We are planning a family trip with a 15 y.o. boy with ADHD. As he's got older he's better at controlling his symptoms, but I'm afraid the stress of 6 days with a completely new routine will lead to disruptive behaviors, particularly high rage and fierce temper.
Our challenge will be the extensive sitting and waiting - in cars, on planes and waiting on line at Disney.
Secondly, he lives with his father where the rules are more lax than we instill with our 2 girls at our home. Also, this is first "real" trip of substantial time and distance (as his symptoms are so severe, it's never been tried before).
Here's what I'm doing: providing an itinerary of each day's plans - what we'll do, where we'll go, and the appropriate behaviors for each activity and location. Also, end of day physical activities (swimming, skateboarding) to peel off some of that excess energy.
I'm looking here for advice beyond these ideas. What did you do with your adhd kid(s) when travelling? I'm really concerned about his temper and penchant for selfishly ruining everyone else's enjoyment as a tactic to get his own way.
We just came back from Disney. I can see your point in planning the iternary. I would say to be prepared for any change in plans. Don't feel you have to stick to your schedule. During one afternoon my DD got such a grouch on that I just gathered everyone up and we went back to the pool at the hotel. Schedule is good but being on vacation adds the extra stress of all the change so be prepared to roll with the punches.
Also plannig your trip to Disney during one of the more quiter times would help. Those long lines are a pain to anyone!! The heat can also be a big factor. You may be use to it but up here in Canada we certainly are not! :) I am guessing from your name you are not either LOL
I think at 15yr there will be enough down there to keep him occupied and distracted. My 5 yr old DD has impulsive ADHD and I can count on one hand the number of meltdowns she had while at Disney. Late nights and waiting to long to eat where usually the contrubuting factors.
Ask for his input in planning the activities and make sure to talk about alternate plans for if the weather's bad on a particular day or certain lines are insanely long. Also be sure that you don't over- schedule. If you're feeling rushed/stressed than he's feeling it twice as much.