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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think attitudes to disabilities in a themepark should be better...

568 replies

LunarRose · 03/09/2011 12:16

We have exit passes for DS with ASD.

AIBU that "I'm going to kick their head in" cos they're "queue jumping", was neither clever nor original (especially after the third time my DP heard it during the day)

AIBU that pushing DS out the way (in the chest with some force) because he failed to respond instantly to your demand he "get out of your way" (whist waiting at the disabled exit) was just plain unpleasant Angry (I was bending down to move him at the time)

So many more similar incidents through the day.

I normal circumstances I wouldn't want to wish my son's disability on anyone, nor the days over backache that a themepark trip entitled before we knew about exit passes (from carrying DS through Queuelines kicking and screaming) however....

We shall retreat to Chessington where we have always found people lovely!!!

OP posts:
Mouseface · 03/09/2011 19:40

Do you know Pag, I'm with you 100%, I wouldn't swap DS for the world. I'd give him a better quality of life at times, sure, who wouldn't, but he is our baby, our flesh and blood, our son.

I too don't want to walk in those shoes if they are filled by an ignorant, pathetic, moaning person.

Mouseface · 03/09/2011 19:41

Grin at smallwhitecat

spiderpig8 · 03/09/2011 19:41

But surely ASD kids should be getting used to queuing.They are not going to be allowed to queue jump say at the post office, ice cream van.Don't you think it's better to get them used to the real world rather than making them think everyone is going to bend over backwards to accommodate them?
And what about kids with ADHD then? Should they be allowed passes too.As far as i understand queuing doesn't distress them, they just haven't the patience for it.

Glitterknickaz · 03/09/2011 19:42

Oh of course, because DEFECTIVE children don't know the meaning of having fun do they? They don't deserve it if they do.

Heaven forfend they get some sensory stimulation and therefore enjoyment from the rides.

Ben10WasTheSpawnNowWeLoveLego · 03/09/2011 19:42

Riven, I had given no thought to the requirement for changing facilities for older children/adults. I will send some letters from the Changing Places website. Thank you

TheHumanCatapult · 03/09/2011 19:42

wow spiderpig

guess I should never leave home Im disabled as is ds .Funny enough we like to be out as family and we even may enjoy it .

I am possibly more fortunate as mine is very obvious , ds3 are not obvious at a glance .

andrewfog i tend not to have a problem and would not been worried about someone who is blind , neither would any of my kids .They know what the white stick means and or a white stick with red tape

Glitterknickaz · 03/09/2011 19:43

Oh ffs.

Getting used to it?

You really, really don't bloody get it do you?

It doesn't matter how many times you try to teach something it doesn't get through.

Oh and yes they do issue passes for ADHD, DS2 gets them for that too, as well as his autism.

Oh get me, I've got more than one.... oh dear. How entitled does that make me on your rateometer?

devientenigma · 03/09/2011 19:43

haha spider my 14yo ADHD queues and while queueing she sings and dances much to the same reaction as those at the disabled queue!!!

Original poster
LunarRose · 03/09/2011 19:43

Spider - because children with ASD, must get out. They must experience as much of life as they can. The more they can experience and learn to deal with the more able they are to function in life.

and, as in the case of my DS, he loves the theme park and because of the nature of his physical sensory issues he love the rides but cannot deal with the social expectations of others. Totally irrelevant to him.

Because with the little adaption of the exit pass, we can have a good time at a theme park; we go somewhere as a family

OP posts:
smallwhitecat · 03/09/2011 19:44

This reply has been deleted

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TheHumanCatapult · 03/09/2011 19:44

spiderpig theres getting used to it and getting used to it in stages say at start of day may be able to mange a short queue but as day goes on they can struggle

Ben10WasTheSpawnNowWeLoveLego · 03/09/2011 19:44

spiderpig8 My son if he gets a diagnosis will be high functioning autism or aspergers. Therefore he has high intelligence but due to the way his brain has developed, still cannot learn to queue. Hmm

Glitterknickaz · 03/09/2011 19:44

Just.... seriously.
How difficult is it to comprehend that autism and adhd are down to biological differences.... both chemical and structural in the brain. It's a physical disability as well as mental.

This means that they do not have the capacity to learn in the same way as other people.

Glitterknickaz · 03/09/2011 19:45

Actually DS1 isn't doing too badly, he does have some capacity to learn. DS2 though it's not going in.

smallwhitecat · 03/09/2011 19:45

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Message withdrawn

silverfrog · 03/09/2011 19:46

oh, wht a shame I have missed most of this thread.

just back form pissing people off at Chessington.

where we had our exit pass (as we always do), and on the whole had a fantastic day out. the dds had a ball (thanks to the exit pass, which meant that they did not have to queue next to ignorant, rude people)

can I just ask - those of you (like spiderpig) who are posting nonsensical bile - do you not read other threads on disability issues? can you honestly say, in your time on Mn, you have not come across a single post highlighting the difficulties of daily life with (for eg) autism?

because there are a lt of them about. they pop up on a high percentage of threads, where kindly posters with experiecne of this (and other) SN take the time to try to let the rest of the world know what it is liek to live in our world for a bit. I don't believe it is possible to spend much time here and not see posts liek that - which means you are on a very nasty wind-up here. Not Nice at all.

but hey, I shouldn't care, I suppose - we don't hang around long enough at theme parks to hear the stupid comments. too busy plotting out route to the next ride Grin Wink

TheHumanCatapult · 03/09/2011 19:46

and ice cream queue is not going to be 30 mins plus either is it

TheHumanCatapult · 03/09/2011 19:48

hehe people must hate us we have merlin cards and now we filled forms in we dont evne have to proove it every time and just get our hands stamped and anyone wants to grumble at me I just smile sweetly and offer them the disablilty a

rookiemater · 03/09/2011 19:52

OP it's a shame that you and your family were not well treated at Legoland.

We went there in the summer and I was very impressed with how they worked with the parents and SN boy who wanted to go on the Lego Driving School. I heard it all because I was waiting at the exit for DS and that's where the Q buster was. Their son was unable to sit through the prebriefing screen show so once everyone else was on, they stopped everything so he could get to a car and one of the staff hung on the side to show him what to do, I can't remember if she stayed there for the ride, but certainly everything was done to accomodate him and I heard his parents thanking the staff afterwards. F
From that I had the impression that Legoland would be an ok place to go with a SN child, but I suppose it depends very much on the member of staff and the attitude of other park visitors.

5inthebed · 03/09/2011 19:53

Why did I not think about getting DS2 used to queueing, my god I am such a crap parent!

Spiderpig, you have not got a clue. Go crawl back uner your rock/bridge.

silverfrog · 03/09/2011 19:54

yep, we are logged at customer services of all the merlin parks, too. so no lugging reams of paperwork around (used ot only take dd1's statement, but still, that's a sheaf of papers I don't have to fill my bag with!), so just turn up and get the hand stamp/wristband.

we had a great time today - lots of people with wristbands, and had a nice chat with several different families while waiting (yes, waiting! Shock - the wristband doens't mean you get straight on) for our turn to be loaded fromthe disabled entrance.

silverfrog · 03/09/2011 19:56

oooh, rookiemater - hadn't thoguht that dd1 would be able to do the driving school at legoland. will have to ask next time. we have always avoided it, as obv adults aren't allowed. but if they ahve someone who can hop on with her (a bit like the ride controllers at old fairground dodgems, I guess?) then she owuld be able to do it. thanks Smile - dd2 has been desperate to do that, but won't do it if her sister can't go...

Andrewofgg · 03/09/2011 19:57

ChippingIn You can't help having a bad reaction: you can help noticing it and doing nothing about it. We all have to train ourselves in this respect.

My father, who has been dead forty years and grew up in times very different to ours, got irritated with deaf people - this sort of thing seems to be hard-wired into our species!

I have had enough of spiderpig to last a lifetime; the name insults both the animals it consists of.

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 03/09/2011 19:58

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Mouseface · 03/09/2011 19:58

I fear that spiderpig may actually be wearing a flame retardant suit this evening.

Why are you trying to upset so many posters spiderpig? If my memory serves, you or a very similar posting name has 'form' for being a nasty piece of workcausing trouble.