Going to the Zoo (Marwell) with 4 year old child with autistism... am I mad?

[nannynick]

4 year old boy I care for who has Dx ASD today kept talking (was non-verbal but has got a lot better over the past 6 months) about Jungle Animals. Told him I would consider taking him to the Zoo on Sunday. Have contacted Marwell Zoo and it looks like we Ok to proceed - admission charge is reasonable (even do a disabled child annual pass), though the Zoo staff did say that they expect Marwell to be busy on Sunday. Thus we plan to get there as soon after opening as possible, so with luck it won't be that busy and then we can leave if it gets a bit too much.

Am I mad? Has anyone done a trip to the Zoo (even Marwell) before with an autistic child? This is like working with children and animals... not sure it's that wise. Mind you haven't been to Marwell for years - so could be a nice trip, if all goes well.

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I haven't done any zoo trips but it sounds like it could be good. It's good that you have a get-out plan in case it doesn't go as well as you hope.

I agree with Tobysmum about being prepared for an overload to happen relatively quickly. 'Day' trips for us usually last for about 1-2hrs before someone asks if it's time to go home yet when they're doing something that they really enjoy. It's more like 10 minutes if it's something they're unsure of or just too overwhelming.

Good luck

I have taken DS (with ASD) to London Zoo many times as it is nearby. We treat it as a venue to be able to walk around safely which has all sorts of "attractions" by which I mean shop, cafe, merry-go-round, bouncy castle sometimes. I stopped expecting him to care about seeing the animals ages ago, especially as you can never be sure which ones will be about and not kipping inside somewhere! I used to be disappointed until I heard lots of families with NT children saying things like "we came here to see the animals" as many children just enjoyed the environment and a chance for some freedom...... so not all children care that much about the animals. You say he has been talking about jungle animals, but don't get him too prepared to expect to see them, you may not. I agree too, have an escape plan, be prepared to leave when necessary and treat it as a first time with a view to going back. I am surprised they make a carer pay to get in, London Zoo doesn't if the person with disability has a (discounted) membership. Maybe you should check again?

Thanks, glad you don't all feel I'm mad.
Marwell do not have all the animals that he has been saying, but do have some of them, plus of course lots which he hasn't mentioned. Have given him the web url, so expect he will have browsed the site quite a bit between now and Sunday. Regarding admission charge... pay for child, carer is free (disabled child annual pass is £5 cheaper than a standard child annual pass and it includes carer accompanying child).

Have been caring for this child for over 6 months now and we go on lots of trips out to a variety of places, so he has got a lot better at queues and having lots of people around. However does have the occasional meltdown. Had a 10-minute tantrum yesterday when we went on a boat trip, not entirely sure why, though I think it may have been due to going on the wrong boat.

When on trips we rarely stick to any sort of timetable... we take it as it comes, if he likes the place we stay a while, if he doesn't we leave. I try to make the trips as child directed as possible - so it's me following him, rather than me dragging him around somewhere. Not always possible of course - such as getting him to understand which boat we have the tickets for - but generally he gets to decide what we do.

With luck the trip to Marwell will go well.

Agree with Davros about having to not care about looking at animals. On an early post autism zoo trip ds1's face lit up for the first time on seeing a hoover. I think I cried!

We don't go much now as it's always sooo busy during school holidays, and there's just too much queuing for everything, and no empty swings etc. I did jump a massive (15 minute) queue to get in once, and the staff were fine about that.

Hope it goes well.

It sounds like you've got it all sorted and you know what you are doing. Hope you both enjoy it.

ds2 loves Colchester zoo, scared of the zoo keepers but loves the animals - he has a bit of a thing for Giraffes & is totally fascinated by them.
DS1 7 & nt couldn't care less about the animals would much prefer to play in the adventure playground.
Good luck, I hope you enjoy the day.

Not got round to reading the whole thread, I'v been on my hols in Camber[don't go there!!!!}
Decided to take ds to a zoo-type park for his birthday.For those who don't know he has HFA. I think that if you take a child to a zoo that reacts like my ds, then you've got to accept that the day has to be about making sure he doesn't get too overwhelmed. I so wanted to look at the animals but ds had no interest, and just wanted to pass them by so quickly. He enjoyed opening the flaps that described the animals but didn't actually look at them. He generally found the day incredibly stressful.

Update: Just got back from visiting Marwell. Trip went really well. Got there for 10.30 and it was not as busy as I had expected. After 3 hours, little lad got tired and wanted a carry (one of the signs he want's to go) so we bailed out at that point. Now have annual pass, so can keep going back for the next year, as didn't get to see everything and little lad seemed to like it.

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