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.

It's not the point. You implied ASD and being ND wasn't trendy. I was disputing this. There is a definite trend for young people to identify as ND.

Most autistic people arent though. Thats a small, %. Else you wouldnt have all these people in their 50s just being diagnosed else theyd have been long dead. Whereas many of them have worked, married and had families.

Yes some people are severely affected but not everyone

Probably, although in my experience we have definitely been given the wrong symbol (child has CP and is a blue badge holder).

It's the usual thing isn't it of people taking the piss and then unfortunately ruins it for people genuinely in need.

If your condition means you struggle with crowds and queuing then I'd argue a busy theme park in peak times isn't the ideal destination for you. Personally I find these kinds of places & situations unpleasant so avoid where possible as opposed to playing the neurodivergent card and jumping a queue.

Read the thread explaining why parents take their children who struggle with crowds to theme parks

Have to agree that it's probably due to the 'well they're entitled to it, so why not?' crowd.

I have a brother with special needs who doesn't really care about theme parks so this won't affect us but I remember people asking my Mum why she didn't get a blue badge for him and her response was 'why would I though? He can walk just fine?'

Don't get me wrong, some people do need it - I used to be a carer for a company and we had a pass of some kind for our kids when we went to Alton Towers. Many of them genuinely couldn't cope with the queues. It's a shame for those who have genuine need and hopefully they resolve it so it's fair for everyone.

We've explained that many of our children love the vestibular stimulation from the big rides, which you just can't get anywhere else. Playgrounds are non accessible to the over 12s - theme parks are a huge lifeline for parents with sensory seeking children and young people.

And you can take your other children - there aren't many places everyone can have fun together. And if your child has no friends and isn't skilled at a sport or doesn't have a hobby, well it's somewhere you can go for days out.

This is why so many families with autistic and disabled children buy annual passes for Merlin parks. I think they will lose a lot of money if the disabled community pulls out because of this.

How do the parents even know that their kids like extreme rides if they'd never taken them in the first place due to crowds?

We took my ds from being a baby as we were already taking my older child (who doesn't have any needs or disabilities). It was apparent my ds had autism at 18 months and got his dx at two years old. He has profound autism. As he has visited so often for his whole life it is normal for him, he has a set routine of what he likes to go on and some of the long serving staff are familiar with him. He loves going. He doesn't have a problem with crowds though, he loves people and being in the middle of everything. Usually the unkind people in crowds have issues with him.

He still gets the RAP after the changes though as he has nearly every symbol nimbus offer due to the extent of his disabilities.

Edit to add: to give you an idea of how long he has been going, he is in his transfer to adult services now, so no longer a child.

Alton towers used to have the perfect fast pass method for the big rides (showing my age!). You scanned your ticket and it gave you a time, you came back at that time and skipped the queue. If they reintroduced this it could work for everyone. I’m sure the money they miss out on from fast passes they would make up from food/ drink/ shop purchases as people wouldn’t be stuck in queues all day.

I think the problem with things like ASD is how much it varies. A non-verbal, extremely autistic child is going to be very different to a more high functioning, still in mainstream school child, yet I imagine they’d previously have both qualified for the RAP.

Ive said for a long time that ASD needs to be better categorised. The Spectrum element of the name is too vague and no longer fit for purpose.
I was diagnosed when my type of autism was called Asperger’s.

It's not a right. It's a reasonable adjustment under equality law. Alton Towers don't have to make reasonable adjustments for every disability in the same way. Eg providing hearing loops for people in wheelchairs would be pointless.

This RA was originally for people with mobility issues as wheelchairs couldn't access the main queue as the queues were too narrow and had steps.

Altin Towers have said they will meet the needs of those who can't tollerate crowds with sensory room, sensory packs, quiet spaces etc.

"How do the parents even know that their kids like extreme rides if they'd never taken them in the first place due to crowds?"

How does anyone know they like anything?

We we won't be returning now with our two very very adhd kids. RAPs were the only reason we could go. Too stressful and melt down inducing, but an amazing day out with the kids when we had the passes. We actually felt like a normal family when we were there. But now I will not go again despite us usually going 3 or 4 times a year.

My DS is 6ft 3 and weighs 15 stone with the mental capacity of a toddler, I am one of the growing number who no longer describes him as on the spectrum. Autism is a meaningless descriptor. He adores thrill rides, he adores noise and has no problem with crowds, what he can't do is stand still for hours and when he is in queues the other users get annoyed with his noise and smaller children are often afraid of him. He still has access under the trial rules. For those who say why take him, he cannot go to play parks, cinemas, theatres, as an adult will never go to the pub with his mates. He can't even run in a field without 2 adults shadowing him. I know firsthand the importance of RAP and I can still understand why the system cannot continue to function as it is. But those who say "why take them" haven't got an effing clue.

Well yes but you are more likely to know your child hates crowds due to day to day life. Shops Xmas fairs etc so it seems a strange thing to take them to a theme park knowing that. .

You wouldn't know then they loved the rides as they hadn't been

Completely agree especially about autism being meaningless as a dx now. I've said this for a few years now. If you don't mind me asking what do you use please? I've been using severe and profound but then you get people offended by that so thinking of using severe ld but I don't think that's fair to my son because he does have severe autism.

If he's lost access now i'd imagine he'd still qualify under the toilet symbol at the very least as i'm guessing he can't be left alone in public toilets and require companion toilets. Just a thought x

Not always. Some people are incredibly sensory and seek out sensiry input. They'll throw themselves around, crash, jump, climb, spin etc to get a similar feeling. We were advised by an ot once that coasters were good for my ds for this reason. Also, if you have a child like this you get used to mimicking that type of input in safe ways so coasters become a natural goto.

Exactly this. If so many people were not trying it on just to take the piss jumping queues, businesses wouldn’t be in a situation where there’s no longer a reduction in wait times and the system no longer works. Be angry with the piss takers who are causing this. Not the theme parks who are being exploited by chancers.

I use severe learning disabilities, even before this was added to his official diagnosis as my local CAMHS will not diagnose LD with autism till 10/11 and are reluctant to use severe until over 18. Due to his diagnosis being before the changes his official diagnosis until it was changed at 11 was severe autism. It's ridiculous to have a group of disabled people who will never live independently to not have the official diagnostic language to express their needs in a short sentence

It's not only rediculous it's bloody difficult. I've caught myself saying things like "he has autism but not the type you see on tv" before now, tying myself in knots. It should be an easy "has xyz" so that people know what to expect when you turn up.