My paster and his wife going in 2 weeks,help! About This Page:

[baileygirlsmom]

My pasters wife is in poor health mentally, she has dementia and is almost completely blind. They have been going to WDW for almost 20 years, but both are in their 80's and I am just not sure she will be able to handle long lines. I know it is a slow time of year, but they like all the BIG rides! Should he get her a GAC? If so, will she need a doctors note or can he just get one at guest services! I have printed him a list of family bathrooms so she won't have to go alone. I am terrified for them this trip, he still drives and plans to drive all the way from WV to FL! Help! Thanks so much!

[Teresa]

Yes, they should get a GAC, and then they can decide whether to use it or not. It's not an automatic "front of the line" pass - there is no such thing, but it can detail what she needs for accommodations to make her experience as special as possible.
They won't need a doctor's note - WDW never asks for one, they can't actually. Your medical info is your own business. They will ask for a diagnosis and just take their word for it.
Don't forget the first aid stations - they're very good about letting people use it for toileting a disabled family member.

Remind them to take a note with their doctors' phone numbers, medications they're each on - what the dosage is, how many they take, what time they take it. Comes in handy if something happens.

[Sandra Bostwick]

Originally Posted by baileygirlsmom

My pasters wife is in poor health mentally, she has dementia and is almost completely blind. They have been going to WDW for almost 20 years, but both are in their 80's and I am just not sure she will be able to handle long lines. I know it is a slow time of year, but they like all the BIG rides! Should he get her a GAC? If so, will she need a doctors note or can he just get one at guest services! I have printed him a list of family bathrooms so she won't have to go alone. I am terrified for them this trip, he still drives and plans to drive all the way from WV to FL! Help! Thanks so much!

A GAC sounds like a good idea.

Disney also provides a great device that will describe many of the attractions and public areas to compensate for the vision loss. Here are a few articles I wrote a while back on that!

Disney Accessibility Videos on ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners

Accessing the Magic on ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners

Accessing the Magic on ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners

[Laughaholic]

The Assisted Listening Device is a great idea! It uses RFID to transmit to the device and describes your surroundings. It requires a $25 refundable deposit and can be rented at any in-park Guest Relations location!

[SueM loves WDW]

I am kind of haunted by several news stories I have heard over the years where someone thought something was a good idea with a person with Alzheimers/dementia and it did not go well. In one case about 10 years ago, the family knew that their mother had Alzheimers, but was sure she was OK to drive from her home to the family cabin about an hour away because she had done it so many times that they did not think she would get lost. She left and no sign of her has ever been found.

I am speaking from the standpoint of a Registered Nurse who has worked with Alzheimer’s patients both inpatient and in their homes.

I’m posting some other things to think about besides the other things people have posted. Some of these would be much less risk/problem if he can get someone else who is familiar with his wife to go with him. Supervision of someone with dementia 24 hours a day can be very draining and having someone else to share it with can help a lot.

1) The trip down.
Driving: Is she a quiet rider who will not distract him, or does her dementia cause outbursts of talk or behavior that could cause distraction or touching him while he is driving? This can be a problem especially if he has to drive thru busy suburban areas.

Tiredness: He will be tired from all the driving, but she will probably not be and may even be sleeping while he drives. If she is not tired, she may keep him awake at night or get up and wander around in (or much worse) outside of the room. Many people with dementia have something called Sundowner’s Syndrome, where their confusion gets worse at nighttime.
It’s a very good idea to make it hard to leave the room at night without him knowing. A doorstop along with some loud bells that will ring if moved, suitcases in front of the door - anything that will slow her down and make noise will be helpful. She may never try to leave the room, but you never know.

Wandering: If she does wander away, he needs to have a way to find her. There are a number of different GPS based ‘finding’ technologies available by searching the internet with the words “GPS” and “Alzheimers”. There are also some inexpensive ones that people use with children that beep to alert a parent if the child gets too far away. Those would not be age appropriate/dignified because most have teddy bear or other child designs, but they would be possibly easier to find and less expensive.
He also needs to make sure that he has a recent picture of her (maybe on a cell phone) so if she does get lost, he has ways to show who he is looking for. She also needs to have some ID on her that she can’t remove easily with his current contact information (cell phone and possibly family member’s cell phone) because she may not remember who she is or may be too scared/confused to tell anyone.

Bathroom: WDW has the Companion Restrooms, which will work well, but Companion Restrooms are few and far between in most other places. He will need to either take her into the mens’ room with him or go in the ladies’ room with her. In most places, someone who works there will clear the bathroom for you and keep other people out while you use it, but you have to ask and may have to be a bit persistent. Some gas stations have single stall restrooms with a locking door which would work, but there is no way to find which have that type.
I don’t know about his route, but in the area of the country I live in, there are waysides along the interstate highways which usually have Companion Restrooms.

Routine/Familiarity: For most people with Alzheimers, what holds them together and keeps them fairly functional is the familiarity and routine of their home environment. Once something changes, things start to unravel and they can become confused, more symptomatic very quickly. A long car trip is about the ultimate change I can think of. Stops in different places, not time to settle, etc.

Calming thing: Some people with Alzheimers have ‘fidget’ items that are used to calm or keep them busy. Examples are things like a stack of washcloths to fold, deck of cards, purse with items in it, necklace. If she already has some of those things, he should bring them with.

Unexpected things: One person who took her elderly mother with Alzheimers to WDW posted on another website that her mom got very confused and didn’t really understand who the daughter was once they were at WDW. She thought people were trying to poison her food and she thought many of the rides were real, which scared her. These were not things the daughter expected because she was not like that at home.

At WDW:
Many of the same things will apply, especially the tiredness, wandering and nightime safety.

The room: If they are staying in a room with a balcony or patio, he needs to be concerned about that second door, which may be hard to secure. Most have patio doors and might be able to be secured with a long piece of wood placed on the door track. A balcony may be a falling hazard, but a patio would provide easy escape.

Since she is demented, I would be cautious about using the Assisted Listening device. It may be too confusing or too much stimulation for her, especially since she will still be hearing the other noises from the attraction.
If she is very confused, she may not understand what the strange voices are doing in her ears and she may do much better with a familiar person explaining things to her. She will also need to listen for cues from someone who is actually with her to watch her step, move to the right etc, and may have difficulty with doing those things with all the other noises.

I would still request a Guest Assistance Card (there is a thread near the top of the board that talks more about them), but w wheelchair will be even more helpful.
Many people with Alzheimers/dementia suddenly don’t want to keep moving and no amount of convincing will make them move. A wheelchair can be helpful for this since he will be able to move her if she doesn’t want to keep walking.
A wheelchair can serve as a separator from other guests to keep them at a little more distance and can also serve as a safe haven for someone who is over stimulated.
It will also help if she has any physical issues or, if like many people with Alzheimers, she trips easily. With a wheelchair, they will be automatically routed to the wheelchair accessible boarding areas that bypass stairs and where moving walkways can be slowed or stopped. Without the wheelchair, they will need to show a GAC and explain that they need to avoid the stairs/moving walkways,

Pushing a wheelchair is does not take that much strength and may be helpful to the husband - some people find it acts almost like a walker for them because they can lean on it and it provides some support.
Pushing the wheelchair can also serve as a walker and ‘placeholder’ for her when she needs to be out walking for a bit, which she should do periodically. Often, asking the person with Alzheimers to ‘help’ by pushing for a while will be successful. Watch that the wheelchair doesn’t get moving too quickly sine it will roll easily with no one in it.

Restaurants: I don’t know if they plan counter service or full service, but a couple things to think about.
Full Service: she may not be patient with waiting, especially if she is hungry. He should let the check in area know that would like as little wait as possible. It would also be helpful to have some easy snacks for her while she waits or if she gets hungry while they are not in a restaurant.

Counter Service: The counter service locations do have a line that is wider to be wheelchair accessible. so he should look for those. They also will have a CM help him with carrying food to the table. The CM who takes the order or who places it on the counter often offers, but he should ask if they don’t.

All done: She may decide very abruptly that she is done for the day and won’t do any more. So, he may need to leave earlier than he planned. If she just needs some quiet time in a less stimulating environment, First Aid can be a good place to go. It is cool, more calm and usually quiet.

[Sandra Bostwick]

Great info, Sue! Thanks!