he is a thrill ride junky. The only rides he couldn't go on last time were RNR and the primevial whirl, but he is hoping to grow another couple inches by next summer!

My daughter (age 3) is suspected to have the ADHD, but the doctors are waiting a little while longer to make a final diagnosis. She was diagnosed with a sensory disorder & is very inattentive & hyper. My youngest daughter (age 2) so far is acting & doing everything she is supposed to & we are hoping that it stays that way!

The one blessing that comes out of having kids w/ ADHD is that they have the stamina to last in the parks all day long without taking a break. They love all of the big rides, where other kids the same age wouldn't dare ride. I've been going to Disney since age 3 & I love it more everytime I go! We just took the kids for their first trip this past September & they loved it! We ended up purchasing DVC while there because we know there will be many more trips to come - already have 3 planned for 2008!

I suffer from back pain I developed in a bad car accident about 12 years ago. It doesn't stop me from doing things, but I do sometimes have to rely on pain medication and a TENS unit. I also have a bad knee that I was told would need to be replaced. Since I'm only 34 that can't happen for a long time, so I just kind of have to put up with it.

I'd also be glad to help anyone with any questions they may have.