ADHD and Front of the Line Privileges

[nitrofan]

I have ADHD, I COMPLETELY agree with this policy. This should be done at American parks, in particular CP and KI.

 

I was just thinking the last time I was at CP that the waiting in line was horrible because of my ADHD.

 

Wow, those people in Europe are so progressive.

 

**Please note that although I do... hey look a chicken... have ADHD, I think this... oooooooh shiny things..... is over the top.

 

Deal with the waiting like everyone else! It sounds like CP and KI are near you, and you just want to not have to wait in lines.

[sam06pr]

I have ADHD, I COMPLETELY agree with this policy. This should be done at American parks, in particular CP and KI.

 

I was just thinking the last time I was at CP that the waiting in line was horrible because of my ADHD.

 

Wow, those people in Europe are so progressive.

 

**Please note that although I do... hey look a chicken... have ADHD, I think this... oooooooh shiny things..... is over the top.

 

Well here at BG, you say you have that and you will get a handicap pass.

 

I really hate that system cause anyone can go and say they have whatever and we can't just ask for proof. Apparently the law protects them and they can deny us to give us proof so we have to give in to their demands and give them a handicap pass.

I do agree with this article in terms of ADHD and Perhaps Autism (depending on how "severe it is)

Now, you tell me someone who is cripple or is hard for them to walk, then yes give them the pass, it will make their day more enjoyable and hassle free. I really hate it when someone hurts their toes and are like "I can't walk I need a handicap pass" LOL awww The B.S we deal with.

But like they said, we are not making it better by letting them get do whatever

[tuxedomask5432]

How many children have ADHD and are NOT taking medication??? This past weekend, I was at the beach and my two cousins were so doped out they didn't eat, nor were they bouncing off the walls either. Although I disagree with these solutions, won't most of these kids be on meds in order to cope with such a "BORING" situation?

 

Standing in line is not always boring. The games you play to keep yourself distracted, the sights and the sounds of the rides in motion, and the anticipation right before getting on surely makes standing in line at a theme park different from standing in line at the bank. The only thing that irks me about lines is when people cut in front of me, or its a line that never seems to move.

 

Although flash and disability pass requires those people to wait the same amount of time, the general public just sees those people taking the spot they were about to get in. What will people say when a child who appears perfectly normal on the outside, just waltzes into their seat?

[larrygator]

My suggestion is those with ADHD only go to parks where they can buy a flash pass. If they survived a boring drive in a car to get to the park, they can wait in line.

[Angry_Gumball]

Most kids too are typically taking their handheld games everywhere they go...so, that solves the problem of them getting 'bored' while queueing....whip out that gameboy and continue on your pokemon quest while waiting in that long line.

[Dailey Enterprizes]

Haha, I have ADHD and I usually try to hide that I have it. Yeah, I think this is b.s. that parks are even considering not-to-mention doing this. They might as well be letting everyone who hates waiting go to the head of the line...

[kingsdominionlvr]

I am personally neutral on this subject, I see both sides points and am not able to form an opinion. But, I did find an interesting story on this topic.

 

http://www.mental-health-matters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=848:adhd-can-adhd-be-outgrown-or-cured&catid=35:adhd&Itemid=2056

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

As I've seen so many times, It's not as black and white as most people would like it to be...and I'm surprised nobody's touched on this yet.

 

Say ADHD is an issuse that results in instant, no wait access because they can't wait. What happens when you get a crowd of people with passes for ADHD? They'd still have to wait. What are you solving?

[gnewton34]

My boyfriend has ADHD and he is better at waiting in the lines than I am. TPR trip ERT and Gold Flash Passes have spoiled me.

[ParkTrips]

This is absurd! We live in an ADHD society. One day, people will realize that no one really likes to wait in line, and no one really wants to exert patience. Maybe then having ADHD will be reclassified as what it really is - being "normal"

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

My suggestion is those with ADHD only go to parks where they can buy a flash pass. If they survived a boring drive in a car to get to the park, they can wait in line.

 

 

Great point.

[BeemerBoy]

The Disability Discrimination Act puts a duty on attractions such as leisure parks to accommodate the needs of all visitors: this can include those with ADHD if they provide the necessary documentation.

 

ADHD is not a disability, much like drug addiction is not a disease.

 

ADHD is now the most common childhood-onset behavioural disorder.

Those affected have a greatly reduced ability to maintain attention without being distracted and find it difficult to control what they are doing or saying.

 

A good a$$whoopin' works.

 

At least one in 20 schoolchildren - 360,000 in total - is thought to have some degree of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but some critics argue unruly behaviour is being overly medicalised.

 

This is true.

 

Professor Rubia who has researched ADHD said her work showed such children did have serious problems with understanding time and an inability to delay a reward.

 

If you can teach a monkey sign language, then you can teach most unruly kids how to sit down and stfu.

 

 

"This is clearly a medical condition, but it isn't right to bring them up in a system where they never have to wait. You're not making it any better for them - this is something they can be helped to learn.

"I can see why parents might like it, but in the long term you are not doing the child any favours. This is a condition which we can improve, and learning to wait should be part of that process."

 

Exactly.

 

"This is no different to these children being allowed to go ahead in the dinner queue at school.

"What people need to remember is that it doesn't just make it easier for the child and their carers, it's better for everyone in that queue too."

 

I find that I'm surrounded by idiots all the time....at the bank, the grocery store, the movies, and definitely the amusement park. What do I get for that? Just a headache, no line jumping privileges.

 

But the chief executive of The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service said there was nothing controversial about it.

"These are children with a disability who cannot wait. You cannot teach someone who is crippled to walk, someone who is deaf to hear," says Andrea Bilbow. "They have a 30% maturity lag, and are emotionally younger than their peers."

 

Again, this is NOT a disability. Comparing it to deafness, or the inability to walk is an insult to those who suffer with such afflictions.

 

Truth is, yes, it is a legitimate disorder for some. We all understand that, and realize that medication is certainly needed in many cases. However, in my opinion, ADHD has become the chic crutch for lazy a$$ parents who don't possess the parenting skills to properly discipline their children. Period.

[mcjaco]

As someone that was diagnosed with ADD (minus the hyperactivity) at age 18, I can tell you that I find this whole thing a travishamockery.

 

Even being diagnosed, I felt the whole thing was crap. I knew very well, that a great deal of why I struggled in school was because I just didn't care about the content being taught. If you don't care, or find it interesting, there's really no need to pay attention, right? Granted, there were certain things, like reading, that I had a horrendous time doing even when I did find it interesting, that only medication seemed to help. I read upwards of two hundred books in two years, once I was medicated for the ADD, I couldn't believe the difference it made.

 

HOWEVER, I also taught myself to get through the issues I had with focusing with the tasks on hand, so I wouldn't need medication. I didn't ever want to use ADD as a crutch. I used it as a learning tool. The diagnosis just helped me understand why I had trouble.

[bdstrom]

I am profoundly deaf and I have right to skip the line because I cannot hear the announcements.

 

Does this sound right? No of course not, I disagree 100%.

 

This reminds me of the debate among deaf community related to police pulling us over, and then dismiss simply because of our deafness. There are plenty of advocacy group educating policemen (damn... lol!) and this issue is becoming less.

[Capitalize]

I have a very strong opinion on the whole "disabled queue" system.

 

My cousins had an illness which meant he could not stand for more then 10 mins without having to sit down and rest, he has every right to use the disabled system as would anyone else with a mobility issue. ADHD is NOT an illness I belive should be allowed to use this system as in MY opinion I belive it should be restricted for mobility issues only.

 

For those that do not know the way Merlin Entertainments parks now handle disabled guests and exit passes I will now explain.

 

When you arrive at the park you head for Guest Services where the staff at the counter will ask you for PROOF of your disability or if you are already on their system. If you show them this proof they issue you with a card.

 

On this card are the major attractions from the park such as at Thorpe Park Saw, Stealth, Rush, Nemesis Inferno, Colossus, Loggers Leap & Tidal Wave. On the card are a series of boxes. The registered disabled person then gets a wristband which allows him/her to use the exits of all attractions to ride with up to 3 helpers. Once you have recvived all of this you are free to go off and use the exits of the rides, but the card works as a Q-Bot does, so say you go to Saw: The Ride at 11:00 and the queue for the ride at that time is 60 mins the member of staff at the exit of the major attraction listed on the car will write 12:00pm on the card which then means you will not be allowed to ride another major attraction until 12:00. For other rides that are not on the list you are allowed to use the exits as many times as you like.

 

I personally think this system is fantastic and most importantly fair, it allows a disabled person to ride just like everyone else but it also means they have to wait before they can ride the next major attraction.

 

-Craig K

 

That sounds like a great system to me. Very fair.

 

I personally think the idea of giving someone with a condition like ADHD the ability to cut in line is ridiculous. Waiting in line sucks, no one likes to wait in line for hours. They will never overcome whatever affliction gives them trouble and makes them feel as if they cannot wait if they are never forced to simply WAIT.

[okinawaboy11]

While the ADHD does get to me when I'm waiting, I still wait. It's not THAT bad.

 

I do buy Flash Pass whenever economically possible though.

[some sort of coaster dude]

is there a way for EVERYONE that goes to the park to get to skip ALL LINES, ONCE ? while still keeping lines efficient?

 

and flash passes are miraculous, i am very grateful for the system.

[bhslhs]

Okay seriously they shouldn't be allowed to go to the front. I have ADHD and I have no problem waiting in line. A group of doctors developed a state of the art new thing called medication. Its truly revolutionary. I take it every morning and it seems to work fairly well. Strange to think it can be that simple.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

This is absolutely ridiculous.

 

At this rate, some time in the near future EVERYONE will have some reason why they should be exempted out of the ride queue.

 

Where will that get us? Well we'll all be waiting for each other before we can ride. In other words, we'll wind up right back in the same place we're at now, having to wait in a queue, only we'll all have little disorder labels plastered across our foreheads.

 

Seems to me that whoever thought this policy up is the one with the mental disorder.

 

What happens when everyone has a disorder of some sort that prevents them from being able to wait? Coasters now must have a capacity of 100,000,000,000 riders per hour by law so no one EVER has to wait?

[Purplepills]

These kids need to learn to wait. Where I understand they may have ADHD, as they get older, noone is going to let them jump the line for anything else.

 

The bit that annoyed me is where it says 'They have a 30% maturity lag, and are emotionally younger than their peers'. BIG DEAL. Oddly enough, when I was 10, I had the same ability to wait in line as when I was 20. So waiting seriously has nothing to do with the fact they are 'emotionally younger' than their peers.

 

It's pointless teaching kids stuff which doesn't apply in the big wide world. They should be made to wait like everyone else.

[paintballer]

only we'll all have little disorder labels plastered across our foreheads.

 

 

That sounds amazing.

[ChrisZer0]

As someone who has an actual learning difference(Dyscalculia), I take it as an insult when people use something such as "ADHD" to get preferential treatment. Most of these kids diagnosed today w/ said disorder are usually just little punks who's parents are looking for an excuse to blame little johnnys smart mouth antics on. What many of these kids need is a parent with a firm hand to handle up on their situation, another idea would be to quit feeding these little pigs all the refined junk they're targeted w/ on a daily basis (i.e. McDonalds, BK, Pop, Ect..). My parents put me on a strict diet of fresh fruit & veg, lean meats and no refined sugars when I was much younger and it helped me tremendously.

 

I apologize if it sounds like a rant, but im tired of people using ADHD as an excuse to give their little brats Carte Blanche to act like a-holes in public

[Capitalize]

I think the fact that so many people on this web site alone are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD says something, I don't want to insult those individuals, but it seems to suggest something about this condition. How can SO MANY people suffer from a problem like this supposedly? Perhaps given the sheer number of people diagnosed, it isn't a disability, but simply how some people are?

 

Feeling anxious and impatient while waiting for something is not a disability. I'd say its normal and a lot of people would be better served if they simply learned to cope with it rather then being given instant gratification. Its like the bratty little kids you see at a store sometimes, they cry and cry until mom or dad gets them the toy they want, and mom and dad ALWAYS do. Its negative reinforcement and kids quickly learn if they can use something to get their way.

[ChrisZer0]

My big issue is the fact big pharm and the psychology industry sees to want to lump all these people under one label accordingly and push them meds as the answer to their problems, which I have an issue with. Before anyone asks, i'm not a $cientologist, i'm just someone who's has seen the forest for the trees and found diet(low gluten, fresh fruit/veg,no processed foods) and exercise(i.e. outdoors, not on the Wii LOL) plays a huge role in the treatment of these disorders first-hand.

[metrock]

This should be good news for the next TPR trip to Europe!