Trouble getting son with ASD/ADHD off rides

[amyamya]

My DS5 has austim and ADHD. He has only been to Legoland, not DLR. When we were at Legoland he had great difficulty getting off the rides. He did not understand that he couldn't ride the ride again. Many times I would have to pick him up screaming and carry him off. Does anyone have any experience with this and have techniques that work or help. I have a social story planned, but the trip is a surprise so I don't have much time to go over things with him before we hit the parks.

 

[davedmaine]

Maybe for his own well being, you should tell him about the trip and work with him now to understand about getting on/off rides. I'm not an expert, but that seems like it might be better for him rather than overwhelming him with a Disney surprise..

 

[SueM in MN]

Maybe for his own well being, you should tell him about the trip and work with him now to understand about getting on/off rides. I'm not an expert, but that seems like it might be better for him rather than overwhelming him with a Disney surprise..

I would agree.
Most people with ASD don’t do well with surprises.

I would make the social story specific for riding and getting off.
I would suggest several specific things:

1) We wait in line for our time to ride. And it is OK.
2) We get in the ride car. And it is OK.
3) We ride the ride. It was fun and it is OK.
4) The ride is over. We get off. And it is OK.
5) Next, we will do something else that is fun. And it is OK.

You can find pictures of most WDW attractions online, which should be helpful.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

i would be working with him about rides well before trip. breaking down into as many steps as you can esp the part about riding once then getting off and either doing something else or getting back in line and doing again. at the bigger parks like Disney will need more preparation. your social stories will help but will take telling more than once.

 

[CarolineB]

My DS is special needs too and at your son's age, he also had an issue with wanting to pick the ride vehicle that we went in (sometimes it was just because he liked a particular color.) You may want to add something like "we will be shown where to sit."

You could also incorporate the fast pass as "tickets to ride" -- let him know that special tickets are needed for some rides.

 

[buckeev]

Up until last Halloween's WDW trip, we would always try to prepare our son for as many scenarios as we could possibly think of. That was our first surprise trip, and he handled it very well, but he was 13 then.
As a 5 year old, it would have been much different. We had a tough time getting him out of Chuck E. Cheese's at that age.
You know him better than any of us, and have to make these tough calls. If you could work the surprise announcement in say...a few weeks before the trip, perhaps that would give y'all time to "rehearse" some aspects of what's expected from him.
Best wishes for a great time...PM with any ASD questions...hang in there...it gets better!

 

[Mom2six]

I don't have any good answer for you, but I wish you good luck with your social stories and teaching him to get off the ride. My DS4 also has autism, but I have the opposite problem in that he will not consider getting on any type of ride. He hasn't been to WDW yet, but he is going in September. Of the six children, he is the only one that knows about the trip. It is a surprise for the others, but I could never spring something like that on him. He has a lot of anxiety issues! I talk about the trip with him and show him youtube videos. In some of the videos, you can see people leaving the ride as the video taper is getting on - perhaps watching some videos will help?

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't have any good answer for you, but I wish you good luck with your social stories and teaching him to get off the ride. My DS4 also has autism, but I have the opposite problem in that he will not consider getting on any type of ride. He hasn't been to WDW yet, but he is going in September. Of the six children, he is the only one that knows about the trip. It is a surprise for the others, but I could never spring something like that on him. He has a lot of anxiety issues! I talk about the trip with him and show him youtube videos. In some of the videos, you can see people leaving the ride as the video taper is getting on - perhaps watching some videos will help?

There is a link to a really great youtube video series on post 3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. It is an interactive video of a trip to WDW.
It shows walking around in the park, then when the host gets to an attraction, you have the choice to skip it and keep walking to the next attraction or ‘get on’ by clicking to switch to a video of the ride. All the ride videos show at least part of the line, the getting on and part of the attraction (with the exception of ones that don’t allow videotaping). At the end, the host gets off and you click to continue in the park OR you can sometimes ride again, but it takes you to the beginning of the ride video, so you see that you need to go back into the line, and wait again before riding.

The video series covers all the parks. The only thing to be aware of is that it was made before Toontown was torn down, so it does include Toontown. It also included some lines that have changed after it was filmed (Winnie the Pooh and Haunted Mansion).

 

[Mom2six]

There is a link to a really great youtube video series on post 3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. It is an interactive video of a trip to WDW.
It shows walking around in the park, then when the host gets to an attraction, you have the choice to skip it and keep walking to the next attraction or ‘get on’ by clicking to switch to a video of the ride. All the ride videos show at least part of the line, the getting on and part of the attraction (with the exception of ones that don’t allow videotaping). At the end, the host gets off and you click to continue in the park OR you can sometimes ride again, but it takes you to the beginning of the ride video, so you see that you need to go back into the line, and wait again before riding.

The video series covers all the parks. The only thing to be aware of is that it was made before Toontown was torn down, so it does include Toontown. It also included some lines that have changed after it was filmed (Winnie the Pooh and Haunted Mansion).

This sounds great! I will definitely check it out myself. I could see it being a help for children who don't want to get off the ride as it shows the whole routine.

 

[lalapodip]

I would agree.
Most people with ASD don’t do well with surprises.

I would make the social story specific for riding and getting off.
I would suggest several specific things:

1) We wait in line for our time to ride. And it is OK.
2) We get in the ride car. And it is OK.
3) We ride the ride. It was fun and it is OK.
4) The ride is over. We get off. And it is OK.
5) Next, we will do something else that is fun. And it is OK.

You can find pictures of most WDW attractions online, which should be helpful.

I read these boards frequently even though we do not yet have our next trip planned. My son is now 17 (ASD), and I am always looking for tips such as these, especially as he grows older, and I cannot carry him off rides.

My son had extreme difficulty leaving rides during our 2009 trip - and when I read this post, I realized how much he now uses and really understands the work "OK" - so, I am saving this tip, as well as checking out the youtube interactive series suggested.

Love it here on disABILITIES

Thanks

 

[tdk316]

We just returned from taking DS5 who is ASD, ADHD, etc. and I would HIGHLY recommend telling him about the trip in advance. We were planning on surprising our son and he picked up that something was going on but didn't know what and had two massive panic attacks just days before we were going to leave. Once we told him he what was going on he was ok with it and excited to go.

My son has been many times so he gets the ride thing now but when he was little we had to bribe him in advance to get off the rides. We'd bribe him with a treat or small toy that we said was waiting in his stroller for him. I used to buy a ton of little toys from the Dollar Store (Disney themed) that we could give to him. He also liked those plastic finger puppets and we'd make him leave them in the stroller as something to go back to (and they were easily hidden so they wouldn't disappear while we were in the attraction). We'd make a big deal about getting back to the item when we were almost done with the ride because most of the time he didn't realize we'd left it until we said something to him.

Can you practice at home before getting there? At our zoo they have some small rides that we used to go and practice on right before leaving for WDW so he'd get the idea. It'd cost some $ but for us it was worth it to spend a morning riding rides at home before going to help him get the idea.

Good luck and pixie dust!

 

[sharadoc]

I read these boards frequently even though we do not yet have our next trip planned. My son is now 17 (ASD), and I am always looking for tips such as these, especially as he grows older, and I cannot carry him off rides.

My son had extreme difficulty leaving rides during our 2009 trip - and when I read this post, I realized how much he now uses and really understands the work "OK" - so, I am saving this tip, as well as checking out the youtube interactive series suggested.

Love it here on disABILITIES

Thanks

You're so right! That "word" OK gets used by my son a lot too. To him, it means a big long sentence, depending on the situation. It will mean "I'm going to get a drink" or "I want to watch this DVD" or even "Okay".

There are some theme parks, not Disney, who will allow ASD kids to ride twice. Dutch Wonderland does that, you enter at the exit and you can stay on for two rides. I guess the "not getting off" thing is pretty common. We've never had that issue YET. Now that I know about it, it will probably happen on our next trip LOL.

 

[of2dbeach]

seeinghe is small what if you let him ride the horsie rides infront of Walmart etc. i know we have thoes kinda things in the mall here. it would give him practice of ok now we sit down the ride is going it is almost over and we need to give someone else a turn and go find another fun thing to ride on. My son is 19 so I know it is hard. You tube has alot of great videos and you can also order the disney videos and that might help also. better to prepare him as much as you can for an easier trip for both of you.

 

[twinmom1107]

Picture prompts are such a good reinforcer. If your son is not in speech therapy, speak with your CST case manager about having a basic board made for your son. (if your not familiar - it's universal pictures showing actions - approx. 2"x3" pieces with velcro backing placed on a small board (usually cardboard) You could do about 6/8 prompts that would get you through. Some ppl like to work with the reward system and some don't, whatever works best for you. (I personally have found my students worked best with rewards such as a sticker, etc.) Start practicing and most importantly follow through. Basic sign language - stop, done/finished, etc. is also a very good reinforcer whether your child is verbal or not. Good luck!

 

[nyrebecca]

I just wanted to wish you the best of lucky. I agree with the others to not make it a total surprise to him. Definately watch the videos, my son LOVES them. He is the spectrum and will be 14 this year (time really does fly!).

When he was younger he didn't understand that he had to get off the rides. He was a lot smaller then and I was able to just heft him up and out. Thankfully he grew out of that because now that he is 5 foot 7 and 190 lbs there is no hefting being done here

With the videos maybe you could let him watch one, and then he has to get up like it is the end of the ride, and then take a minute or two before picking the next ride to go on?

 

[ladyjubilee]

My DS5 has austim and ADHD. He has only been to Legoland, not DLR. When we were at Legoland he had great difficulty getting off the rides. He did not understand that he couldn't ride the ride again. Many times I would have to pick him up screaming and carry him off. Does anyone have any experience with this and have techniques that work or help. I have a social story planned, but the trip is a surprise so I don't have much time to go over things with him before we hit the parks.

My son also has a hard time getting off rides....but Disney is a little easier for him. I find that if we start on rides that do not have a definite beginning and end, he does better. Rides like the Peoplemove, Buzz Lightyear or Spaceship Earth where we ride on the escalator/moving platform to get onto the ride, ride the ride, then ride back down off the ride-to immediately get on the stroller to "ride". Plus it also helps to ride the attractions with definite beginnings and ends after he is more tired--things like Dumbo, Magic Carpets. Even on the boat rides he does better after practicing on ride on rides.

The other thing we do is let him have a ride preference--if he gets off a ride and wants to do it again, we go again. Which gives him some control. ((Let's be honest, other than Buzz Lightyear, his preferred attractions aren't exactly premiere attractions, so going back through isn't a problem.))

I also make sure to have him wear his backpack. I can't remember which input (propriospective?) it is, but it really helps ground him, and gives him a purpose. We also make him responsible for getting us off the ride. He has to "help" us get off.

We also try to give him warnings when the ride is getting ready to end and stress that he is going to "ride" the stroller and get to drink his drink and eat his snacks.

Again, I can't remember which input it is, but having him chew gum while we are on the rides helps as well.

 

[toy]

My dd12 still has a hard time with transitions. At Disney she seems to understand moving from one ride to another. She knows there will be another ride coming up next. We usually show her a map of MK and let her "choose" where we will go next while we wait in line. This allows her to already be thinking about the next adventure. When the ride is over she is literally running to the next ride. Good luck!