Special Needs Teens--Be aware

[kristinfly2]

For the hearing impaired cruiser--I don't know what happened, but it does sound like DCL dropped the ball. They have specified cruises where there are already arrangements in place for interpreters, and normally will "do their best" to book a team of interpreters for other cruises. We've enjoyed several cruises where we were able to sit across the aisle from the area reserved for the families needing the interpreters' services and really loved watching them. My daughter has studied ASL for several years and Angela (one of the interpreters) was very sweet to show her some of their Disney signs, etc. We've also seen the interpreters dining with the family when they were on board for one individual--how much/little time they spend with the family and which activities they interpret is up to the family. Generally they do the shows; from there, if needed for only one person or family, they can spend time in the kid programming, at family activities, or whatever as needed.

I'm really sorry that DCL didn't come thru for you as promised.

As to allowing a developmentally delayed individual into a younger age group--as noted in one of the above posts, that is exactly what resulted in the more strict policies that went into effect in December, 2011. It is unfortunate that one (rather serious by reports) incident could ruin it for everyone, but that's what the DCL legal department decided. The policy has always stated that one on one supervision/care is not available in the programming. It sounds like you should be very proud of your 12 year old; seems he went above and beyond for his brother. I don't know what the "right" answer should be as each kid involved has individual issues to be managed.

Thank you! I am not sure what happened. I thought all the phone calls and faxing the form was enough but some how the info got lost. We still had a fantastic time and are planning another DCL cruise for next year! .

I agree with the DCL policy of aging kids out of the club even though they are developmentally delayed. Our DD10 will never be able to handle edge or vibe, so we are going to try to squeeze in as many DCL cruises as we can before she ages out of the club!

 

[Kirbo]

As for us, I still have my reservation for next year on the Fantasy, but I have recently learned of a "Buddy Cruise" that is geared toward the DS child, it may be a better fit for us.

I would love to hear more about this "Buddy Cruise." One of my closest friends has a DS daughter who just turned 13. I would love to share the info with her.

 

[mom2val]

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[neg58]

We were just on the Magic Dec 1-8. DD is 12 and has Aspergers. She chose to hang out in the Edge instead of the Lab. We told the counselor on the first day that we did not want her to leave or self check out. We were told there are no bathrooms on deck 2 for the kids to use and they have to go to other floors to use a bathroom. We gave dd a wave phone and told her to call us if she needed the bathroom. A few days in when we picked her up she told us she had left with several kids- she followed them to see where they were going and then had to stay with them because she did not know what to do and where to go. Needless to say we had a LONG talk with her again about safety and strangers. As for the counselors in the Edge they basically told us the kids self check out period and they do not keep track of who comes or goes.

Because your daughter is 12, she could either go to the lab/club where she would be supervised and not be able to self check-out, or you could register her for the Edge, where she would be able to come and go with the other kids. It is your choice which program to put her in.

Some people with kids on the cusp put them in the next group up and agree to the terms of that level, such as a 2 yr, 11 month old in the lab, or an 11 year old in Edge (with the ability to self check-out of the area. They will not allow older kids to go down level for the safety of the younger kids. A 13 year old may be fine with the 11 year olds, but there are also 7 year olds in that club. There have to be some hard cut off dates.

Nancy

 

[Talking Hands]

Thank you for posting this. We have a special needs daughter who turns 10 in a few days. We got back from our first DCL cruise two weeks ago. She had a great time in the club and the counselors were really great with her! DH wanted to wait to do another cruise in two years, but when I pointed out that she was going to age out of the club in two years, he agreed we should go once a year until then! . A DCL cruise is very expensive for us as we are a family of 8 and even though we only took the 4 youngest, we have to book two rooms. It is so worth the scrimping and saving we will be doing all year to have a vacation that all the kids will enjoy! I have no idea where we will go when Sarah ages out of the club/lab.

Sorry this happened to you. Normally you need to formally request interpreters a minimum of 45 days prior to your cruise. Longer is better. They will try to get interpreters at less than 45 days but it depends on who is available as they must be trained on the shows. The kit should have been available without problem. Honestly I found the phone a pain and it was easier for me to go to the guest services desk and deal directly with them. I normally carry my portable vibrating alarm so that wasn't a big deal. Door knocker was important to me and was installed when we arrived as well as the other equipment. We did our cruise through a TA and the TA did all the requests for us down to requesting specific interpreters I preferred. It was originally set up with 2 I requested but at the last minute was changed due to an unforeseen problem and I got Angela instead. Awesome interpreter.

 

[Canadian Girl]

When we traveled in August, the age limit on the Dream and Fantasy was ten for the lab. Disney has since changed this to twelve as an upper limit which suits me fine as my youngest two will be nine and twelve on our next cruise in March 2014 and want to be together. I was told that a lot of parents wanted the choice of the edge or lab for eleven and twelve year olds which matched the age ranges of the Magic and Wonder so they changed things.

 

[kcashner]

There are overlaps built into the system. 11s and 12s can choose between Lab and Edge. 14s can choose between Edge and Vibe. Toilet trained 2s can choose between nursery and Club.

And still, parents want to push the system by placing 10s in the Edge or asking if 13s can go to the Vibe....so CMs sometimes try to be cooperative.

The current only hard and fast is that at 18 you "age out" of the programming. There is an 18-21 group, which has effectively killed the college group. Oh well.....