Disney and Autism Photos

[disney-super-mom]

Here's our 2 boys at DL last October (we were there over Halloween and had a terrific time). Ryan (8) is on the left and is our autistic guy, and his little brother Luke (4) is on the right. They were waiting for their dad to rent strollers and being very patient. Normally Ryan kind of stiffens up and pulls away when he's touched, but here when Luke reached up to touch Ryan's face, Ryan actually leaned into it. I just thought it was a sweet moment between two brothers.

Here's Ryan with his dad driving in Autopia at Disneyland. Ryan LOVES driving and cars. When he grows up he says he wants to be a race car driver and a bus driver, and he's already talking about when he gets his drivers license. Oh boy............

And of course what's a trip to Tomorrowland (where we spend the majority of our time) without riding the Astro Orbitor. Not my favorite ride, but Ryan loves it!

 

[lucigo]

And of course what's a trip to Tomorrowland (where we spend the majority of our time) without riding the Astro Orbitor. Not my favorite ride, but Ryan loves it!

What a great smile! Love that last picture!

 

[disney-super-mom]

Here's Ryan in October 2006 with his dad on IASW. It's amazing how much they change in a year!

I don't know about other boys, but my little guys LOVE the Pixar characters. Again, this is October 2006, and Ryan is 7 and Luke is 3. We just happened to be walking by when all of a sudden Buzz walked out. No one in line yet, so ya know......PICTURE TIME!

I don't know about other autistic children, but Ryan is a fish. He loves swimming so much and will stay in a pool for hours, literally until he's blue with cold, because he's having so much fun. I think he went down the slide at the Paradise Pier Hotel (at DL) about 500 times while we were there. It was here where, for the first time, a guest (who happens to be a special ed teacher) noticed that Ryan was a little different and asked us if he was autistic. He was impressed with how well Ryan could communicate and interact. Most parents take their child's ability to talk and communicate for granted, but I have to say, that was a very proud moment for me. Ryan's worked on his speech SO HARD over the years, and apparently it shows.

 

[disneydeb]

our babies truly are our miracles.

 

[disneydeb]

1 prince and 3 princesses, where did you get the prince charming costume?

 

[sl_underwood]

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful photos and advice with me. We just got back yesterday and had a wonderful trip. I would love to share all the wonderful pictures of my son with you but as he is still not officially my son, his caseworker stated I cannot put his face on any website so here are a few I can share.

Thanks again!
Lora

 

[lucigo]

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful photos and advice with me. We just got back yesterday and had a wonderful trip. I would love to share all the wonderful pictures of my son with you but as he is still not officially my son, his caseworker stated I cannot put his face on any website so here are a few I can share.

Thanks again!
Lora

Aww looks like he did great with the characters! Hope you stayed dry and had a great time! (We got back Sunday night!)

 

[1Prince3Princesses]

1 prince and 3 princesses, where did you get the prince charming costume?

I'll PM you with the info.

 

[toodycat]

We've been going to WDW since DS was 6 and he will be 14 this year. Favorites were "The Seas with Nemo" and "Soaring" at Epcot which appeals to the vestibular issue ASD kids sometimes have. At MK, it was "Mickey's Philharmagic" "Pooh" "Peter Pan" and "Buzz Lightyear". He didn't care for "Pirates" ---the pirate's dirty feet freaked him out---and refused to go to the Haunted Mansion all together. Tiki Birds were too loud as was the Dinosaur attraction at AKL. DS also loved the lazy river at the water parks---found it very relaxing. Disneyquest had too much sensory input. We did the rafting attraction there and that was fun while it lasted, but it was the only one that interested him.He also loved meeting Stitch, Goofy and Hook. (He never liked characters whose real faces show.) At Hollywood Studios, he had a love/hate relationship with the movie set attraction. It was exciting, but loud and scary. We also always enjoy the Muppet 3D film. "Fantasmic" is too loud and we've tried a bunch of times, earplugs and all. We've also been on 4 Disney cruises. DS likes any cruise and I think this is a vestibular thing again. The ship's mild sway is very soothing.

 

[1stluvispooh]

We've been going to WDW since DS was 6 and he will be 14 this year. Favorites were "The Seas with Nemo" and "Soaring" at Epcot which appeals to the vestibular issue ASD kids sometimes have. At MK, it was "Mickey's Philharmagic" "Pooh" "Peter Pan" and "Buzz Lightyear". He didn't care for "Pirates" ---the pirate's dirty feet freaked him out---and refused to go to the Haunted Mansion all together. Tiki Birds were too loud as was the Dinosaur attraction at AKL. DS also loved the lazy river at the water parks---found it very relaxing. Disneyquest had too much sensory input. We did the rafting attraction there and that was fun while it lasted, but it was the only one that interested him.He also loved meeting Stitch, Goofy and Hook. (He never liked characters whose real faces show.) At Hollywood Studios, he had a love/hate relationship with the movie set attraction. It was exciting, but loud and scary. We also always enjoy the Muppet 3D film. "Fantasmic" is too loud and we've tried a bunch of times, earplugs and all. We've also been on 4 Disney cruises. DS likes any cruise and I think this is a vestibular thing again. The ship's mild sway is very soothing.

And I thought that DD was the only one who didn't like the faced characters.

 

[SueM in MN]

And I thought that DD was the only one who didn't like the faced characters.

You are not alone.
A lot of parents of children with ASD report the same thing.
I have read things about "eyes" that some people with ASD have written or communicated; that they have a hard time looking at people's faces because people's eyes distract them. They notice all the tiny eye movements that the rest of us can't see and that makes it very difficult to look at someone's face.
With the characters like Stitch, Mickey, etc, the eyes and the whole face don't move, so there are many less things to distract/disturb.

 

[toodycat]

Interesting information. Prior to that, I had just assumed he found the characters with the rubber heads more out of the ordinary.

 

[BethanyF]

some of my faves...

he had the boneyard almost entirely to himself...it was a great break for him to get some sensory input from the climbing and slides (2006)

this is just one in a series of pics with Chip & Dale. Every one of his character greets starts with a HUGE hug. When they finally posed for the pic, they covered his face so it became a game of peek-a-boo. I think we had them to ourselves for a good 5 minutes before anyone else came up for pics. Sam had a ball (2006)

playing with Pluto while waiting for breakfast at Ohana (2004)

tasting Beverly (2006)

(2006)

Jungle Boat Skipper (2006)

(2004)

 

[lucigo]

some of my faves...

Great pictures, he is adorable!! Thanks for sharing them I especially love the one with Pluto!

 

[BethanyF]

Great pictures, he is adorable!! Thanks for sharing them I especially love the one with Pluto!

it's one of my all time faves, thanks

on another note....looks like we will be at the World together. We'll be at SSR (first trip home as DVC members) followed by a 3 night cruise

 

[Andyjo0930]

This was the only picture all week that my son actually smiled. It was when he saw Mickey for the first time.

This is him with his sister and cousins at the pirate and princess party, he's the second one on the left next to his sister who is cinderella.

 

[rachel3]

i just love all of your pictures. i have 3 kids, 2 of them are autistic, dd (7) and ds (2). here are a couple of my pics.

my son was just awed at iasw, can you tell?!

this is my daughter's happy face, most of the time at disney (except for the few overstimulation meltdowns) can't be happy 100% of the time

 

[talfonso]

Am autistic, but can muddle through WDW well, despite the unruly kids, overweight people in scooters, and Brazilian tour groups. (I really don't mind the latter, however - they are the least annoying at WDW overall!) I enjoy the place and can go half days! I'll be posting up pics soon of today's day-trip to DAK!

 

[Brightsy]

I have waayyyy too many WDW pics to post of my son. But here's a couple cute ones from our last visit...and hopefully come Aug. I'll have some new ones to share!

There's a Magic Moment attached to that last picture. We'd gone to a T-Day buffet at the Swalphin for dinner. I thought they had mac-n-cheese but they didn't!!! They had a special T-day menu...and I was so worried that my lad would flip out. I mentioned that to the Hostess and by the time we finally got all settled a waitress arrived with the ginormous bowl you saw pictured. She out it in front of my son and said "With compliments from the Chef." He ate nearly the whole thing!

 

[pilgrimr]

I have loved the previous photos and it goes to show what a magical place Disney is. I am glad I saw this post today.

Brightsy, I love the picture of your son w/ mac & cheese. My son would have been in heaven.

Here are a couple of my son from over the years. He is now 6 and has autism. He is limited in his communication. He loves Disney along with the rest of his family.

He loved meeting witch from Snow White

This is him and sister at EPCOT a couple of years ago having a blast.

He loves Snow White (it was one of the first words he said unprompted, and has the action figure set). This picture was classic.

This is a couple of years old too, but I will have to say the Character Connection in EPCOT is the best.