By Isabell Blancher Stress and Travelling to Walt Disney World with Autism Stress and living with children is a fact; however it’s an every day reality for families with children of special needs, in our case mental health issues. Flashback six years ago we started out with what seemed to be a straight forward diagnosis. If you have been diagnosed or have a child that has been diagnosed you know what a “wonderful experience” this can be. I would like to think of myself as a very proactive parent, with a strong voice for her child and family. I don’t care what is a “norm” and if that works for someone else then so be it. After many appointments between psychologists, psychiatrists and Occupational therapists, we finally had a diagnosis. At this point our child of six is now 12 and we are starting to deal with issues involving hormones and puberty, which the medication that she is give for her conditions also effects. To relive some of the pressure of having to deal with our daughter’s issues day in and day out with NO family or close friends near us, we have adopted travelling as our “non-prescription” remedy. I do have to add that our child is not an only child. We have four children total and the other kids are younger than our autistic Princess. We chose to drive to Orlando at least once-a-year to keep creating more family memories. I am a planner and organiser at heart. It keeps me balanced and focussed and I generally don’t forget anything. Flying would cost way too much even with a last minute deal than driving a minivan would cost us. Make a list of items that you want to take with you on your travels. Everything from your tooth brush and paste right down to changes of clothes. I have the flexibility of packing extra items under the seats to save space. Secondly in our van I have more control over everything. If we need to stop and stretch, we can get out of our vehicle and run around the visitor’s centre with a soccer ball. In our van we can also bring unlimited items, but I do chose to limit to keep some space in the van for souvenirs. What is difficult to plan is a child’s emotional response to their environment and things changes. Like many children, my daughter is bored easily; she needs to have something to do, to fidget with. Children like my daughter need much more guidance in everything. I create a travel journal for each child, specific to them, to remember their travels. This works well for all of my children, regardless of their need. My oldest on the other hand tends to gravitate towards electronics which we try not to get for her. In order for us to have a balanced and harmonious environment at home we have limited her time on this to 15minutes. In addition to her privilege of using the electronics she has to do some age-appropriate reading such as her favourite novel. We have also created a positive image for her about being health and keeping fit by providing her with the opportunity to go bike riding on her own around the block. When visiting Disney World, our favourite travel destination, we have what I call an “unplanned plan”. This gives us a structure for our time but also allows flexibility. My husband sees the blue book, he laughs and smiles knowing that I am in planning mode. If we didn’t have this plan, we would not be able to enjoy our vacation. I remember during one vacation we had things planned and something unexpected happened: emotions. My daughter was happy and excited to be going to MGM which is now been renamed Hollywood Studios. She got to the park smiling and then BAM she was upset. Nothing upset physically or nothing was said to her. So here we are in the heart of a park and our daughter decides she’s already had enough. We are trying to figure out what to do since we just got to the park; we don’t want to head back to our resort, but if we have to we do it. Next thing you know Stitch comes out and offers (with our permission) to hug our daughter. From then on she was super happy and told us when she needed something. I just bawled and thought this truly is a magical place. Taking a break from the park to go rest, have a swim or nap will do everyone some good. Just to unwind from all the adventures and heat of Florida.

Heat is another factor that can be overwhelming to someone with special needs. It makes it that much harder to communicate their needs or feelings when they are uncomfortable. A child may look content but be feeling like a can of soda, shaken and ready to explode inside. To help relieve some of the heat and exhaustion we usually go inside one of the many stores or counter service places to cool down. Plan ahead and pack your park bag at night for the following day’s events. In the bag include a few frozen and unfrozen bottles of water, snacks, and sunscreen. Also taking a splash in the pools at any of the Disney resorts really makes a lot of entertainment and relaxation to our family. One night, the cast members brought a 42foot inflatable television and the swimmers all got to watch Robin Hood while in the pool. Cast members really do make the full experience at Disney more pleasant. On another trip our daughter was starting to unwind and the heat was starting to wear her down. She started to get into meltdown mode and we were attempting to diffuse the situation by getting her out of the Magic Kingdom as peaceful as possible. Next thing we know there is cast member or two there and they came with their pixie wands. They spread some pixie dust on top of her head and she just started to smile. To see her smile after a near meltdown really take some pressure off us. Our first trip to Disney World was magical, exciting and very nerve racking. I was sure what to expect from my oldest child plus I was traveling with a four year old, 20month old and a baby. I thought I had everything planned, little did I know that my daughter would cause a scene while we were at EPCOT waiting for one of the characters. Her four year old brother and her were waiting and she thought he budded in front of her. Instead of us even having a chance to deal with it she got physical and pinched him hard. We were shocked and embarrassed she was doing so well, but things can change at a moment’s notice. A super kind cast member came over and gave each of the older kids a Disney pin. This not only diffused the difficult situation, but also started us on Pin collecting and trading. Depending on what time of the year you visit Disney World, the crowds can be overwhelming. We chose to not remove the children out of school to see Disney so our crowd levels when visiting are usually fairly high. One option that is available to your child is the use of guest assistance cards. Now we have not needed to use this system yet, but we know that we have it available should the need arise. We instead use Disney’s Fast pass system. It works quite well for our family and have our own plan for getting our Fast passes. What I haven’t really talked about is my child’s routine and things familiar. Everybody can bring one item that reminds of them of home or is comforting to them such as a stuffed animal toy or animal. One of the techniques recommended by her doctor that works for all my kids (more so my daughter because she has this physical build up inside that needs to be positively released) is to scream into a pillow. All of the resorts we’ve stayed at have lots of pillows. Now you need to say what you are angry or frustrated about before screaming. For example, mine will say “I am angry that mom/dad said no” and then they will scream into the pillow on their own. Doing things together as a family really does create a unity and balance for us. What we feel works for us is to sit together as a family and everyone gets a turn saying one or two of their favourite rides per park. Another important thing to remember is to laugh and smile at the simple, good things. Remember you are at a truly magical place and children really feel or pick up their parents emotions. Our daughter also has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and this can be a challenge in itself. Her mood and emotions can evolve around food. There are different ends of this broad spectrum your child can be on. She likes crunchy foods and constantly needs to be eating, which isn’t always a good thing. We found that chewing gum (sugar free) really helps fulfill her need to be eating without creating any unnecessary issues. Having a bag of apples or carrots can also help with their oral sensory needs. Traveling can be a challenging, but keeping a schedule and using different techniques to help relieve some of the stress for your family. It can really make the difference between a peaceful vacation and a stressful vacation. ................................................................................