ratlenhum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2010
This week really meant a lot to me. My son is 8 1/2 and is between low and moderate functioning autism. Verbal but not conversational and has issues focusing. He also has severe auditory processing issues and poor comprehension. He does well in school though and is very bright.
First I want to say EVERYONE we had contact with was wonderful
Thanks to Cinderella and all the other princesses at CRT on 7/31. My son was very overwhelmed by all of you which surprised me. I guess finding out that princess are real was a shock. LOL I'll say this over and over again in this post but you all were so kind, and took time so we could get a good shot of my son. He always faces the camera but his eyes look off to the side. This is one of my favorites. My son looks amazed that Cinderella is real. And Belle, thank you for telling me I need to get an enchanted rose so my beast turns into a prince. I still think I got it backwards. I got a prince who turned into a beast!
The Tropicals ROCK!!! My son loved them so much last year that we went back to AK a second day that trip just so he could see them. He danced right up next to them and made himself the 5th member. We knew that this year we had to make a point of seeing them. We got to their area a little early so had a nice frozen lemonade while we waited. As soon as the music started my son jumped up. We were at AK on 8/2. My son went over to watch and my husband took a few steps back to be out of the picture. My son lunged forward and grabbed one of the cymbals. Excitement just takes hold of him sometimes and what little self control he has goes out the window. My husband went over to grab our son and before he did, the drummer handed my son one of his drum sticks and let him play. I can't thank you enough for this. My son loves you guys, loves all musical instruments, but particularly loves drums. It was the highlight of the day! So thank you for handing off that drumstick. You may have forgot about it by now but those few minutes of that day will stay with us forever!
To Jacob the Photopass Photographer who took our picture at Donald's Safari breakfast at the crack of dawn, and remembered us 8 hours later when we met again in the Expedition Everest area. The pictures were great and after all those hours you were still polite, friendly and had a huge smile on your face.
To Mary Poppins, who we saw at Epcot on 8/3, you talked to my son and kept interacting with him even though he barely answered you back. He finally responded to something and you smiled just as big as I did when it happened. You asked my son where his smile was. He showed you where it was, and you showed him yours
To Beast, who we saw at Epcot on 8/3, sorry, my son did not mean to pull your cape as you were leaving for break. You and Belle were heading off for a break and I stopped to take a picture as you were walking. Belle smiled at me and my son ran over and grabbed your cape. He wasn't doing it to be mean or to try disturb your wardrobe for a bad reason. He has a fascination with capes and yours was just flapping around so nicely as you walked away. So sorry! We felt so bad we didn't come back later when you came back out to meet kids because we were afraid you'd be upset with him if he tried to touch it again.
To Carl and Jonathan at The Rose & Crown Pub. THANKS for getting us the most amazing table outside. We had a great view of Illuminations. Poor Jonathan kept apologizing because they ran out of glasses, then our food took a little longer than usual (I guess, we were not concerned about the timing) and I guess he felt bad. We were just so happy to be at that restaurant having Scotch Eggs and Fish & Chips and watching Illuminations that we really didn't care what we were drinking out of or how long our food was taking. Thanks guys!
To whoever this CM (in green) is from The Festival of the Lion King on 8/2..THANK YOU!! We had shown our son some shows on YouTube where kids usually get picked and there were some he wanted to try. This was one of them. He wanted to do it last year but he didn't get picked. He is some times has trouble following directions and also drifts off into his own little world, but stays focused when he's interested in something. I think he just got too excited and lost track of his focus/listening. You helped him out by taking him by the hand and leading him through this. His father and I were in tears. Thank you for the extra effort in making a magical moment for my family. We would never intentionally send our son off if we didn't think he was capable of doing something or would require too much assistance. For example, we never would put him in the Jedi Academy because we know it's beyond his limitations and way too long for his attention span.
To Capt. Jack Sparrow and Mack the Pirate who picked my son for the Pirate Tutorial on August 7th at 11:20. My son did his best (and just as well as the little girl who didn't speak English) but got a little carried away with hitting Jack with his sword while the other kids were fighting Mack. Jack sent my son back down to stand with us and we were perfectly okay with that. Had he stood there nicely he would have made it through the whole show but he was too excited and easily forgets that other people get turns. So he wasn't just a kid being smart or misbehaving, just an autistic child who probably had a little story about fighting Jack in his head and was playing through part of it in his head, and some slipped into reality. Mack was nice enough to give my son a certificate anyway, even though he didn't finish.
To all the photopass photographers and all our character friends who had patience, and took the time to get a photo while my son was looking (because I already have TONS of him staring off into space), and took the time to try to talk to him, thank you.
Our trip was amazing. We had a great time and if it wasn't for the wonderful CMs in every capacity who put in the extra effort, or take a few extra seconds of time for a child who is different or having a difficult time, we wouldn't have these wonderful memories. I wonder if you all realized that something that may take as little as an extra 15-30 seconds of your day can make a memory that lasts a lifetime for someone else.
First I want to say EVERYONE we had contact with was wonderful
Thanks to Cinderella and all the other princesses at CRT on 7/31. My son was very overwhelmed by all of you which surprised me. I guess finding out that princess are real was a shock. LOL I'll say this over and over again in this post but you all were so kind, and took time so we could get a good shot of my son. He always faces the camera but his eyes look off to the side. This is one of my favorites. My son looks amazed that Cinderella is real. And Belle, thank you for telling me I need to get an enchanted rose so my beast turns into a prince. I still think I got it backwards. I got a prince who turned into a beast!
The Tropicals ROCK!!! My son loved them so much last year that we went back to AK a second day that trip just so he could see them. He danced right up next to them and made himself the 5th member. We knew that this year we had to make a point of seeing them. We got to their area a little early so had a nice frozen lemonade while we waited. As soon as the music started my son jumped up. We were at AK on 8/2. My son went over to watch and my husband took a few steps back to be out of the picture. My son lunged forward and grabbed one of the cymbals. Excitement just takes hold of him sometimes and what little self control he has goes out the window. My husband went over to grab our son and before he did, the drummer handed my son one of his drum sticks and let him play. I can't thank you enough for this. My son loves you guys, loves all musical instruments, but particularly loves drums. It was the highlight of the day! So thank you for handing off that drumstick. You may have forgot about it by now but those few minutes of that day will stay with us forever!
To Jacob the Photopass Photographer who took our picture at Donald's Safari breakfast at the crack of dawn, and remembered us 8 hours later when we met again in the Expedition Everest area. The pictures were great and after all those hours you were still polite, friendly and had a huge smile on your face.
To Mary Poppins, who we saw at Epcot on 8/3, you talked to my son and kept interacting with him even though he barely answered you back. He finally responded to something and you smiled just as big as I did when it happened. You asked my son where his smile was. He showed you where it was, and you showed him yours
To Beast, who we saw at Epcot on 8/3, sorry, my son did not mean to pull your cape as you were leaving for break. You and Belle were heading off for a break and I stopped to take a picture as you were walking. Belle smiled at me and my son ran over and grabbed your cape. He wasn't doing it to be mean or to try disturb your wardrobe for a bad reason. He has a fascination with capes and yours was just flapping around so nicely as you walked away. So sorry! We felt so bad we didn't come back later when you came back out to meet kids because we were afraid you'd be upset with him if he tried to touch it again.
To Carl and Jonathan at The Rose & Crown Pub. THANKS for getting us the most amazing table outside. We had a great view of Illuminations. Poor Jonathan kept apologizing because they ran out of glasses, then our food took a little longer than usual (I guess, we were not concerned about the timing) and I guess he felt bad. We were just so happy to be at that restaurant having Scotch Eggs and Fish & Chips and watching Illuminations that we really didn't care what we were drinking out of or how long our food was taking. Thanks guys!
To whoever this CM (in green) is from The Festival of the Lion King on 8/2..THANK YOU!! We had shown our son some shows on YouTube where kids usually get picked and there were some he wanted to try. This was one of them. He wanted to do it last year but he didn't get picked. He is some times has trouble following directions and also drifts off into his own little world, but stays focused when he's interested in something. I think he just got too excited and lost track of his focus/listening. You helped him out by taking him by the hand and leading him through this. His father and I were in tears. Thank you for the extra effort in making a magical moment for my family. We would never intentionally send our son off if we didn't think he was capable of doing something or would require too much assistance. For example, we never would put him in the Jedi Academy because we know it's beyond his limitations and way too long for his attention span.
To Capt. Jack Sparrow and Mack the Pirate who picked my son for the Pirate Tutorial on August 7th at 11:20. My son did his best (and just as well as the little girl who didn't speak English) but got a little carried away with hitting Jack with his sword while the other kids were fighting Mack. Jack sent my son back down to stand with us and we were perfectly okay with that. Had he stood there nicely he would have made it through the whole show but he was too excited and easily forgets that other people get turns. So he wasn't just a kid being smart or misbehaving, just an autistic child who probably had a little story about fighting Jack in his head and was playing through part of it in his head, and some slipped into reality. Mack was nice enough to give my son a certificate anyway, even though he didn't finish.
To all the photopass photographers and all our character friends who had patience, and took the time to get a photo while my son was looking (because I already have TONS of him staring off into space), and took the time to try to talk to him, thank you.
Our trip was amazing. We had a great time and if it wasn't for the wonderful CMs in every capacity who put in the extra effort, or take a few extra seconds of time for a child who is different or having a difficult time, we wouldn't have these wonderful memories. I wonder if you all realized that something that may take as little as an extra 15-30 seconds of your day can make a memory that lasts a lifetime for someone else.
Your love and pride in your son is so clearly evident through your words and your pictures 
