and i think people are missing the main point of the whole scheme. they queue-jumping isn’t to help the ADHD/autistic kids, it’s to stop the rest of the queuers from being driving insane by them. The scheme is helping everyone else out!

And as for “why inflict queues on them in the first place”, this is an idea to allow ADHD and autistic kids, who otherwise would NOT be able to go and enjoy the park, to visit it and have a fun day like a normal kid for once, instead of being locked up at home for their behaviour. it’s making an allowance so they CAN go.

and zeroxero: sure, a DS might keep our kid entertained for 15 minutes. but two hours? standing in line shuffling along? no way. You’re obviously coping well with it. Our kid is not as far along that path. We’re working hard with him, but its a slow process, especially when we have to work so hard at getting him up to normal in so many other aspects. why should he always be left out when his whole class are treated?

I can’t cope with the stress of waiting in a line with annoying kids. Can I skip to the front, too?

However, if it is true that waiting in long lines is physically painful for ADHD children, why would the parents put them through it? There are ways to get around just sitting and waiting.

Go to the park during low season or on a weekday.
Head to the popular rides when there are less people in the park and less popular rides when it is crowded.

As a camp counselor, we had a ton of games up our sleeves to keep kids from being bored at any point. Playing rock, paper, scissors over and over would be boring, but mixing up games will keep everyone’s mind off the waiting. Lines can also be a good time for snacking and making sure everyone is hydrated and sun-blocked.

Why? Because the rides have queues for hours. He physically CANNOT stand there doing nothing for hours. he can barely manage it for minutes. And it isn’t HIM who would be bothered by his incessant talking, twitching, pacing, prodding, shacking, rattling or whatever. it’s all the poor people who are forced to stand near him in the queue. And believe me, after a few minutes of it, you’d be more than happy to let him take a place ahead of you if it meant he would go away from you.

How is it fair to keep him at home and deny him a treat for good school results [his whole class got taken to the amusement park for good test results]? He is brain damaged. So that means he can’t have fun and live a normal life?

He is perfectly ‘controlled’. He is not a bad child, wouldn’t hurt anyone, wouldn’t attack anyone or steal anything. He does what he’s told and tries his hardest to be good. He’s just BLOODY annoying, despite the drugs he’s on to calm him down.

As for ‘they’ll have to wait at some point’, I totally agree. this is very true. and we work very hard to lengthen the time he can wait and to say no when appropriate and to put delays on things to teach him more about time management. But those queues are LONG. not uncommon to wait two or three hours. And we’d rather teach him those things in a safe, private home environment than force him to break down into a sobbing twitching heap in the middle of a crowded area.

REAL ADHD is very dramatic. it’s more than just being a bit impatient or a bit excitable. It’s permanent brain damage and a real disability. Would you force someone on crutches to stand and hobble the whole two hours through the queue?

YES, it seems unfair to the healthy kids. but LIFE has been unfair to the disabled kids, give them a fucking break.

Saying “Make them wait and learn from it.” is like saying “Don’t speak up and clearly for a deaf person, just keep mumbling and they’ll have to learn.”

That doesn’t mean I agree with this idea – just that if you’ve ever had anything to do with the real thing you wouldn’t think it’s OK to wait for a hour in a line.