Is an Access Card worth it?

[Redwineandcheeseplease01]

Hi, my 4 year old son is diagnosed ASD and I have been advised to apply for an Access Card - please can anyone with any experience of this card let me know if it is worth it for a 4 year old? Thankyou!

Yes, totally worth it - skip the queues at things like museums and theme parks, discount at the theatre, access to disabled toilets, potentially (if you get the +1 symbol) then free ticket to certain places (mainly theatre, where free carer ticket isn’t standard), also evidence to apply for things like the CEA card so you get a free cinema ticket. Absolutely loads of stuff - it’s valid for 3(?) years so well worth paying for now, although of course it depends how much you go out and about.

Yes get one. If you need a disability pass for theme parks for example, they ask to see your Access pass.

For most places, you don’t need the access card for carer tickets or for ride access passes. Even for places such as some theme parks who use Nimbus for their ride access pass, you don’t need to pay for an access card. I haven’t come across a disabled toilet or changing places toilet that requires an access pass.

A CEA card is irrelevant for a 4 year old because they are too young and an access card isn’t one of the eligibility criteria anyway,

It depends which icons he would qualify for. It's based on need, not condition.

Organisations are required to make reasonable adjustments by law. So in theory you shouldn't need any proof at all anyway.

However, many do ask for a DLA letter, or a letter from a medical professional, or an Access card (the latter often if it involves queue skipping or needing a carer).

But if he's 4, he would need a carer with him anyway. Unless he needs two people?

My daughter (also autistic) has both the queue skipping and carer endorsements on her card, but she's 13 (and most 13 year olds would be able to go places alone of course).

So no, I wouldn't have bothered with it at that age.

My son (ASD) just got one for the first time at 17 and it has been great as he has suddenly gotten over his fear of rides/rollercoasters. His current obsession is going to Thorpe Park every month for a full day. Definitely worth it for him but not sure it would have been at 4. No idea what else it can be used for however!

Although Thorpe Park use Nimbus for their ride access pass, you don’t need to pay for an access card.

I find it useful. It is what it says it is, a non-questions asked, face value proof that your child (or you) has a certain condition meaning they need reasonable adjustments to access whatever service is being offered.

Yes we’ve used it for getting a ride access pass at theme parks but that’s not its only use.

Our local theatre requires either a letter or Access card to sign up for their scheme. Sounds like your son would qualify then for free carer tickets. I think most theatres are the same.

I've seen some events ask for "proof" for their access schemes as well.

Absolutely worth it.

A friend just got an animal experience at one of the big parks £250 cheaper.

Might as well get one.

We have one for our 3yr old. Would recommend.

We have never needed one to access adjustments in the places we go to.

to be honest the whole system makes me a bit uncomfy as it seems to be a money making scheme for what places have done for a while anyway.

Word of warning they are now getting quite strict on who they give the “plus one” for a carer symbol to. They are often refusing to give to young children as any young child that age would need a parent with them. You have to have proof that they need supervision over and above what a typical 4 year old would need so that you may for example need to take two adults with you if you have other children whereas if not for his needs you could take them alone.

This is what I think too. Designed to restrict the pool of people to whom carer's tickets are offered+I'm not saying there's never a place for reviewing this, btw) but there are many ways to do it that don't cost disabled people and their carers even more time/money. Basing it on rate of DLA, for example.

sorry I find this bit quite confusing, the access to standing and queuing - what does this actually mean?
that you show your card and don’t need to queue? Or get directed to another queue which is more accessible/shorter? Also with the toilet urgency - does this mean if your child needs to use the loo, you show it to the other people in the queue and they let you go in front of them? How does it actually work?

My daughter has an access card with queueing, plus 1 and toilet. For the toilet I think it is more that where a public toilet isn’t available you might be offered access to a staff toilet.

DD’s access card has been invaluable, but she is now 17.

Thanks for your reply, my son has been granted queueing/standing and toilet access but we were denied +1 as he is only 4 so they said he would need someone with him anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️

We got denied +1 after the Autism diagnosis, despite the extreme behaviourally challenges including him eloping. But after an OT report showing him in the top percentile for sensory processing issues, it was added. Thing is, almost everywhere we go, we take Mom + Child, then Dad + Mother-In-law as 2 carers.

So for the Merlin theme parks the +1 let's you register for the Ride Access Pass. It lets you queue in a shorter accessible queue but you get timed out for the equivalent of the main queue. For us it's worth it for that alone but this for an adult. And yes for toilet queues you can ask to go ahead. You can also use it at the Lego shop in London. They are very limited on giving out +1 for children. It only really gets out on if the child needs two carers or you have really clear evidence that they need 121 at all times and have siblings so need an extra carer. If you're just going to go to one theme park with it you can apply for the non paid cost card but its handy to have it.

It depends if where you go and whatother evidenceyou have. We have them because there is a small theme park we regularly go to that use them, and it's great to have the no que symbol.

However, it's difficult to get the +1 symbol, especially for DC so for most other places we use their DLA letters instead to access carer's tickets.