Autism and Merlin RAP

[Perzival]

I think it's fair to say that the amount of people diagnosed with autism has increased by a huge amount compared to the amount of people who were diagnosed with the separate conditions prior to the change in the diagnostic manuals and people with a dx can vary between being a doctor and having a family, mortgage, social life etc to requiring 2:1 24 hour support with very limited communication.

This week Merlin that own Alton Towers, Thorpe park, Chessington and Legoland have decided to not give their ride access pass to people who struggle in crowds. This has caused uproar within the Merlin/ theme park groups as the majority of people who have this struggle have autism.

For those who aren't aware, in order to get a Ride Access Pass (RAP) you have to give evidence of your disabilities to a company called Nimbus who then decide what type of issues you have and give you a card with various icons on that you can them submit to venues for reasonable adjustments.

Throw in the commentary around the SEND white paper and the government review into why so many people are being diagnosed and i'm wondering if this is a more general move and one which is becoming more acceptable.

As the diagnosis has gone from previously representing mainly boy/ men with quite complex needs to representing a vast array of differring presentations and with an ever increasing amount of people being diagnosed, aibu to think that this is just the start and more venues/ places will limit or remove reasonable adjustments for this group of people?

AIBU= No, there isn't a push back against the autism diagnosis and adjustments made for the dx

AINBU= yes, more venues will start to remove or reduce adjustments for those with Autism

To avoid drip feeding I have a ds with profound autism and would imagine he will likely always get various reasonable adjustments (still gets RAP) etc.

I don’t think carers should expect an automatic right to a free ticket. Yes I’m a carer. Sometimes we get a freebie and often we get a discount, both of which are lovely. But so many people who possibly don’t actually need them are claiming them, for example a family that was all going to go to the theme park anyway. There’s a limit to what Merlin can afford.

There’s obviously a lot of discussion about the RAPs on SM. There seems to be a huge number of people effectively flouncing, and declaring along the lines of “we know where we’re not wanted so we’ll go elsewhere”. This sounds like a choice. Without a RAP my son and the group from his day centre cannot go. Others still can. That’s the difference.

Having worked for a company who sold short breaks to the Merlin parks (so hotel and park tickets), I can’t begin to tell you the amount of people who tried it on with getting these passes. Yet again the people who really need it lose out because of others.

I do think this is the problem.

those in genuine need are ending up being punished to prevent piss takers.

I was once in the guest services or get my Ds pass. He’s a wheelchair user so gets step free one.

behind us was a bunch of 4 young teens and when they got to the front one said the were there for their RAP and produced the plastic card. They were told they couldn’t as they hadn’t pre booked it.
they argued a bit and then went on their way. Made me a little because I did think of you can go unaccompanied with friends you weren’t in need but then I pulled myself up not to be judgy. But the truth is there are many who absolutely cannot access the parks without a carer or queue assist a those people absolutely should have a RAP and equal opportunity to attend. I’ve always been of the opinion those who don’t really need it are just something to accept for those in genuine need to get what they need as vice versa is worse.

Im guessing that balance has tipped too far now and sadly and incorrectly imo that’s landed those with genuine need with no adjustments for access.

I don’t know what the answer is but with the way things are going I’m waiting for my physically disabled (paraplegic) ds to be told if he doesn’t learn to stand up then he can’t do x h and z. And it’s not a world I want to live in.

I agree.

It is vastly unhelpful that the same word covers a PVC of a Russel group University and a nonverbal adult who will never be toilet trained.

I feel very, very strongly that there needs to be a re-categorisation of the diagnoses of autism, ADHD etc. My teenage daughter has an autism diagnosis, which presents in social settings and prevalently brings mental health difficulties and burnout alongside severe RSD. Masking and then getting burnt out from that is a cycle we deal with constantly. She is what would have previously been called high-functioning. We sought this diagnosis on advice from her psych team after a long and significant mental health breakdown. This diagnosis helps her understand herself and her limitations etc.
So, previously, we absolutely could have got the RAP if we went to a Merlin park (we never did).
BUT she absolutely could deal with queuing. And yet she has the same diagnosis on a piece of paper as a person who has meltdowns, is non-verbal and simply could not cope at all!
It just doesn't make sense.
By striving for inclusivity in terms of allowing neuro-diverse people to access diagnoses almost regardless of their level of need, are we not indirectly forcing situations like this, where inclusivity falls away due to the sheer breadth of need in the spectrum, and the inevitable cynicism this creates?
NICE really need to find a way of giving levels, or at least some form of categorisation, to autism and ADHD because it's all getting a bit silly now.

Well I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this but I think the media reporting and as a nation we are missing the elephant in the room. Which is: make these places (theme parks, schools etc) better places to be for everyone, whether with SEND/disability etc and then there would be a very tiny minirity who require the additional adjustments. I took my sons to Center Parcs when it first opened up after covid with strict 50% occupancy, spaced out across the site. It was lovely, relaxing. Went back two years later to normal occupancy and it was rammed and a bit unpleasant. Many kids whether SEND or NT will have a degree of difficulty in a class size of 30+ with little outdoor space or co-curriculars on offer, but shrink the class size and improve the environment, broaden the offer, many more kids could cope with modest adjustments in place. I'm not saying this will cover those with quite demanding needs, but if we feel flooded with people not coping we should look at the environment, rather than saying yes/no to additional accommodations and making THAT the debate.

These are nice ideas but theme parks and holidays parks are businesses - they exist to make money - if people want 50% capacity they will need to charge double - making them less accessible to customers further down the financial food chain.

As for schools, again nice idea, but where are the additional classrooms going to magic up from? Staff, facilities? If you extend school buildings you lose more outdoor space. Do we allow a school to go for reduced numbers but the parents make up the difference in revenue, sort of a half way state/private? Again that would shut out pupils whose parents couldn’t pay.

All ideal ideas no one wants to pay for it or there would be even more people saying “what about me it’s not quite right for my needs”

This RAP pass is an example of this, the current system is clearly not fit for purpose right now in some parks, so they are going to trial a different approach. There are some theme parks that are keeping similar access, but there is uproar because everyone wants to go where they want, how they like. Merlin is a private business not a public service. And there is an option of fast track tickets.

I think the press coverage of this will make new places, there is a Universal park being built, think more carefully about access passes in the future, it’s easier to not offer passes to a wide selection of customers than to offer them and then rake them away. And universal will be watching this with interest.

The article I read said it was mainly ADHD and anxiety sufferers that were bypassing the queue. They said the issue was that they were making the waiting times longer and it was impacting people with things like reduced mobility who couldn't stand in a queue for ages.

I can see both sides honestly. I've got pretty bad ADHD (was excluded from mainstream education for a while before reaching secondary school) and I wouldn't dream of using it to jump the queue, although no doubt I could. But many people will take the piss. There's probs no easy solution. Somebody is going to be inconvenienced either way.

What will happen is that people will flood Nimbus trying to get the symbols upgraded on the card. It will be like applying for PIP, where you have to demonstrate need above a certain threshold.

People would have accepted the previous symbols on the basis it got them what they needed. Now it seems you need to qualify for more symbols, there will be more pressure on Nimbus to grant them.

I'm not sure how this will work. Will people start suing Nimbus?!

May I add another perspective to this, because whilst I fully support any accommodations being made whilst possible the current system is just not fair or sustainable to anybody. We visited lego land in September for my sons birthday, off peak due to an inset day. Total cost for us with three small children aged 7,8 and 11 plus travelodge and petrol was over £400. We walked straight to the back of the park when it opened (with the small kids this was not fast!) to go onto the flight of the lion ride where the queue was 1.5 hours long already! Of 7 open "lanes", at each turn, three of the lanes were filled with fast pass holders (I'm not sure what the breakdown of users were). Now if nearly 50% of users are using this, it makes our queue 50% longer, and whilst I'm lucky not to need to have to apply for this pass, no small child can realistically manage a queue this length for the sake of a 3 minute ride. On that day we managed 4 rides and spent basically an entire day queueing, and honestly it was not worth the money at all. Money which we cannot just afford, and had budgeted for months to be able to take the kids.

Whilst it is vital those who genuinely need it can have accomodations made, it's just not manageable as it is, and other people are not going to pay for admission either because the current system is not fair either.

I've seen on facebook that people have been told nimbus have had to set up a "merlin team" to deal with the amount of enquiries regarding this. I bet they are under pressure to allocate one of the symbols that gives RAP by a lot of people.

I have a Nimbus card. I have mental and physical disabilities. That said, I personally would never go to somewhere like a Merlin Park now because the crowds are too much for me.

The people in uproar about it, if they really want to go should go at a time when it's super quiet, off season, during term time, etc. Or just buy a fast pass. Okay, yes, super expensive, but just parking your car and walking through the gates is equivalent of a second mortgage!

Going to loose even more once Universal UK open up in 5 years 🤷‍♂️

Good comment on this by someone I follow
www.facebook.com/share/v/1CBZpLq3UM/

We have an 10 year old with ASD and a global learning delay and saw the news this morning. We can't visit his favourite ride now as he cannot queue without melting down. I have started a petition on change.org to hopefully get enough support to force Merlin to reconsider their outrageous decision to exclude thousands of people with hidden disabilities. Please sign and share as far as possible https://c.org/tkhRB4hbRx

Some heart rending descriptions of children on here.

In my opinion, it is the parents of those children who should be absolutely fuming at the way the definition of SEN has been widened and is widening.

This Merlin affair will be the tip of the iceberg and it is children who do need extra support who will be badly affected. They are the ones who will pay the price for this.

There is only so much and the more hands that go into the pot the less there will be for those for whom it was intended in the first place. That really isn't rocket science.

Maybe so but if you were Merlin and operating in such a challenging economic environment would you be bending over backwards to accommodate more and more RAP users when this is having a negative impact on the general customer base and will be reducing revenue? Especially when it is widely known that the system is abused and people are seeing it as an alternative to paying for fast passes.

Ive never believed in autistic people get to skip the queue thing unless they're very severe. My DS has ADHD and i never dreamed of applying for a pass for him. He gets fidgety in queue yes, but life is you have to wait sometimes.
Surely it's more beneficial for parents to teach their children that sometimes in life, you have to wait.

And because autism is a trendy diagnosis these days where every quirky teenage girl on tiktok claims shes autistic because she likes video games, or its easier than ever for wealthy parents to pay for an autism diagnosis for their kids even if their behavioural issues are down to parenting (before anyone jumps down my throats this is a hypothetical)...it makes sense that this system would be abused, which is unfair for the profoundly disabled children who have no genuine concept of time and need these accommodations.

I agree I think they need to recategorise it.

Im glad your daughter is getting the support she needs, but it sounds like her problems are mostly internal and related to her mental health rather than cognitive and external like was traditionally associated with autism.

In an ideal world i think the label 'autism' should be reserved for the traditional severe cases. But the milder cases like your daughter are recognised under a different label, like 'neurodiverse'.

That way everyone gets tailored support but it isn't all lumped together

This is the same up and down the country try for events. Download festival access tickets and camping were sold out within minutes this year (never happened before)

Perhaps the question is / if people really would prefer the alternative queuing system why isn’t it offered to everyone ?

You really think it's "trendy" to be Autistic? It really isn't "trendy" to be struggling so much that you contemplate killing yourself because you're struggling so much

Over half of Gen Z consider themselves to be ND. The definition of a trend is a general direction, development, or prevailing tendency in how people think, behave, or in a situation, often becoming popular or common over time. We need to stop with the hyperbole. Most autistic people aren't suicidal. There clearly is a growing tendency for people to identify as ND.

The alternative queuing allows people to queue for multiple rides at the same time so queues would inevitably lengthen. Also the facilities that RAP users can enjoy whilst waiting for the virtual queue time to tick down wild be inundated with people. Imagine the playparks etc if everyone could wait for a ride whilst enjoying them. Put simply, the parks and their associated capacity is built around the assumption that most guests will be queuing most of the time. They simply couldn't function if this wasn't the case.

They wouldn't get any accommodations without evidence