Anthony overcomes his fear of fireworks at Disney

Like many people with autism, Anthony has long been scared of fireworks. It's common for many kids including our neuro-typical daughter to be scared of the loud blasts and bangs that accompany the beautiful lights on the night sky. Some children with autism are sensitive to sounds, you may see them covering their ears when you vacuum or near busy roads.

But our house is loud all the time and both our boys are very visually stimulated so we thought fireworks might be something they could enjoy.  But this was not the case for Anthony, until we went to Disney in Florida.

Anthony is one of the 75% of people with autism who is verbal. This means that, unlike his brother, he can try to say when something is upsetting him. Helping him to describe how he is feeling is part of the our job as autism parents and we do our best to calm Anthony's anxieties and help him understand and communicate how he is feeling. Anthony has in the past been able to tell us that it's the suddenness of the bangs, effectively the unpredictability of the loud noises of fireworks, that scares him.

Not long before going to Disney in Florida, we spoke to Anthony and let him know he has
autism and ADHD. We wrote a social story for Anthony that explained why he found some things easy, some things difficult and that he and we can help him when he feels he is finding something hard or confusing.

Understanding that he has autism and ADHD has empowered Anthony in a sort if way. He has started to understand that there are reasons for the way he feels and that he and we can help him when he feels like this.  And this one of the things that really helped him get over his fear of fireworks.

We went one of the Disney theme parks over the holidays with a large family contingent. Trust me, it is no small feat taking five kids all under 8, with the oldest three having multiples of autism, ADHD and hyper-mobility amongst them. That's why we went with six adults!  All of those going would love to see the end of day light parade, show and fireworks by the Disney Castle. As autism mummy I think, bright lights, loud noises, crowded spaces, losing kids in the dark.... to name but a few.  But sometimes you just have a feeling that actually this could work and you prepare what you can and then go for it.

The biggest preparation was with Anthony. With his new found, "I have autism and ADHD" knowledge  we were able to help Anthony focus on a few things prior to the fireworks. First was how he could help himself, by not focusing on his fear. Once Anthony had told us about being scared a few times we then asked him to try and not talk about it after that because talking about it made him feel more anxious, like dwelling on a problem. He would still start to mention it many times of course and then stop himself.  Secondly, we asked him to trust us that just as his social story said, we would help him if he found it difficult and we could leave at any time if he really wanted to.

Of course, when the lights went low and the music started, Anthony was still extremely nervous, but after a few bangs with a loving adult by his side he was mesmerised. Disney do a fantastic light and firework display. They incorporate a story to music and use characters that the children know and love. Anthony was totally enthralled. He was jumping around and squealing with excitement like Tigger himself. His knowledge and trust resulted in a moment of anxiety becoming an experience of joy, for us all.

An new version of this post as a photo story has been published with Tinboxtraveller, award winning travel bog on the on TravelTimehop series.

Links
Our blog - It's time to tell him about his autism
Our blog - My Joy of his acceptance - What Anthony thinks about having autism
Our blog - Issues when Anthony's always aloud