ADHD and Theme Parks: Should They Wait in Line?
ByA recent report came out of the UK that children with ADHD are able to ‘jump the queue’ if they are able to document their ADHD. The ‘Disability Discrimination Act’ states that leisure parks and attractions have to accommodate the needs of all visitors.
The reason to allow individuals with ADHD to ‘jump the line up’ is that they often have difficulty waiting their turn. In fact, ‘trouble waiting one’s turn’ is one of the core criteria in the diagnosis of ADHD.
I am aware that at attractions like Disney World, that anyone with a physical or mental disability can get a pass to go ahead of the line up. This is certainly critical for children in wheelchairs, or children with developmental delays and/or autism.
I imagine that parents of children with ADHD would struggle with hour long line ups to get the attractions. I imagine that parents would often have to forgo certain rides or events because of it. So having the ability to get ahead of the line up for ADHD could be tremendous.
The BBC report on this story quotes and expert who says that we should not be giving individuals with ADHD the ability to jump ahead of the lines, as this is not realistic to life. We cannot create a life where people with ADHD don’t have to wait for things.
On the one hand – I believe that kids with moderate to severe ADHD, particularly if there is a co-existing behavior disorder, would struggle a lot with line ups, and this new rule would be fantastic for them and their families.
On the other hand – I think this is a rule that could be misused and create a backlash and anger about individuals with ADHD. Don’t all parents struggle keeping their kids in the hour long line up for the 5 minute ride? Especially when it’s hot, and the child is hungry, and has to go to the bathroom, etc.?
Having this type of accommodation at major theme parks like: Sea World, Disneyland, Disneyworld, or Six Flags could be very helpful to families who have ADHD in them. But could it create a backlash?
I don’t know what the right answer is.
This has been passed in the UK.
Should it be in the USA and other major countries?
Please share your thoughts and experiences below. I want to know what people are experiencing out there – and I know readers of this blog have shed light on issues that people elsewhere aren’t even aware of.
Thanks,
Dr. Kenny
While I deeply empathize for the parents and children suffering from ADD/ADHD (both my son and I suffer from it), I think that the amount of resentment that would be created by the media over the issue would far outweigh any benefit. It’s bad enough that our ailments are the punchlines of countless societal jokes. I would rather not pour gasoline on the fire.
My son and I both have ADHD and of course, we don’t like waiting in lines. We are planning a trip to a theme park this weekend, and it would be GREAT if we could cut to the front of every line, but I don’t think it would be reasonable.
Other people would have a right to be angry if we were allowed to go to the front of the line. They pay the same amount for admission as we do, and we would be able to go on ten times as many rides as them.
Additionally, as a person with ADHD, I have spent a lifetime struggling to “fit in” with my peers. Special passes to the front of the line will single me out as different. I don’t want this for me, or for my son.
Having ADHD makes many things more difficult for us, including some types of recreation. So for the most part, we avoid forms of recreation that result in unpleasantness. We only go to theme parks because the thrill of the ride is stronger than the aversiveness of waiting in line.
As a person with ADHD, I believe that special accommodations should only be made if adjustments are required for us to participate in some essential part of life. For instance, a child with ADHD may benefit from taking exams in a room with minimal distractions. Exams are a required part of education, and such accommodations will allow the exam process to more accurately reflect the child’s learning, so such accommodations should be considered.
So this weekend, while I wait in line to get on the Giant Dipper, I will find ways to make the line bearable. I’ll surely get a case of the jitters. I may be bouncing around a bit. I’ll likely be talking to everyone in line so much that they get annoyed with me. But I’ll make it through the line, and the rush that I get as the coaster takes it’s first plunge will make the wait worthwhile.
I agree wholeheartedly with Rebecca. Whereas it is “nice” that the UK has recognized ADHD as a true disability (my son has it), I think there are so many other important venues, like school, where this disability has to be recognized and addressed.
Most people, in the general population, do not understand ADHD and the implications of it. I think to raise the awareness of ADHD and have it associated with amusement parks is a disservice. Focus where the implications of ADHD are really important.
Karen
http://www.lipstickwisdom.com
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As a mother of an ADHD boy, I think that this could turn out to be a very BAD idea. Part of growing up with ADHD is learning how to live with it. Behavioral therapy and medication together are meant to help the child succeed but also to help them to learn how to live with the disorder. Making laws such as this one will have the opposite effect of behavioral therapy. These children have to learn how to live in reality while handling their disorder. Line jumping and other ‘short-cuts’ like this are unrealistic and don’t help the child learn how to handle line-up type situations. They won’t always be allowed to jump ahead, they have to learn how to wait.
There are other options. We have struggled with ADHD in our family for years. My brother(now 40), my sons now 13 and 6, and now maybe my daughter age 3.
Theme parks have great ideas to help by pass lines. In Disney World it is called FastPass. Parents with ADHD children should use this option to its full extent. Get a fast pass, keep busy at other attractions while you are waiting for your fast pass, then when its your turn….use the fast pass and skip the line.
You still get to go on the attraction, but instead of waiting in a dreadfully long line, you can keep busy until your assinged time ( say from 1:10- 1:55p.m.).
No one LIKES waiting in lines. But for ADHD kids…they physocally cant do it. This is a great option that theme parks have come up with. No oneis discrimnated. fast passes are for anyone.
It works great!!!!
Generally theme parks are a special treat, particularly Disney. Is it a huge inconvenience to neurotypical adults that a child with learning difficulties caused by autism, ADHD, asperger’s etc to queue jump. Some people are horribly judgemental and will not hold back from expressing their annoyance at a child who is struggling to be still etc. in a long queue. They cannot tell by looking at a child that it has something wrong with them. If someone had a go at a parent about their child it could ruin their whole experience. Society has to become more accommodating and accept that some children have hidden disabilities. It’s not like the kids don’t queue anyway because there are usually some sort of queue even using the Fasttrack pass. Also bearing in mind that those who have the means can actually buy Fasttrack passes. Kids with disabilities can miss out on so much i.e. education friends, jobs, wealth – is one or two days in their whole lives where they get treated as someone special such a problem?
I agree with you. It shouldn’t be a problem that children with ADHD get special treatment. Its a disability. Its something that they have to struggle with EVERYDAY. So, yes, for a few days out of the year, they SHOULD get special treatment. Absolutely!
My daughter has ADHD. We had been to WDW before she was diagnosed and let me tell you, it was NOT fun standing in the lines with her. First of all, she couldn’t stay still. She was CONSTANTLY bumping into people in the line in front of us or behind. If she was not bumping into them, she would step on their feet. We’d get looks from people and they were not nice. My husband and I kept correcting her telling her to stand still. Like I said, this is before we knew she had ADHD. Can you imagine telling a child who does not have the ability to stand still to expect her to stand still? It IS a disability! If you research it, you will see that it is. My daughter is also in special ed at school. She is on an IEP. Since being diagnosed, she is on medication, but its not a magic pill. It wears off. And even when its working, its not perfect. We getting her meds adjusted on a regular basis. I think that she should be able to get the special pass. Why should she be tortured in having to stand “still” for an hour when she physically can’t? Not only is it torture for her, and us to constantly correct her, its not fair to the people she keeps bumping into in the line or the people’s feet that she steps on. Plus it takes the fun out of an experience that is supposed to be just that, fun. Its not a behavior that can be “corrected”. Who ever said that must not have a child with severe ADHD. Yes, the pass should be extended to her. NO DOUBT! On a side note, my grandfather had multiple sclerosis. He was wheelchair bound for as long as I knew him. When we went to WDW with him, I never remember ever having to stand in a line. He too had a disability. People could see his since it was physical. Why should my daughter be treated any different since her’s is not outwardly apparent? She shouldn’t.