Personally, I have a problem with the accelerated access issue. I think that was the problem with the GAC. Too many individuals needing accelerated access. I also tend to believe that it was difficult to draw the line on who needed it and who didn't. One can say that Disney just made the over use issue up, however, if you look at the raw numbers (how many GACs a day could be issued for Autism alone and how many people a day are in the parks)you can see that Disney isn't making that up. Sorry, but, I think Disney would have an idea of the usage and therefore, I tend to believe them when they say it was use and not abuse that caused the demise of the GAC.
When I disagree with someone's point of view, I am told that I do not understand and I have no empathy. Sorry, but, I totally do understand and I have empathy as I also have a child who is on the spectrum. BTDT
I, personally, can't look at life in terms of black and white, fair or unfair. It is what it is - sometimes grey, sometimes white, sometimes black, and many times colorful (to say the least). Ron Suskind, in his book "Life Animated" talks about his son, Owen, who is on the spectrum. Ron states that "Owen is just like you and I, only more so and less so." He says that children on the spectrum are "different, not diminished." I guess that is what makes me "different" because I can't and won't look at my life or my DD's life as unfair. I simply can't get into the argument of fair versus unfair because it is an emotional argument and when emotions are involved, no one wins, no one understands, no one cares, etc. If I choose to look at my life as unfair, no one can make it fair just as no one made it unfair.
I think that there is something said to the personal responsibility issue to. I am not advocating the extreme of keeping your child home if they can't handle crowds, noise, heat, etc. Nor am I an advocate of putting my child in a situation that she simply can't handle. Because of this, yes, my child does miss out on some things, but, she also is successful in the experiences she has. I have to take the personal responsibility for making choices whether my DD can be successful or not and setting up situations, where I can, for her to be successful. I have the responsibility to teach my child to do that for herself. For example, we learned that the FP lines are busiest at the beginning and the end of the hour, so we didn't use either our FP or
DAS return time during those times.
Yes, my DD has obtained a DAS card which she and I utilized last January at the DLR. I felt it was better than the GAC! I felt that the DAS was equal. I felt so strongly about our success using FP and DAS that I wrote to Meg Crofton about it. Yes, I am taking my DD to DLR again because of our experience.