Crayola experience...........with my daughter!!!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014 we decided to go to Crayola Experience in Easton, PA.  It was about an hour and a half...unless you follow Google Maps......then it turns to 3 hours !!! But anyway, we got there in one piece, and Marley took it all in stride.

If you don't already know, my daughter was diagnosed with Asperger's when she was 4 years old.  Which, since the DSM change, is now considered ASD, high functioning (or level one), and ADHD.  My daughter has sensory issues.  She isn't able to deal with loud noises or lights that are too bright.  When we arrived I could tell that the noise was too much for her.  

Luckily, mommy is always prepared!!! Earplugs to the rescue !!! I also brought her sunglasses, but it wasn't overly bright in the building so she didn't need them.  

Putting in her earplugs !!

As we walked around she realized it wasn't as loud as when we first arrived, so after about 30 minutes, she took her earplugs out, looked at me and said 'Mommy, I don't need these right now'.  I was over the moon !!!

It was quite an experience to say the least.  They had a lot of summer camps visiting that day and it was a bit chaotic.  Despite all of the commotion, it was still a pleasure to be there.

She was designing her own crayon label with daddy.

She ( I ) wrapped her crayon with the self-designed wrapper.  It was royal purple and she named it Marley's Princess royal purple.  

Here she was able to draw on the tablet and it would be animated on the wall to the left side of her.

She drew a pink glittery unicorn !!! 

And here it is on the wall.  Sorry for the blurriness, but it was animated and I have the iPhone 4 that has no stabilization. 

She wasn't much into interacting with any other children, but it also took everything she had to be able to self-regulate and not melt down from all the noise and activity going on.  So I guess one thing at a time should be expected.

Look at the size of that crayon holder !!! Just about right for all the crayons she has...lol !!!

We can't forget the sand art!  She loves watching the sand pour into the bottle.

They had molding clay also.  It was a different texture and firmness than the play-doh she is accustomed to playing with.  She spent the first few minutes squishing it in her hand, staring at it and smelling it.  And as you can see, Daddy was being silly with the bunny ears.  

And this is where it got interesting !  It was so chaotic that she was overwhelmed and got 'lost' in here.  She was going around in circles.  Bob and I were worried because we would see the same kids go in and come out several times, and yet no Marley !!!  We finally saw her and we were able to guide her out of this maze.  

We were able to make our own shaped crayon.  She chose the dinosaur.  She had picked a purple crayon.  We had to wait a whole 4 minutes !!!  That's an eternity for an ASD 7 year old !!!  But we pulled through and she now has her own purple dinosaur.
(no Barney jokes please...lololol)

Here she is letting us know she has had enough!!!  Part of her stimming is making facial gestures.  She looks silly here, but this is her brains way of saying 'shutdown mode activated, you have 20 minutes till meltdown mode commences'. 

OH BOY !!!!

AAAND we're done............

Just a short 3 years ago I couldn't even take her to a store without her having a meltdown.  She would wander off or start pacing in circles (stimming).  Her preschool experience wasn't very pleasant. Her classmates would call her weird and ask why she acted the way she did. 

She is a very loving, sweet and highly intelligent little girl.  I am very proud of my daughter and she is certainly my favorite person in this whole wide world.