It has been a LONG time since I blogged......I have so much to say that I don't know where to start. Soooo......I'll start by talking about our family's experience at a local theme park (World's Of Fun) this past Saturday night. We went for the infamous "Boo Bash" where the park has been transformed for Halloween. Apparently the rest of the world went for the same thing! We have season passes to the park, but still managed to be directed to park in a lot we never knew existed. There were literally HOARDES of people coming into the park as it was open until 1:00 a.m. As we entered through the front gate and a crush of people, Allen and I looked at each other and silently both thought, "maybe this wasn't a good idea." We generally try to avoid ginormous crowds if at all possible.....it's just too much for our boys to handle. Then a light bulb went off in my head.....DING!! I seemed to remember that Allen had checked earlier in the season and found that World's Of Fun had "Autism passes" for the rides. We hurried our butts back out the front gate to customer service to ask.
Unfortunately Nick had already spotted the first ride he wanted to go on and was screaming "BLUE'S CLUES!!!" and crying throughout. We made it to customer service where they filled out two green passes (one for each special needs kiddo) and wrote their names and the date on the cards. We were instructed to present the passes at the exit/handicap entrance of any ride and we would be allowed to bypass the line! HALLELUJAH!! Who knew WOF was so Autism friendly??? So....we went back into the park and headed straight for the ride Nick calls "blue's clues" which is actually a giant ride that is painted blue and spins in a huge circle. We decided to brave the line and see how much the boys could handle. I think the ride went through about 3 cycles before we actually made it on the ride. Throughout our wait (Nick especially)was becoming hysterical that we continued to wait. He cried....he screamed....he tried to run out of the line up to the front.....he laid on the ground and he just didn't understand that we had to wait our turn. People were giving us dirty looks because he was acting out, but honestly this is all pretty tame for Nick. So...we waited our damn turn and finally got on the ride. As soon as the ride started spinning in circles, Nick got a faraway and peaceful look on his face. The ride went faster and faster and Nick's smile grew larger. I was fascinated...to me it looked as though the world finally made sense to my little boy. He had a few moments of peace without extreme sensory overload. Well....after I saw that look in my little guy's eyes we marched right over to the next ride he loves....The Octopus! Now....if you've ever waited in a full line for this ride you know that like a Ferris Wheel it takes FOREVER to go through one darn cycle. So....I took my happy ass and our little green passes to the handicap entrance and presented them to the ride operator. We were on the ride in less than 5 minutes. Some people think I am abusing my kid's special needs or that it's unfair not to force him to wait in line. I say that perhaps those people have never had a child who does not have the capacity to understand "wait." Those people do not have a child that grows hysterical to the point of embarrassment on my end and irritation and discomfort by everyone else waiting in line. Those people have never tried to restrain a 60 lb kid just to force him conform to society's rules which he does not yet understand. So...yup....we skipped the darn line and it was wonderful....and I got to see Nick at peace once again if only for a few moments.
We even got to do a little bit of Autism Education at World's Of Fun that night. We were standing in line to enter the trick-or-treating house and Nick was becoming impatient. The poor girl in charge of the line was only about 16 years old. She was just trying to let the group ahead of ours get farther into the house so we wouldn't be right on their tails. Nick was crying and I was holding him up so he wouldn't fall to the ground and start tantruming. She asked me, "is he scared?" and then went on to try and reassure Nick that there was nothing scary inside the building. I finally said, "He has Autism.....he's not scared." She looked at me with a blank look on her face as did the father standing next to us with his children. I took a deep breath and said, "He has Autism and it means he has trouble waiting because he doesn't understand why he has to wait." I saw the light bulb go on in both of their heads....thank god for some understanding. The father glanced at Nick and at his two children and said, "Yup, well....sometimes it IS hard to wait." He wasn't being a smart alec.....he was letting me know that he understands and making me feel normal about my kid's behavior.
The only other time we used our special passes was when we went to Camp Snoopy (the children's part of World's Of Fun.) We used them on one ride that had a really long line. Max and I were able to wait in the "normal" line while Nick and Allen waited at the handicap entrance. We found that Nick was able to wait patiently for that ride and join me and Max when our turn came to get on. I think it helped that the handicap entrance was quiet and empty.....at least he could wait in peace. Now....not to leave Max out of our little adventures. He also has a hard time waiting in line (but not usually as much as Nick). He and I were waiting in line for his favorite kiddie ride.....and the line was extensive. I felt guilty using his pass to skip ahead of a bunch of kids though, so I just tried to made him wait. He was really interested and inched towards the front of the line (out of my sight) to watch the ride go up and down. I waited a minute and then headed up toward the front of the line to reel him in. I couldn't find him and immediately started panicking......I asked someone, "did anyone see my little boy come up here?" One woman asked me, "Is he wearing a red shirt?" "YES, I said" and she pointed at the ride where Max was being buckled into a seat. That little turd snuck up to the front of the line and onto the ride before I could catch him!! Of course I was horrified and apologized to the kids at the front of the line, but I did chuckle a little as I waited for the ride to be over. How do you punish a kid for cutting in line when they don't understand? Max's little mind just knew he wanted to be on that ride and he accomplished his goal! One day I hope the two of them will understand and be able to wait in line like all the other kids. If not, I won't hesitate to uses special passes when necessary but man 'o man, I sure will wait in the longest line at any amusement park if it means my kid understands. Thanks to World's Of Fun.....we had an amazing night!!!!
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