Travelling with a child who has server anxiety

Sianhudson

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Hi so my parents and I have travelled to WDW a lot when I was growing up. My husband has been once we are planning to take my daughter who will be 3.5yr next Yr in Sept when we go for 3 weeks. We may also have a baby with us when we go (still working timings out)


She has recently been formally diagnosed with Server Anxiety in multiple aspects as 20 months. We have been tol by her specialist to try find out how to make this trip easy as we can for her.


We are staying at Saratoga, we will be travelling with my parents and brother who she loves.
We will not go to the parks everyday and maybe even half a day at most.

Any other tips I'm very uneasy with how with will be for her I can't even take her to grocery store without having struggles for her.

Any tips or advice will be amazing.
 
Excuse my ignorance, but can I ask what Server Anxiety is? I’m a teacher and have never heard this term. I have taught children as young as 4-5 with anxiety that was clinically diagnosed as severe, if that’s what your daughter has. If that’s the case, happy to offer up the resources I’ve used to help them anticipate changes in routine.
 
The first few things that come to mind are to try to stick to a schedule as similar to your norm as possible. Waking, eating, napping, etc.

Try to find quiet spaces where you can get away from crowds. Baby care centers are available in each park, but there are videos and sites that list other quieter spots in the parks as well.

As you said, go slow and don't go for long periods of time.

I'd fight the urge for special Disney clothes and such and try to bring things she is comfortable in already.

Lastly, if this is something that helps her, explain everything you're doing as you're going along, or shortly beforehand...even the things that seem mundane to you. It's harder at her age, of course, but I always find that the more they understand the better.

What are the things about grocery shopping that upset her? Maybe by making a list for yourself you can look at each item and think on how that might translate to WDW and what can be done to make each item better while you're there.

I hope you all have an enjoyable trip.
 


My biggest suggestion would be to do a social story with pictures and read it to her a lot. If you are flying make sure to include every step of how it will go at the airport, including special loveys having to go through x-ray, standing in line, the bathroom on the airplane, etc. Talk about/show pictures of lines, give her special phrases that are easy for her to say if she's feeling overwhelmed, etc.
 
It sounds like you have about a year and 8 months before your trip. With this being a new diagnosis, her being so young, and the trip still being a good ways off, try not to stress yourself out too much as it's hard to know how she will be over a year and a half from now. Strategies for helping to make things easier for her will largely depend on what difficulties she is having (which again, it's hard to necessarily know how things will change between now and your trip).

Just some general tips though:

I second the idea of getting the stroller as wheelchair tag if she has anxiety in crowds as it will allow the stroller to be brought in ride queues and give her a space of her own. Bring along a small lightweight sheet/blanket to drape over the canopy of the stroller to help fully enclose it to block out outside stimuli. You might also consider bringing a stroller fan to help keep her cool as September can get hot and being uncomfortable can help to trigger anxiety for many people.

In line with keeping her comfortable, sticking to regular meal times and drinking plenty of fluids is very important. It can be easy to get off schedule with things like that at Disney. Straws and lids are difficult to find in the parks so you may want to bring a favorite sippy cup or two to transfer any drinks for her into. Also, some favorite snacks brought from home might bring comfort.

Closer to the trip, you can show her videos of the parks to get her more familiar with them. Videos of meet and greets, ride POVs, and of the parks in general. If there are local amusement parks near you (or even something like a zoo), it might help to take her there to get her more used to being around lots of people, lines, etc.

There are several areas throughout the parks that tend to be less crowded and are good if she needs to get away from the chaos for a bit. The animal trails in AK and Tom Sawyer's Island in MK immediately come to mind.

If you are flying, many airports offer a program for kids with special needs to allow them to come on a different day and go through the airport procedures to become comfortable with the process before your flight. TSA Cares can also assist passengers with special needs when you do go to the airport for your flight. Make sure to call and ask for that assistance at least 72 hours in advance.

Work with her doctors/specialists to try to determine if there are specific triggers for her anxiety and what, if anything, helps to calm her. My son had bad anxiety when he was a baby and toddler (he's 4 now and thankfully his anxiety has significantly improved) and grocery stores were incredibly difficult for us as well. The one thing that really helped him was looking up at the ceiling. It sounds strange, but when he would start to meltdown, if we could get his attention focused on the ceiling, he would start to calm down. The doctor thought it may have been that he felt like strangers were closing in on him and looking up at the ceilings helped him to focus his attention elsewhere and not feel so closed in since the ceilings were so tall. That same strategy actually helped us in several lines at Disney when we took him at 2 as there were often interesting light fixtures or pipes in the ride queue ceilings that could draw his attention away from the people surrounding him.

Distraction techniques can be very helpful with redirecting focus on to something else. My son enjoyed looking for hidden mickeys around the parks and playing simple games of iSpy (do you see something red?) and it helped to give him something else to focus on when he was uncomfortable.

Definitely take things at her pace. Be willing to change plans if she needs a break or doesn't want to do something at the last second. Saratoga is a great resort for relaxing and walking around. It's where we stayed as well on that trip when our son was 2. It's very peaceful and there are loads of areas to walk around and get away from people. The 2 feature pools are a lot of fun with slides for little ones (the one in Paddock actually has a separate kids water play structure with slides and fountains). There are also quiet pools in Grandstand and Congress Park which are typically far less crowded and may be a good choice for some relaxed fun without as many people.

Also for the hotel, consider bringing her favorite blanket, stuffed animal, and maybe even pillowcase from home as it may aid in making her feel more comfortable sleeping. I mention pillowcase as smells can often trigger feelings of uncomfortability and her own pillowcase from home will smell like your laundry detergent which is what she is used to smelling when she goes to bed at home.

Good luck! I hope her anxiety improves as time goes on.
 
I would absolutely echo all of this last comment and the visual/social stories or story boards. I'd bet someone has made one of these on Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers for a trip to Disney or something similar, if you don't want to DIY it.

Does your child struggle with sensory triggers as well? I know that grocery stores, for one of my students with severe anxiety, were also a major trigger. The smells change so often. The lighting can be different in different parts of the store. Things feel different than they do in a home environment (slick floors, metal shopping cart, etc). Even the temperature changes in different sections of the store! It's the perfect combination for sensory overload!

She'll be so different at that age than she is now, so you might also want to think through elements of choice. Some kids with anxiety do amazing when presented with choices. For others, it's easier to make the choices for them so they can have things that are most familiar (or more familiar). Figuring out where she is on that will help you pre-plan rides and meals with her (i.e., do you need to go to a restaurant where there's PB & J available or can she handle new foods in small quantities, etc).

Not sure where you live, but I'm assuming she's already in Early Intervention or a similar state-wide program if you're in the US. If not, I'd begin that process ASAP- it really is amazing what is available for free to help kids who need social/academic/developmental help, even that early. For a lot of places, the free services disappear around age 3- 3.5, though she could be tested to potentially qualify for HeadStart or something similar after that. All of these things would help expose her to new environments which may help in the long run.

Also, you may want to look into ABA therapy. I believe the type of ABA used for anxiety disorders is usually Behavioral Activation, and this could make a huge difference with a year's worth of consistent work on this. I've seen kids go through ABA and basically change so much in 6 months or a year that it's almost unbelievable.

Good luck!
 


Excuse my ignorance, but can I ask what Server Anxiety is? I’m a teacher and have never heard this term. I have taught children as young as 4-5 with anxiety that was clinically diagnosed as severe, if that’s what your daughter has. If that’s the case, happy to offer up the resources I’ve used to help them anticipate changes in routine.
I had to Google it and immediately felt stupid--OP must have meant 'severe' anxiety, not 'server'
 

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