We got back last night from a 17 day trip to Florida to visit Disney World, Clearwater Beach, and my parents in Stuart (near Palm Beach). I just thought that I should mention to anyone thinking of doing a trip this long, or a trip to Disney, some of what went on.
Disney World is quite overwhelming, even for perfectly well-adjusted children and parents. There are SO MANY people. We went for one of the predicted 4 least busy weeks of the year, and still I could not believe how many people were there. The constant pressures of other people around all the time are quite taxing for a child with emotional issues, and led to Clara trying to run away from the hotel several times when we were there. I have a broken leg and torn knee ligament (another story entirely), so I had to ride a scooter. Clara took the scooter once at the hotel to drive around in a circle, disappeared from view, and got lost. I do not recommend allowing your child to ride a scooter unaccompanied if you are unable to run quickly. She was hysterical by the time we found her 20 minutes later. We are blessed that she finally found her way back to the building next to ours and could hear the very loud shouting of Mommy. Since most of you will not need a scooter, the bigger take away is that Clara really needed some time to decompress after going to the parks. Some quiet time, alone or with just one parent, would be exceptionally beneficial when the experience of the trip is all new and completely all-encompassing.
Going to Disney World requires a lot of waiting. You have to wait for the bus to take you to the park. Once you get to the park you have to wait in line for rides, or to meet characters and princesses. You have to wait in line to get food. If you do not eat at a sit-down restaurant (Clara is comfortable with those), you have to wait for your food to be served in another line. You have to wait to watch the parades and fireworks. Waiting is very, very hard for Clara. I am guessing that it would be for other kids with special needs. I did learn that if your child has a condition, such as autism, that makes waiting extremely hard you can get a disability pass from Disney. This basically means that you will get a time to return to the ride so that you can go in a quick (5 minutes or so) line. I had to get these due to my leg a couple of times, and they are a pain because you have to leave the attraction and return with your timed pass, but it would have been much better than waiting in line for 50 minutes for Winnie the Pooh or 1.5 hours for the Avatar boat ride. I do not recommend waiting for anything longer than 20 minutes, and that is pushing it. 15 minutes was OK for Clara (she is 9, for those who do not know), and 10 minutes or less did not result in any kind of crying. The long waits were extremely hard for her and her family.
Clara has done just fine on 2 week camping trips because we have brought our dogs. I am not sure if this is just her, but having those familiar, loving friends around made being away from home OK. Clara began begging to have the dogs sent to us, or to go home early, about day 4. If we go away again on a trip where dogs cannot go, we are going to need to limit the time period of the trip. It was incredibly hard for her to be away from the familiar, and particularly from the best friends. I would love to know if other people have experienced this same sort of thing where their child/children were unable to deal with basic day-to-day activities due to being away from the familiarity of home.
Thursday we finally have Clara's intake appointment to be tested for ADHD and mood/anxiety/behavior/conduct disorders. I am hoping it will go well. Thank you to Colomama for recommending a place that was able to get her in with a less than 2 month wait. We are still on all sorts of waiting lists, and when I suddenly have free time I will call to cancel those potential appointments, but I have to say that it is such a relief to finally being on the way to knowing what is wrong other than dyslexia.
Disney World is quite overwhelming, even for perfectly well-adjusted children and parents. There are SO MANY people. We went for one of the predicted 4 least busy weeks of the year, and still I could not believe how many people were there. The constant pressures of other people around all the time are quite taxing for a child with emotional issues, and led to Clara trying to run away from the hotel several times when we were there. I have a broken leg and torn knee ligament (another story entirely), so I had to ride a scooter. Clara took the scooter once at the hotel to drive around in a circle, disappeared from view, and got lost. I do not recommend allowing your child to ride a scooter unaccompanied if you are unable to run quickly. She was hysterical by the time we found her 20 minutes later. We are blessed that she finally found her way back to the building next to ours and could hear the very loud shouting of Mommy. Since most of you will not need a scooter, the bigger take away is that Clara really needed some time to decompress after going to the parks. Some quiet time, alone or with just one parent, would be exceptionally beneficial when the experience of the trip is all new and completely all-encompassing.
Going to Disney World requires a lot of waiting. You have to wait for the bus to take you to the park. Once you get to the park you have to wait in line for rides, or to meet characters and princesses. You have to wait in line to get food. If you do not eat at a sit-down restaurant (Clara is comfortable with those), you have to wait for your food to be served in another line. You have to wait to watch the parades and fireworks. Waiting is very, very hard for Clara. I am guessing that it would be for other kids with special needs. I did learn that if your child has a condition, such as autism, that makes waiting extremely hard you can get a disability pass from Disney. This basically means that you will get a time to return to the ride so that you can go in a quick (5 minutes or so) line. I had to get these due to my leg a couple of times, and they are a pain because you have to leave the attraction and return with your timed pass, but it would have been much better than waiting in line for 50 minutes for Winnie the Pooh or 1.5 hours for the Avatar boat ride. I do not recommend waiting for anything longer than 20 minutes, and that is pushing it. 15 minutes was OK for Clara (she is 9, for those who do not know), and 10 minutes or less did not result in any kind of crying. The long waits were extremely hard for her and her family.
Clara has done just fine on 2 week camping trips because we have brought our dogs. I am not sure if this is just her, but having those familiar, loving friends around made being away from home OK. Clara began begging to have the dogs sent to us, or to go home early, about day 4. If we go away again on a trip where dogs cannot go, we are going to need to limit the time period of the trip. It was incredibly hard for her to be away from the familiar, and particularly from the best friends. I would love to know if other people have experienced this same sort of thing where their child/children were unable to deal with basic day-to-day activities due to being away from the familiarity of home.
Thursday we finally have Clara's intake appointment to be tested for ADHD and mood/anxiety/behavior/conduct disorders. I am hoping it will go well. Thank you to Colomama for recommending a place that was able to get her in with a less than 2 month wait. We are still on all sorts of waiting lists, and when I suddenly have free time I will call to cancel those potential appointments, but I have to say that it is such a relief to finally being on the way to knowing what is wrong other than dyslexia.
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