Alton Towers to remove disability pass for people with ADHD and anxiety

[AnitaRita]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2gwgj4xreo
Too many people wanting to join the "Fast pass queue" so you actually end up with two queues rather than one queue and a fast entry! Got to agree with them - if you're too anxious to queue then a white knuckle ride is probably not for you!

Oh my God. Are you really so entrenched in your ableism that you can't understand that queues and rides are not the same thing? That an autistic child can find standing close to people like ants crawling on their skin and people talking around them like bees buzzing in their head. But flying through the air and dropping through the sky feels like flying and freedom.

Yes it is. You'd like to visit a castle with loads of stairs. But you should stay home because you're in a wheelchair and there are loads of stairs. Completely voluntary activity.

No child likes to queue, people in general don’t like to queue but do to get to the end result of being in the queue.

DLA/PIP is there for the associated extra costs that arise out of a disability. For some people they might need it to buy equipment, higher electric costs cos of equipment running 24/7, mobility cars, might pay for a carer so parent can have respite or buy things like a fast pass that will make life easier.
I have more idea that your judgmental patronising self thinks.

its literally all over social media, I think mentioned on here too but it was an example of how if everyone or half the people in the theme park have a RAP pass its no longer effective. Even 25% would still render it ineffective cos you also have the carer at least in the rap queue too. The RAP pass then just basically defeats its whole purpose right?!

You cannot possibly have any understanding of DLA/PIP if you think it's to be spent on fast passes?! Or any understanding of autism and ADHD if you think it's just a dislike of queuing?!?! You have no idea. None. You cannot possibly or you wouldn't be posting the ignorant shit you have.

You used the word “terrifying”, which is what I responded to. Don’t be so flaming disingenuous.
Or maybe you really don’t get it? Who knows? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Theme parks are an entirely optional, overpriced extra that are famous for queues and crowds. I wouldn't go to one if you paid me and gave me a queue pass. I find them unbearable. I must admit I can't understand why anyone who couldn't cope with that environment would go to them. Some things are just best avoided.

Yet when the same children/people want to avoid things that distress them they're told they need to get used to it, it's life, they need to be more resilient

But unfortunately the two things are inextricable unless you have your own rollercoaster - or pay for a fastpass. They are great non-essential experiences, like many things that cost a lot because of the way the economics shake down.

I’m not a fan of interacting with abusive people like yourself.

it’s a forum, people have different views & opinions & there is absolutely no need for your disgusting attitude towards people

anyway. see the bit that says outings which I believe a trip to a theme park would cover. I also know that LA’s where involved with caring for a child with disabilities will also factor these things in so that the children can have as much of a normal life as others.

For Children (under 16)
What it's for:
Helps with extra costs for a child who needs more care or has trouble walking compared to other children their age.
How it helps:
Covers costs like special equipment, higher heating bills, taxi fares, special diets, or outings.
Components:
Has a care component (help with personal care/supervision) and a mobility component (help with getting around).

I really don't think you understand how the pass works. If the queue is an hour, everyone is waiting an hour, wether that is in the physical queue or elsewhere. It makes no difference if 90% are physically queue and 10% are online, or 25/75 or even 50/50. Everyone is still waiting an hour

Yes, because the QUEUES are terrifying, the RIDES are exciting. So the queues inhibit some children with ADHD or autism accessing something freely available to NT people. Stairs inhibit people in wheelchairs from accessing cultural experiences. The stairs won't terrify them, but it's the same principle. You either put in place adaptations to overcome the disability or you say "tough cheese, you just can't go to those places". I'd prefer the former.

It's not about having a difference of opinion! I think YOUR attitude to people is disgusting, especially those with disabilities. That's what I'm reacting to. I have lived experience of trying to navigate a world with a child with ADHD and autism. People like you and others on this thread who think my child should have no accommodations and we should be paying for them makes navigating that world so very, very much harder.

Yes it needs to be downplayed now. I work in an area with a boom of diagnosis and it's unmanageable.

Oh dear.

Thrill rides are excellent for those with anxiety due to the dopamine and endorphin release that comes after a controlled adrenaline rush that breaks the stress / fear cycle in the same way horror films do.

People with disabilities can be denied reasonable adjustments for safety reasons alone so I can’t see any way that this new rule is not discriminatory and in breach of the Equality Act 2010.

No kids like queuing, queue jump systems are very unfair.

Theme parks are entirely optional though. Some people like them but most people don't go to them.

I have anxiety - thrill rides and horror movies raise my anxiety levels massively to the point I just avoid them. They're not compulsory. I can just about manage large queues because I've learned coping strategies but can't sit in rows where I have people on either side of me as I panic at being hemmed in - even in cinemas I have to sit in the aisle seat with a clear view of the exit.

This is the issue with anxiety, adhd and autism because it affects people so differently and there's such a wide spectrum for each - I can completely understand why this change has come into play. No-one can claim that everyone who has eg adhd needs this pass, because they don't - and that's why this issue has arisen.

How ignorant. I have another child, who isn't disabled, who doesn't like queueing but is perfectly able. This is completely different to my autistic child who isn't able to tolerate queueing.

My granddaughter 17, can handle even the most nerve wracking rides as she's not in a car with several others. In a line with a lot of people around is hard for her to deal with.
My son 15, usually goes with her to keep her on an even keel while in line.

Final shout to say fast tracks are still totally possible - no one has to never go on rides again if it's their absolute raison d'etre yet they can't handle the queuing -
https://www.altontowers.com/tickets-passes/extras/fastrack/

Yes it's pricey but so are boxes at theatres or quieter spas and swimming pools and ski resorts and other places that people pay to avoid the horrors of the hoi polloi. I'm not unsympathetic but the system was unsustainable and it's commercial enterprise. The car parking fee alone tells you it's all about the dosh.

I have vertigo so can no longer handle the rides. Don't mind the queuing but my day at theme parks is tedious AF, waiting around while everyone else has fun. So it goes.

It's not about not LIKING queuing, FFS. It's about not being able to cope with queuing. Imagine there were insects crawling all over your body and someone screaming in your ears the whole time you were queuing. It's not comparable to how NT people experience the world. At all.

But there aren’t insects crawling over them

You don't really think this is about 'liking' queuing, though, do you? You cannot possibly be that oblivious to the issue at hand.

There is literally no point trying to engage, is there?