Will Disney go for Autism Accreditation?

[blondietink]

As the mother if a 28 year old with Down syndrome and many medical problems as well as a 26 year old with Autism, I do not see Disney being able to meet any kind of Autism friendly accreditation. The parks are total sensory overload and there are very few places to get away from it other than at your hotel. My son still wears hearing protectors and uses a wheelchair at the parks so it takes away 2 areas of sensory overload so at least he can enjoy what he is seeing and hearing. If he had to walk through the parks all the time he would wander and get lost easily.

I also agree that Autism seems to be the ADHD of years ago or what I call the disAbility de jour. Yes, Autism is a spectrum, but I just laugh at some of these parents who claim their child has Autism. Spend a few hours at my house and you will see Autism at its finest.

 

[arminnie]

However, I also have the privilege of being an educator and I’ve met many autistic kids in my professional life. One in my class this year did not stand out to me until I got in the classroom for over a week. He was fairly high functioning and was keeping it together. As the year got harder, and more demands were placed, it became somewhat evident to my trained eye. Others with less experience, however, might have just thought he was a whiny little brat who didn’t want to do his work. Nope. He has a clear case of ASD and he’s doing extremely well overall. No one should second guess an ASD diagnosis.

As an educator you may have the experience to REFER someone to a professional, but being an educator does not give one the credentials to issue a diagnosis.

 

[Nikciburd]

As an educator you may have the experience to REFER someone to a professional, but being an educator does not give one the credentials to issue a diagnosis.

Oh my goodness. I never said I had the credentials to issue a diagnosis. What are you talking about? Please tell me where you even inferred that from what I said. I had to read my post 3 times to figure out where you got that from and the only thing I can guess is that you are assuming I placed an ASD label on the boy to whom I was referring. If that’s the case, then let me ease your mind; The boy I am talking about has a diagnosis issued by a doctor. I just was not aware of it when I first started working with him.

 

[DizneyMommy]

This is mainly due to the fact the Spectrum has grown exponentially as neuroscience becomes more understood and its intrinsic links to brain chemistry and biology. While I'm sure your intentions were positive, your post is somewhat negative towards parents of special needs children with an accusation that it's a way for parents to admonish themselves from poor parenting or simply rowdy uncontrollable kids. Back in the day the diagnosis was 'Autism' or 'Aspergers' with very little in between. Now as cognitive science and neurology have advanced greatly, there are a myriad of other very real disorders in between. Hence why the diagnosis is now termed ASD with the emphasis on Spectrum. By sheer definition of the word, it includes a spectrum of disorders and thus a relative sliding scale of potential neurological disabilities.

I remember a decade or so ago this exact same statement was made with regards to children with ADD or ADHD.

As part of parenting, it should be required for all parents to first spend a day or two with a special needs child so they can see the wonders of how they see the world. It will certainly put a lot of things into perspective. Just remember, extinguishing someone else's candle doesn't make yours shine any brighter ;o)

I was going to respond, but you wrote it all so eloquently. Thank you <3 from an ASD Mama

 

[Nikciburd]

I know three.

One that went to so many different doctors, one of them wondered if the mother just enjoyed the attention. And he was right. She does. She did finally get her diagnosis. Not from a specialist, but from a GP that she was told would hand out whatever diagnosis you wanted, plus pretty much any script you asked for. Now her life is defined by it, and she is in all of her glory.

That’s so sad on so many levels. I just can’t imagine looking for something to be wrong with your kid. I mean, my kid has autism, and what attention do I get for it.....:::crickets:::? But then again I am not one to look for pity. I rarely bring it up when talking to people unless its pertinent for some strange reason. My son is who he is and while I wish life didn’t pose so many challenges for him, I have learned to mostly accept him as he is.

 

[DLgal]

Could be because people call everything autism now. It's gotten completely ridiculous. Anything off in a kid now is labeled autism, if only by the parents. I personally know quite a few people who will tell you their kids have autism, when clearly they do not. It's become such a catch all for a huge range of disabilities, and sometimes just outright behavior problems.

Autism isn't a behavioral issue. It's a social communication disorder. Sometimes there are also sensory issues. Sometimes, there is also intellectual disability. Sometimes there is also ADD/ADHD. Sometimes there is also anxiety. Sometimes there is also a speech language disorder. Sometimes there are ALL of these things.

Imagine being a young child who cannot communicate and who is feeling heightened sensory input, fee!ing like their brain is racing a mile a minute, and who has such severe anxiety that he constantly feels a sense of impending doom. Imagine that and then imagine some ignorant adult just telling you that you need to behave better or that your parents need to "just give you a good spanking."

Seriously. You have no idea what you are talking about. No parent WANTS their child to be autistic. It's a crippling disorder in a world where people are judged mostly based on their social skill set and spoken language abilities.

 

[DLgal]

I also agree that Autism seems to be the ADHD of years ago or what I call the disAbility de jour. Yes, Autism is a spectrum, but I just laugh at some of these parents who claim their child has Autism. Spend a few hours at my house and you will see Autism at its finest.

This division within the autism community needs to stop. YOUR experience with autism does not define what autism is for everyone else. That's why it is called a spectrum disorder. My kids are both autistic but because they can pass as neurotypical when we are out and about (as long as they don't start talking), can dress themselves, cook their own food, do laundry and cleaning chores, ride bikes, swim, and have average/above average intelligence, they are called "high functioning." However, one is SEVERELY crippled by anxiety such that he needs to be on antidepressants in order to function day to day, cannot speak to a stranger to save his life, has absolutely ZERO executive functioning skills, is absent-minded to a dangerous extent, and has never had a friend. The other has such bad speech apraxia that at the age of 12 is still unintelligible about 25% of the time, has severe auditory sensitivities, eats only about a dozen foods, flies into a panic whenever he finds himself alone (so he always needs someone with him), and gets so overheated due to body dysregulation that he suffered heat stroke on an 85 degree day.

But I have STILL had parents of more severely affected kids insist that my kids "might have something else going on but definitely not autism." Because "autistic kids can't ride bikes and learn how to swim at such young ages." (They were doing both independently at age 4). Seriously...never question a parent who says their child is autistic. While there may be a handful of parents who are attention seeking, the vast majority are not and it does no one any favors when other parents dismiss you because your experience isn't the same as theirs.

 

[Nikciburd]

This division within the autism community needs to stop. YOUR experience with autism does not define what autism is for everyone else. That's why it is called a spectrum disorder. My kids are both autistic but because they can pass as neurotypical when we are out and about (as long as they don't start talking), can dress themselves, cook their own food, do laundry and cleaning chores, ride bikes, swim, and have average/above average intelligence, they are called "high functioning." However, one is SEVERELY crippled by anxiety such that he needs to be on antidepressants in order to function day to day, cannot speak to a stranger to save his life, has absolutely ZERO executive functioning skills, is absent-minded to a dangerous extent, and has never had a friend. The other has such bad speech apraxia that at the age of 12 is still unintelligible about 25% of the time, has severe auditory sensitivities, eats only about a dozen foods, flies into a panic whenever he finds himself alone (so he always needs someone with him), and gets so overheated due to body dysregulation that he suffered heat stroke on an 85 degree day.

But I have STILL had parents of more severely affected kids insist that my kids "might have something else going on but definitely not autism." Because "autistic kids can't ride bikes and learn how to swim at such young ages." (They were doing both independently at age 4). Seriously...never question a parent who says their child is autistic. While there may be a handful of parents who are attention seeking, the vast majority are not and it does no one any favors when other parents dismiss you because your experience isn't the same as theirs.

I agree with you. I am sure there are plenty of attention seekers out there but the vast majority of autism parents I meet are just parenting their child who was freely given a medical diagnosis of ASD. My son is moderately affected so he is clearly autistic much of the time (he likes to jump and hop and flap when he’s happy which is 99% of the time). So I see kids with more significant needs and also many more (the more severe cases are placed out of district most of the time) who have more skills than my son. I never doubt their diagnoses. I envy their skills at times but I can see their struggles. Sometimes, I think it’s harder for a child who is only mildly affected and wanting friends but has none than for my son who is happy as a clam doing his own thing.

 

[FortForever]

Autism isn't a behavioral issue. It's a social communication disorder. Sometimes there are also sensory issues. Sometimes, there is also intellectual disability. Sometimes there is also ADD/ADHD. Sometimes there is also anxiety. Sometimes there is also a speech language disorder. Sometimes there are ALL of these things.

Imagine being a young child who cannot communicate and who is feeling heightened sensory input, fee!ing like their brain is racing a mile a minute, and who has such severe anxiety that he constantly feels a sense of impending doom. Imagine that and then imagine some ignorant adult just telling you that you need to behave better or that your parents need to "just give you a good spanking."

Seriously. You have no idea what you are talking about. No parent WANTS their child to be autistic. It's a crippling disorder in a world where people are judged mostly based on their social skill set and spoken language abilities.

You should have read all the comments prior to posting.

 

[DLgal]

You should have read all the comments prior to posting.

I missed your follow up post.

Still, though, stating that you feel like Autism has become a "catch all" for behavior problems rubbed me the wrong way. I don't see this at all. I have never come across any parents who WANT their kid to have an Autism diagnosis and the fact that you made it seem like that's why there is so much autism nowadays is just irresponsible.

 

[gap2368]

I missed your follow up post.

\ I have never come across any parents who WANT their kid to have an Autism diagnosis .

sadly there are parents out there like this, that want/ need( and I use this in the fact the person has a mental disorder or whatever you would like to call it) their kids ( most of the time it is medical) sick for attention look up
Munchausen by proxie ( SP?).

But going back to do I think Disney will get this recognition. no, I think Disney is too big to have everything needed for this ( like quiet rooms) but I do think Disney tries its best to help everyone have a great time

 

[LadyD]

This division within the autism community needs to stop. YOUR experience with autism does not define what autism is for everyone else. That's why it is called a spectrum disorder. My kids are both autistic but because they can pass as neurotypical when we are out and about (as long as they don't start talking), can dress themselves, cook their own food, do laundry and cleaning chores, ride bikes, swim, and have average/above average intelligence, they are called "high functioning." However, one is SEVERELY crippled by anxiety such that he needs to be on antidepressants in order to function day to day, cannot speak to a stranger to save his life, has absolutely ZERO executive functioning skills, is absent-minded to a dangerous extent, and has never had a friend. The other has such bad speech apraxia that at the age of 12 is still unintelligible about 25% of the time, has severe auditory sensitivities, eats only about a dozen foods, flies into a panic whenever he finds himself alone (so he always needs someone with him), and gets so overheated due to body dysregulation that he suffered heat stroke on an 85 degree day.

But I have STILL had parents of more severely affected kids insist that my kids "might have something else going on but definitely not autism." Because "autistic kids can't ride bikes and learn how to swim at such young ages." (They were doing both independently at age 4). Seriously...never question a parent who says their child is autistic. While there may be a handful of parents who are attention seeking, the vast majority are not and it does no one any favors when other parents dismiss you because your experience isn't the same as theirs.

I completely agree with you. The division is quite dangerous too. Kids on the spectrum grow up to be adults on the spectrum. Support services as an adult are hard enough to come by and in short supply. Those labeled “high functioning” can struggle to find appropriate support services because they can often pass as a neurotypical on a superficial level well enough that their needs are ultimately dismissed. Employment statistics are abysmal for adults on the spectrum. Society is not ready to fully embrace the spectrum to allow affected adults to live the most independent, successful, productive lives that they are capable of living. We need the full support of the entire community to help us all succeed. It truly is such a spectrum in how each of us is perceived by the neurotypical world, but fundamentally, all of us on the spectrum are struggling every single day in our own way just to communicate and connect with the rest of the world.

As the mother if a 28 year old with Down syndrome and many medical problems as well as a 26 year old with Autism, I do not see Disney being able to meet any kind of Autism friendly accreditation. The parks are total sensory overload and there are very few places to get away from it other than at your hotel. My son still wears hearing protectors and uses a wheelchair at the parks so it takes away 2 areas of sensory overload so at least he can enjoy what he is seeing and hearing. If he had to walk through the parks all the time he would wander and get lost easily.

I also agree that Autism seems to be the ADHD of years ago or what I call the disAbility de jour. Yes, Autism is a spectrum, but I just laugh at some of these parents who claim their child has Autism. Spend a few hours at my house and you will see Autism at its finest.

ASD is has a huge impact on a family, and no one knows better just what kind of struggles and challenges you’re facing than the people seeing the good, bad, and ugly day to day. It really does impact each individual differently so that while there are a common set of symptoms, how that looks from individual to individual can be wildly different. Girls and women are way underdiagnosed because the diagnostic criteria are based off of how the disorder presents in boys. The profile of what ASD looks like in girls and women is still very much being developed.

Ironically, many neurotypicals say those of us on the spectrum lack empathy, but some of the defensiveness and comments (likely from fatigue and burnout I would hope) that I hear from parents, caretakers, spouses, etc are completely devoid of any kind of empathy for those of us on the spectrum as we are reduced to a medical condition to be managed better to make their life easier rather than an individual with a unique set of struggles we’re just doing our best to navigate in a strange world.

 

[DLgal]

I completely agree with you. The division is quite dangerous too. Kids on the spectrum grow up to be adults on the spectrum. Support services as an adult are hard enough to come by and in short supply. Those labeled “high functioning” can struggle to find appropriate support services because they can often pass as a neurotypical on a superficial level well enough that their needs are ultimately dismissed.

My kids were dismissed by the county support services at age 3 because they transitioned into the school district and they were "mild" enough that we didn't qualify for any further support/respite services. I could have DESPERATELY used some respite services though, as I had a 3 and 5 year old, both autistic, and was a stay at home parent (so, with them 24/7) with a military husband who left for several weeks at a time for training and several multi month deployments. I had no family support and only a couple friends who could truly help me if I needed. It was a rough several years.

But my kids were "high functioning" so I didn't "need" respite services...really felt like a slap in the face, to be honest.

I agree that it seems like the "high functioning" autistics get the shaft when they transition into adulthood, often being left to fend for themselves, as many support programs are designed only for people with intellectual disability and for some reason, higher functioning ASD adults are just assumed to be able to get along just fine. This scares me and keeps me up at night, frankly.

 

[DLgal]

sadly there are parents out there like this, that want/ need( and I use this in the fact the person has a mental disorder or whatever you would like to call it) their kids ( most of the time it is medical) sick for attention look up
Munchausen by proxie ( SP?).

But going back to do I think Disney will get this recognition. no, I think Disney is too big to have everything needed for this ( like quiet rooms) but I do think Disney tries its best to help everyone have a great time

Yeah, I know about Munchausen. I just don't think there are so many of these kinds of parents out there that it is statistically significant. Certainly not enough to explain the increase in autism diagnoses.

 

[mamabunny]

Yeah, I know about Munchausen. I just don't think there are so many of these kinds of parents out there that it is statistically significant. Certainly not enough to explain the increase in autism diagnoses.

I spent 18 years in Shriner's Hospitals/Clinics waiting rooms with our daughter. Trust me when I tell you that there are far more Munchausen Mommies out there than the general population realizes. They scare the hoopy-doopers out of me; once you realize you are talking to one, it's very creepy. I probably met about a half-dozen of them over the years.

We came to know one rather well, quite by coincidence; she was a nurse by profession; and her daughter was the same age as our daughter, the girls became great friends. As time passed, I began to wonder about her daughter; especially when the mother wasn't present, none of the conditions that she allegedly suffered from seemed to be present in the child. On several trips down to the Hospital, we traveled together, and our daughter and I became familiar with the family. The last time we saw the child was at the Hospital. We were asked some rather pointed questions by both doctors and social workers at the Hospital that day about what we had seen, experienced and knew of the family. When we returned home, we learned that the child and her siblings were removed from the home by DHS; there was nothing wrong with her except muscle atrophy from her mother keeping her confined to a wheelchair for her entire life. Because the mother was a nurse, the medical community had, for years, taken her word that her daughter's conditions were real, and as a result that sweet child was subjected to all manner of needless surgeries, treatments, and medications. :::shudder:::

Munchausen Mommies (it's almost always the mothers, never the fathers) are far more prevalent than most people realize.

 

[infopurposesonly]

Ironically, many neurotypicals say those of us on the spectrum lack empathy, but some of the defensiveness and comments (likely from fatigue and burnout I would hope) that I hear from parents, caretakers, spouses, etc are completely devoid of any kind of empathy for those of us on the spectrum as we are reduced to a medical condition to be managed better to make their life easier rather than an individual with a unique set of struggles we’re just doing our best to navigate in a strange world.

I think you're making some pretty broad assumptions. What makes you think parents try to manage a medical condtion to make their own lives easier? Did it ever occur to you that they were trying to make their children's lives easier? Trust me, implementing a bahavioral plan, fighting for services, and getting appropriate medical treatment is a lot of added work for the parent. It doesn't make life any easier for the parent.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

It really does impact each individual differently so that while there are a common set of symptoms, how that looks from individual to individual can be wildly different. Girls and women are way underdiagnosed because the diagnostic criteria are based off of how the disorder presents in boys. The profile of what ASD looks like in girls and women is still very much being developed.

This was my DD. She wasn't diagnosed with autism until she was 10. A whole alphabet soup of diagnoses came earlier, and I would ask her psychologists from time to time, could she be autistic? The answer kept coming back "no" and the reasoning was because she sought out social interaction. But while she sought out those social connections, she had no ability to forge the connections and sustain them. None of her earlier diagnoses were incorrect, they just weren't the full picture. It was her psychiatrist that finally threw up his hands and said, "I don't care what the psychologists say, just spend some time with her and it's obvious she is on the spectrum." But that prompted some additional testing which finally confirmed the diagnosis.

But back to the OP's question, I don't think Disney will seek out the accreditation. It's not something they need to promote their parks.

 

[LadyD]

I think you're making some pretty broad assumptions. What makes you think parents try to manage a medical condtion to make their own lives easier? Did it ever occur to you that they were trying to make their children's lives easier? Trust me, implementing a bahavioral plan, fighting for services, and getting appropriate medical treatment is a lot of added work for the parent. It doesn't make life any easier for the parent.

I understand that, which is why I used qualifying words like some. It’s definitely not all. Fighting for services and treatment is extraordinarily difficult, time consuming, and emotionally draining. It should not be so hard to seek help and receive it.

There are parents, caretakers, spouses, etc who believe through enough treatment that the individual with ASD will be “normal” and that the individual needs to try harder to make that happen. I’m talking about those kinds of comments. I’m talking about when someone on the spectrum is able to verbalize to someone close in their life “this is really hard for me and I’m trying my best” and the response from their parent, caretaker, spouse, etc is “yeah well get over it” followed by comments like we need more therapy, treatment, etc. I cannot count how many times I’ve been told in my life from people who knew I was on the spectrum to just “get over it” even after I expressed I was having a hard time and struggling. Or things like “why are you seemingly regressing?? Item x was not an issue last week. Why is it an issue now?? Can’t you just deal with it??” Or “You seem to be getting worse, not better.” It happens and reduces us to a medical condition that needs to be managed rather than an individual who has good days and bad days just like anyone else, so some days are harder than others.

Sometimes people forget that just because we seemingly engage in the appropriate behaviors society expects that we actually understand those expectations when in reality it is more like a parrot that talks. The parrot can say the words on cue and do them, but the parrot does not have a true understanding of what those words mean. There is a lot of just flat out memorization of what to do and when, how to say things, how to react in certain situations, etc. It is always work every single day.

 

[gap2368]

But back to the OP's question, I don't think Disney will seek out the accreditation. It's not something they need to promote their parks.

This is my thinking too Disney has way too many visitor that if a few cannot come because the park is over stimulating ( or whatever there will be more people to fill in the spots. I think other parks that are smaller can gain a lot by catering to the ASD crowds. Disney is not right for everyone just like other parks are not right for everyone ( been to 6 flags a few times but do not go since I am not a fan of the really big coster, just not enough form to do to make it worth my money). I will say that Disney does try to help everyone with a Disability ( you can go to the first aid for a quiet place) they do have the DAS so you can wait outside the lines. so there is that.

 

[DisneyOma]

Seriously. You have no idea what you are talking about. No parent WANTS their child to be autistic. It's a crippling disorder in a world where people are judged mostly based on their social skill set and spoken language abilities.

Actually, some parents do. Some parents don't want their kid to ever be independent, productive, etc. I could tell you stories, but FERPA prevents me from sharing some of the horror stories I've witnessed (and helped file about). But I can say we've come up with an acronym to describe a certain situation that occurs very frequently: SMOB, which stands for single mom, one boy. There seems to be a subset of single mothers who want their one child, male, to be totally, perpetually dependent on them. No independence allowed. Why? Trying to prevent another man from leaving? Continuous source of companionship, income, attention, etc? Of course it's not all single moms with one male child on the spectrum. But I've experienced multiple situations of the above. It's sad.