First, when reserving this room at the Hampton Inn, she explained to the customer representative that she required an emotional support dog to travel. The person on the phone was caring and made sure to document this special need under her reservation. Unfortunately, the person who checked them in didn’t see the note and gave the emotional family a little push back. So my first piece of advice when using a service dog is to make sure you not only request special accommodations when booking your room but also make a follow up call to remind the staff of your special accommodations, a day or two before the estimated time of arrival.

The families stay was pretty seamless after that with the exception of interacting with other guests. I personally observed one adult pat the dog on the head while a child simultaneously begged to pet the dog while her mom scolded her that you don’t pet service dogs. My family’s vest was not clear in explaining these parameters and I recommended a vest that clearly states how to act around this special dog. Attached is a link to such a vest. https://activedogs.com/search-rescue-style-dog-vest

I’m just thankful that in 1990, the American with Disabilities Act legally recognized service dogs and allowed my relative to attend this birthday party. If you want to volunteer to raise a service puppy, here is a link with contact information.

https://canine.org/get-involved/ways-to-volunteer/become-a-volunteer-puppy-raiser/

So first thing in the morning, we stood in a pretty long line to get this pass and hopefully enjoy our day. It was hot and my child was already doomed with the heat. Here is my first piece of advice that a woman on line gave me, when she saw my broken down child waiting in line at guest relations. On a hot day, make sure you buy at the gift shop or bring from home a cooling towel. The towel works by wetting it with cold water, wringing out the excess water, and finally snapping the towel by holding each end in one hand and pulling the hands away from each other quickly. This towel was really amazing and kept my entire family cool on a super hot day.

Getting the pass was easy. I just explained my child’s medical condition and was given a paper pass with a table on it. After buying and using our cooling towels, we headed to Minions Mayhem to use our AAP. The line was almost 2 hours long so this was a great trial for the Attraction Assistance Pass AAP. You need to first find the Universal Express Queue or ask a Universal staff where you should go with your pass. Once you find the right spot for that ride, they will take your pass to fill out the first available line in the table with the number of guests in your party (up to 6) and a return time.

We then headed off to see the Secret Life of Pets parade and the shortest nearby ride called “Race through New York starting Jimmy Fallon”. That line actually went too fast because there is so many neat things to do there while you wait. They have a barbershop quartet singing your favorite songs in a new way, videos of late night talk show clips, and memorabilia everywhere you look.

After that awesome ride, we headed back to Minion Mayhem and waited on a 20 -30 minute line to experience that attraction. It’s a super cute computer-animated simulator ride. The length of this AAP wait was typical for most of the Universal Studio’s lines, with the exception of a few rides including Popeye’s Raging Rapids and Men in Black (MIB) where the wait time was less than 30 Minutes. When a line at Universal is less than 30 minutes, you don’t have to have the Attraction Accessibility Pass filled out and you can instead immediately enter the ride. Here are 2 off topic but great facts about those 2 rides. First the rapids ride gets you very wet but they have a special section in the middle of the raft to keep your belongings dry. Second, the MIB ride requires you to put your belongings in a locker before entering the ride. One small lockers is free for each guest and you can use either your park ticket or a locker card from a staff member to open and lock the locker.

When you use the AAP, you must of course have the person with the disability with you but I must be honest, on this day, no one checked up on this. The lines were definitely much shorter using the Attraction Assistance Pass but be prepared for a wait up to 30 minutes in length. We found that if the kids were comfortable with the ride, the single riders lane went faster for us. But for all intents and purposes the AAP allowed my child to get his required breaks in while still enjoying the park.

One last piece of advice about Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure, make sure you buy the free refill cups that they sell. I was able to keep my child well hydrated easily as well as treat them to Icees for about $10 a day. It was an amazing value.

Check this pamphlet out for more specific accessibility information on each ride.
https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/tridiondata/ush/en/us/files/documents/universal_riders_guide.pdf

So here goes….As early as thirty days before your trip and no later than 2 days before your trip, you can register with this phone number (407) 560-2547 or the web address listed below. Make sure to scroll down the webpage to locate the button labeled “Request Live Video Chat”. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/disability-access-service/register/#important-things-to-note
I called on Memorial Day and only had to wait 20 minutes to talk to a representative, but I have also heard of people waiting over 5 hours on the phone. Trust me though, it was worth it.

Before making that call or selecting the “Request Live Chat” button you’ll need to complete a few tasks .
Make sure you have not only bought your tickets but also have loaded them onto your Disney app before making that call. If this step sounds difficult, check out this webpage for help. https://plandisney.disney.go.com/question/link-ticket-disney-experience-app-483224/
It is also important to know that you can only have 6 people in your party, when using the DAS, and make sure those six people are all registered together as a group on the Disney app.

Don’t forget to research what two rides you’d like to choose for the 2 one-hour return windows you are given by the DAS for each day you are at the Disney parks . A return window gives you an hour slot to go on a ride, kind of like Disney’s old fast pass and similar to their current Lightning lanes.

Just a heads up, you don’t have to tell the first representative your confidential medical information. During the live chat you will be asked for this medical information and how the disorder will Impede your ability to stand on lines. No documentation is required except for your truth. Make sure the person with the disability is on the video chat with you. As a matter of fact, the person whose medical issue requires the disability Access Pass must be with you every time you use the DAS pass. I thought I had that covered but it was a little more complicated than I thought.

Disney now uses the Apple Wallet on your phone to store your Disney tickets, which you will need each time you use the Disability Access Pass. We we’re lucky to have an amazing Disney Cast Member teach us how to do this but here’s a link outlining how to do this in advance. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212870 Each time our family entered the lightning lane, I had to be reminded, by a Disney Cast member, to scan my child with the disability’s pass first. In actuality, I had turned the passes to the right one each time but the wallet app always goes back to the first entered pass even if you choose the correct pass for the person with the medical issue / disability. So, when you enter your Disney tickets into the Apple Wallet, make sure the person with the disability or medical issue’s pass is inputted first. Even better don’t forget your Disney magic bands like I did, because it makes this process a lot easier. The person with the disability just scans their magic band first.

Just a side note, you can also register for a Disability Access Pass at the park’s Main Entrance guest relations office but who really wants to put off their first glance of the Castle on Main Street. You can also use a less technology dependent DAS pass that guest relations should be able to explain to you.

Once you are registered either in person or over the “LIVE CHAT” option. That’s all you have to do.

So, now your wondering how does this pass work. It’s actually really great and really easy. At the start of each day, you already have the two one hour return windows you scheduled via phone or at guest relations. You can only use these return windows during that hour slot. You can’t show up early or late. You get an additional benefit which involves one lightening lane pass at a time. When you are in the park and have scanned that day’s tickets, you will see a new folder on the Disney Apps main screen by scrolling all the way to the bottom, it’s called the DAS experience. Just click on it and viola, you will see a list of available DAS rides /attractions in the park you are in, along with the times you’ll be able to enter the lightning lanes if you choose that ride / attraction . Choose your favorite ride/attraction and wait for time to pass by as you soak in all the other things to do without lines in Disney.

Let’s say you chose to ride the Seven Dwarves mine train using the DAS, you now wait until the time posted for that ride, go to the Lightning Lane for that ride and show the Disney cast member all the people in your parties’ tickets via the Apple Wallet or your Magic Bands (which you’ve already linked to your Disney Experience App.”). A client of mine just loaded each person’s ticket on their respective phones but that wasn’t an option for my 11 year old twins, maybe that method will work for your family though. Now, that you’ve scanned your passes at the Lightening Lane’s entrance, you may have to additionally scan the passes at some checkpoints on the line. It’s exactly the same thing you did at the entrance and your family will now quickly get to experience the Disney excitement on the ride / attraction you’ve chosen. It was amazing how fast you get on the ride after waiting for your lightning lane arrival time.

Just a little trick I figured out after a few times going through the steps above….once you have gone through all the check points, try to book your next DAS experience. By doing this, your next arrival window is sooner. Remember, you can’t get a new DAS pass until you use or cancel your currently scheduled ride / experience. So the sooner you rebook the better.

Now let’s say you booked the wrong ride or attraction on the Disney experience App., don’t worry you can always cancel the wrong choice by clicking on it and finding the cancel button. But don’t forget to quickly replace it with the proper ride or attraction, so you can experience your next DAS lightening pass sooner rather than later.

This DAS pass was invaluable for my family and allowed all the water and bathroom breaks we needed to keep our child safe minus one close call.

Don’t ever forget that Disney is one of the most customer friendly places in the world, so always ask guest relations or a cast member for help. They are usually more than happy to help.

Instead of learning to talk by hearing like most kids, kids with CAS have to learn to talk like we would learn to play Piano.

Dedicated practice of each sound, each combination, each sequence until they produce their song, their own voice.

Source: https://www.musicforautism.org/

Source: https://www.musicforautism.org/

Source: https://www.varsitytutors.com/classes/search

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EOWyZ6kxXQ&ab_channel=SongsforSpeech

You can click on:

-ABC to hear a great song focusing on the phonemic sounds of the alphabet.  For reading and speech readiness, focusing on letter sounds is superior to learning letter names in the typical ABC song.  

-123 to hear another great song for learning numbers.  

-The animals for some animal vocabulary and sounds.  

-The shape sorter for learning colors and shapes.  

-The bookshelf to hear the book “I broke my trunk”.  

-The bubbles to play a game that reinforces your child when they speak or act. 

-The musical instruments to share a delightful direction song with your child.

Source: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vTHE-zB2UCG0E8iqkAT9e_1J-IIh1SN1QhHK_sKTuh9beMKXH5e8Gg_W_M3tdpoO5nBdmIHkF0KXlnC/embed?start=true&loop=false&delayms=60000&slide=id.g90cb83ac2d_4_0

You can click on:

-ABC to hear a great song focusing on the phonemic sounds of the alphabet.  For reading and speech readiness, focusing on letter sounds is superior to learning letter names in the typical ABC song.  

-123 to hear another great song for learning numbers, how many body parts we have, and following directions.  

-The animals for sorting farm animals in a fun game.  

-The shape sorter so you can play a game where you match shapes with an everyday object.

-The bookshelf to hear the book Click Clack Moo.  

-The spinner to play a game that reinforces description words/ adjectives

-The musical instruments to learn a finger play song.

Source: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bipriqzGslVEuy9VonUCvf2QCxRSRk4bH3C3ar4LgkA/preview?slide=id.g90cb83ac2d_4_0

It’s a typical day downtown, but this town can’t be found on the streets of any New Jersey city. It’s all in LifeTown, an indoor downtown replica created to teach children and young adults with special needs how to navigate the everyday world.

The multimillion-dollar project will be launching on Sept. 9 with a grand opening ceremony for the public, at the LifeTown building in Livingston. 

The Life Village is the downtown replica that’s at the center of LifeTown’s 53,000-square-foot building. It provides a safe and controlled environment for children and young adults to work on life skills in a more realistic setting.

“What we want to do is create a space where it’s easy for those with special needs and the wider outside community to interact and learn from each other,” said Rabbi Zalman Grossbaum, executive director of Friendship Circle.

Located inside a former warehouse in Livingston, LifeTown has been a decade-long project put together by Friendship Circle, a non-profit organization focused on providing children and teens with special needs real-life experiences while offering support and respite to their families.

While Friendship Circle does offer Judaic programming, LifeTown is a separate entity with nonreligious activities.

The village has what is commonly referred to as “the Disney effect” by transporting everyone who walks into the hyper-realistic downtown, complete with 15 fully functioning storefronts, a central street to ride bikes and pedal cars on and tree-lined sidewalks.

Volunteers play the role of shopkeepers and help teach the students about budgeting and money management. Teens can buy real bags of chips and popcorn at the grocery store, or treat themselves to a manicure at the salon. If their funds are running low students can spend time earning money at the laundromat or by cleaning up after the birds or the hamsters in the pet shop.

“What we really want is the interaction between the larger community and the special needs community, so that everyone is learning from each other,” Grossbaum said.

The children and teens can also test out spaces that are often unnerving for people with sensory issues, like the doctor’s and the dentist’s office. Here students can look at and feel the tools they might come in contact with, reducing the nerves they might have at a real check-up.

“The kids are great and the other volunteers are great and it’s just a pleasant experience,” said Bob Gray who has been volunteering with Friendship Circle since 2006. “You see the whole world differently, and learn to appreciate the little things in a person’s life.”

Gray said he has been able to see many children and young adults progress in skills and interactions with outsiders over the years and is glad that a place like LifeTown exists to give those with special needs a place to socialize.

“Every time I’m in here I’m blown away because this used to be a vacant factory,” said Michael Karp, whose son Sam is in a wheelchair and is unable to verbally communicate. “I love this place. It’s just opened up a world for families and kids like my kid. He’s never really had close friends until Friendship Circle came around and it’s just enabled him to have all these relationships with other kids and other people and experience all these different activities.”

Sometimes it is the simplest things that matter, for people like 25-year-old Hannah Solomon who uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. Her chair fits perfectly underneath the table at the florist shop making it easier for her to work on her project.

“I love the fact that you could have the typical kids working with the special kids and it’s home for everybody. Everybody walks in here and it’s amazing they can find something for themselves,” said Lori Solomon, Hannah’s mother.

“It’s all about giving them meaningful experiences, teaching them life skills and hopefully doing a project they can go home with,” Grossbaum said.

Information about becoming a volunteer can be found on the LifeTown website. The village will be available for school groups but is not open to the general public outside of special events.

Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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Source: https://www.nj.com/news/g66l-2019/08/f0effa4f943151/meet-njs-newest-downtown-its-designed-for-kids-and-adults-with-special-needs-.html