While on a family trip to Disney I was surprised at my child's propensity to manage herself MOST of the time. Struggling with ASD contributes to her inability to regulate her mood and this was evident (as it is at home) throughout the trip. For example, waiting in lines for attractions and characters could be a chore. On one occasion we waited in line to see Chip and Dale for a period of time and finally got to meet the character WHEN THE RODENTS TOOK A COFFEE BREAK.....mood swing for daughter which invariably required a significant amount of "talking through". As a parent I wind up managing her mood for her.
My strategies to intervene:......1. bring wait time distractions; 2. limit amount of characters/attractions that you wait for; 3. expect struggles; 4. prompt in advance that character breaks are short, that they will take breaks etc; talk with the parents around you, in the event that you need to label or identify the disability when mood swing occurs.
Struggling with ASD also means that my child becomes easily overstimulated (by noise, too much activity, sensory input visually, touch etc) and highly anxious in new or novel situations. This was an obvious issue for us.
My intervention: 1. shorten day by visiting the parks in the a.m. and returning to resort/hotel early afternoon for quiet time or a swim in the pool; 2. keep my expectations low about what we can accomplish in one day; 3. expect to move slowly at times and to have to take time to cue child verbally or physically.
So there were a number of other noticable issues we faced but these will have to wait for another posting. (motor skills, self in physical space - getting lost ).....constant cueing.....one direction at a time.
That's all for now.
SHC
