#alexeidarling

I've been working on a guide for autistic adults at Disney, along with alexeidarling (the primary writer) and other unknown contributors. I recently sent emails and comments to multiple Disney Blogs to ask that they post about it or simply add it as a reference link in their guides. I only asked people who had Autistics at Disney sections in their guides. I genuinely would have been happy to see it added as a comment or link at the bottom of a larger "Your autistic child at Disney" article.

As previously stated, all of these guides assumed that the reader was a neurotypical parent of an ASD/ND child. Sometimes they would have titles like "Taking a Family member with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Disneyworld" (Allears.net) and the entire article refers to that family member as a child who can't plan. Is "family member with Autism" a euphemism for "Maybe it's your grandkids or nephew or niece, but it's still obviously just a child"?

I really want this guide to become a resource that adult autistic people and those with sensory issues can actually find, and more people can contribute to.

None of these online Disney guides will post it, not even as a link on a page of links. Most don't respond at all. One told me it was good and maybe worthy of a guest post, but have not asked for more info or posted anything about it. I really want to change this, but I've written to so many guides and blogs I can no longer remember who I wrote and who I didn't.

I posted about it on Disboards (a Disney enthusiast forum) and while many people seemed to like the idea, I also got a fair few AutismMoms (tm) talking about how it wouldn't work for many autistic people, as they can't read or make their own decisions (I'm summarizing). You know what though, THEY ALREADY HAVE ALL THE GUIDES! On the other hand, guides for adult Autistics who can read and plan amount to exactly one: this one. And the online guides won't even post it as a link, like this one here.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Mu4KwoRaSAnspy-IZf3nuCJaXSaWNn4LeZiTV2eN6-c/mobilebasic

Most of these online guides have tons of first hand experiences and advice from Moms of autistic people. Not one did I find with us being allowed to speak for ourselves! I know the Moms are trying to be allies, but you don't do that by speaking for all of us and drowning out those of us who can speak. You certainly don't do it by trying to silence me because I don't have the exact same presentation of issues as your child.

I understand that some of us are nonverbal. I understand some of us will never understand written words. My little brother is also autistic, and he is a nonverbal, nonreading non-planner. Those guides would have been great for my neurotypical parents. But that doesn't mean that I would enjoy someone using one of those guides to strip me of my autonomy and plan out my day for me - especially when I could do a much better job of it. (I quite enjoy planning, incidentally. My parents loathe it.)

I understand advocating for those who can't advocate for themselves. Those moms are trying to do that too, but it's not Highlander, there can be more than one voice for those of us without them. But I think at the end of the day that's my biggest issues with some AutismMoms. To them, autistic people are a "them", and to me they're an "us", and I think that's a pretty telling difference. There's a difference between managing an autistic person and being one.

Many autistic people have written me or told me that they are happy this resource is out there. Some have stated they had also tried, unsuccessfully, to find an autistic guide for Disney written by autistic people. Not one neurodiverse person has told me they find it offensive, unnecessary, or wrong.

Why tell when I can show? :D 

* * * WARNING: Flashing lights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95RGIhg6R10

This ride is a great vestibular stim if sudden drops and rising in the dark doesn’t scare you. We rocked to “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar!

I know this is going to sound cliche, but probably the best thing you can do is practice as much as you can.  Break all the movements down into smaller pieces that you can practice individually until you feel comfortable with them, and when you can do each piece reliably you can start putting two or three pieces together to practice the coordination in manageable chunks.

Do our followers have any other advice?

Awesome!! Congrats!