We began to realize that there is something different about Wyatt around two years of age and soon began to have tests run and found out he has a rare brain disorder called pacchigyria (forgive my spelling) which is a form of Lyssinselphia (smooth brain syndrome). The easiest way t o describe it is to say the brain has folds which holds memory and stores it, "normal" people have a certain amount of memory holding folds, people with Wyatt's disorder have less, some have a few some have even less which makes the brain seem smoother (hence the name smooth brain syndrome). How does it affect Wyatt? Well, it causes delays in development. Everyday tasks like toileting, walking, talking, and even eating along with other things are affected. A new word is cause for celebration at the Dragstrem household or throwing away his trash is accompanied with a clap and a smile from my sweet boy. Another problem which started around the age of four has been seizures. He takes a multitude of medicine to curb the seizures. His seizures are not flailing ones but ones where he just zones out and flops (which has caused a few bumps and bruises on his forehead plus times getting stitched up becuse of a split lip or chin). Wyatt wears a helmet to protect his head, which I'll explain later.
So how does this relate to Disney? We went to WDW in December of 2008 for the first time, Wyatt was four and it was Christmas. He was startled by Winnie the Pooh at the Crystal Palace and the next two days he loved but the character experiences were at a distance until Minnie Mouse at Camp Minnie Mickey on Christmas day where he let her approach and he tweaked her nose and she acted like she was giggling which made Wyatt laugh. We weren't sure how he felt about it until we started to see commercials about Disney World and his face lit up and squeals of pure pleasure came across his whole body. We knew we had to go again and we have multiple times since. One other thing we learned that first trip was just how great Disney is with special needs people.
Just how good is Disney? It has recently caught flack regarding their policies because they have changed. They have caught flack not because they have bad policies, they have caught flack because they made it more selective. They are still the best "in my opinion" with dealing with special needs. The changes came about because certain people abused the previous policies. There have been instances where people "hired" special needs people to allow them to skip in line or get preferred seating for a performance. Also, there had been people to rent wheelchairs for the same reasons and switch riders (I have witnessed this myself) because someone is tired etc... So Disney changed policies. I am not getting into the specifics but we haven't noticed problems with the new policies. I will say however, that Wyatt has more visible disablities, one of the problems I hear about with the new policies concern those with non-visible problems like autism (which by the way my oldest son has been diagnossed with but it is controlled with meds). Back to the question, they are great (again my opinion). Walt Disney World not only is patient with a screaming child but they will accomodate special dietary needs. One time while waiting at a Pooh and Tigger's character meet and greet the photographer reminded me that he was just being a child and was a little excited. He taught me a lesson that day. That same day the photographer was at the castle and my oldest and I walked by and he wanted to know where Wyatt was (he was with his mom and sister). Here was a guy who had seen thousands of people that day and he remembered a little boy, by name. There are other examples like how Rapunzel spent some quality time with him also Smee and others. By the way, Wyatt still thinks of Rapunzel as "Ytta's..." Which is his way of saying Wyatt's girlfriend.
Has Wyatt been treated special? Yes he has but so has every guest that swipe their magic bands each and everyday at WDW. Wyatt and family get special seating for shows and parades, we don't sit in line as long as most, however, we have been in long lines with Wyatt at WDW and he has handled it better than some adults.
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| The Family in their happy place! |
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| Wyatt's first encounter... |
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| Wyatt's girlfriend... |
Wyatt is my ride guy. He likes to ride the rollercoasters (I think he likes Seven Dwarves Mine Train the most although Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Goofy's Barnstormer are fvorites also...) On our Hollywood Studios day this past April we were about ready to call it an early day before we hit our afternoon fastpass for Toy Story Mania and Wyatt wouldn't have it. He began a tantrum for what we thought was no reason until we realized he wanted to ride it. We sometimes think he doesn't understand but he does, the mini tantrum stopped as we agreed to ride TSM and didn't head out until we had finished the ride.
Is a trip doable with a special needs child or adult for that matter, YES. WDW is the one place where we trust that Wyatt will have the least amount of problems compared to other comparable places (okay there really isn't comparable places, again my opinion) Have a magical day!
