WDW with a mentally handicpped child

[auroradawn]

I thought about putting tihs under Trip Reports, but then I thought someone planning a trip might want to hear this.

We waited until this year to take my youngest son,8, to WDW. He is nonverbal, incontinent,autistic, doenst walk well, and functions on a 1yr old level. Frankly, I thought it would just be tooo hard on us all. We left him behind last year so we could take a real vacation, the first ever. But I just could'nt leave him behind this time--he is so sweet and hardly ever demands anything. smile.gif

I want you to know if you have a family member with a disability that WDW is an AMAZING place to take your family. graemlins/clappy.gif CMs everywhere bent over backward to accomodate us. We stayed in our camper so as to give Christian a familiar space. The camp ground was perfect for us, allowing him space and freedom in a non-crowded, safe environment. Every restaurant we went to had something for Christian(he is not very flexible in his feeding). I just could not get over our much care went into making his trip fun, graemlins/notworthy.gif from the bus drivers who had to tie down his wheelchair EVERY time to the WL waiter who brought him free mashed potatoes to Cinderella, who recognized that he wanted to interact with her but he just couldn't quite bring himself to make eye contact(he kept staring out of the corner of his eye.) graemlins/blush.gif
In fact, we also took my 70yr old mother(her first trip) and she was so impressed that she is now planning the next trip to WDW--to the Poly!!
graemlins/muscles.gif graemlins/muscles.gif graemlins/muscles.gif graemlins/muscles.gif
Yesh!!

Cathy

[JennyAnne]

What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing your experience...I guess that's what makes WDW the most magical place on earth! I can't imagine the employees at other theme parks I have been to interacting one-on-one with families like that!

Sounds like it was a great experience for you! I'm sure Christian had a wonderful time!! graemlins/mickey.gif

[Joy2theworld]

It is so nice to hear that story. I've always heard about Disney going the extra mile when its most important and I'm glad to see that they did. In fact, one of the most special things I heard about one time is when they open the park one evening or something for children who are disfigured and their families... that way no one stares at them and they are just like all the other kids.
There is something to be said about that Disney touch and magic smile.gif

[faline]

I'm so glad your entire family was able to enjoy the Disney magic together! Thanks for sharing.

[WDWFanatic]

Thank you so much for posting your story. It's so nice to hear when things go right. I'm glad you all had such a wonderful time.

[Edzter86]

Thank you very much for posting. I'm sure many people will benifet from your experience.

Glad you all had a wonderful time! graemlins/mickey.gif

[ExcitedMom]

I'm so glad you decided to take Christian along. I have an 8 year old son who has Down syndrome. We are making our first trip to the World in October. One of Austin's favorite things, no I should say his most favorite thing is Disney Movies, he has them all memorized. His second favorite thing is GRANDMA and she is going with us on the trip. He is going to love every minute of it. Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience with us.

[mono]

It is ironic that I saw your post. For five years I swore I would never go back to Disney because of the insensitivity shown to a friend's mentally handicapped daughter when there in 1998. Well, last week I was there for a business trip and broke down and bought a hopper pass and now I am seriously thinking of taking my niece and nephews sometime in the next year. Seeing your post gives me hope that all the complaining I did 5 years ago paid off and that I won't regret ending my boycott. I'm glad to know Disney has improved and maybe they did take my suggestion of sending their cast members to sensistivity training. So I discovered Intercot and will be popping in to start planning a trip. Now I just need to convince the parents to let me take them out of school.

[Ian]

My brother-in-law is 40 years old and functions on the level of an eight-year-old.

He's been to Disney World a number of times, including a trip with me in May of 2001, and he loves it.

We never had any trouble with Cast Members or anyone else ... In fact, I hardly noticed he was challenged he had such fun!

[SpiritMeAway]

Thanks so much for telling your story here! It was terrific - sounds like Christian and your whole family had a wonderful memorymaking experience! I'm so glad for you all!


Sue

[marlyn]

Your story really touched me! What an amazing time you had, and I am so glad that Christian got to experience the Magic of Disney! graemlins/mickey.gif

[DebK]

Hi, Cathy!

That is great! I'm glad your trip was so enjoyable! You sure did deserve it.

[mjstaceyuofm]

Cathy: Excellent to hear you and your son and the rest of your family had such a great time. I'm happy WDW made it a special vacation for all. Honestly, it sounds like you're being modest too. graemlins/blush.gif I bet a lot of that good time came from the energy, planning and patience you and your family put into making it a special vacation for yourselves and your son. I hope you continue to have many more magical vacations at WDW. smile.gif