Anyone cruise with an Autistic child??

[TwingleMum]

one of my 5 yr old DS is ASD. Fairly high functioning but limited verbal language. We would like to take a cruise . We have 2 other DSs ( his twin and a 7 yr old brother). Has anyone done a cruise?? Do the kids clubs have any accomadations for special needs kids?? Can you get a one on one?? Thanks

 

[pddmom]

We did the 3 day Wonder cruise last november and my DD (5 1/2 at the time) had a great time. She's PDD-NOS and the most non-verbal verbal child you've ever met, but she did great.
She loved the bunk beds and the pool (though never got the courage for the Mickey Slide) They do not have any special service per say, but in the kids club I just made them aware of her issues and more specifically asked that she and her 3 1/2 year old brother be kept in the same group so that if a problem did arise, he could probably help out.
We put her in the kids club during part of our stay at Castaway Cay and even for an adults only dinner one night where the CMs take the kids to dinner and they said she did great!
As with everything Disney, everyone was very helpful and understanding. Her only meltdown came during the evacuation drill right before you sail. She did not want to put on the lifejacket and go on deck, but I had to drag her out there wailing away and one of the staff gave her his sunglasses and told her she'd have "no worries" as long as she was wearing them...very helpful!
We can't wait to do another one.

 

[TwingleMum]

Did the kids clubs have a one on one available?? My son is not independant at all and wouldn't be able to take care of himself without some guidance. He can feed himself but wouldn't go get his own food. He loves to play on a computer but might not assert himself to go play it. I'm alittle worried. He is in a 8-2-1 ABA class.

 

[iluvdiscruises]

no, they don't have a one-on-one option available, though you can stay for any and all activities with him.

 

[Nik's Mom]

one of my 5 yr old DS is ASD. Fairly high functioning but limited verbal language. We would like to take a cruise . We have 2 other DSs ( his twin and a 7 yr old brother). Has anyone done a cruise?? Do the kids clubs have any accomadations for special needs kids?? Can you get a one on one?? Thanks

Yes, we did! Dh and I cruised on the Wonder with our 2 autistic sons (age 5 and 8 at the time). We had a great time. The cm's let my 8 year old stay with his brother in the younger group. There was no one on one aid, but the counselors were great. We explained that he kids had speech delays. It was helpful to have our sons together. I would check with the cm's to see if your children can all be in the same group.
When we dropped our sons off, we were encouraged to stay as long as we wanted with our sons. We stayed about 30 minutes, then left the kids alone. They were in there about 2 hours. At one point, I checked in on them and they were having a great time.

I'd definitely cruise again with our sons. In fact, we have a June 2010 cruise booked.

 

[TwingleMum]

Thanks. It scary to think of leaving him but again it would be heaven to have a little alone time with DH.

 

[happymommy]

I know a friend whose sister has three children, the youngest being autistic. They did the 7 night Disney cruise, and brought along a helper. She had her own (inside) cabin, and would take him back to his room and stay with him when he got tired or overstimulated. I know this was more money, but it worked for the family. I think she got a good deal on a cat 12 cabin fairly last minute.

Do you have family or someone that maybe could come help?

I understand being afraid to put him in the clubs without someone really watching him. I hope it all works out for you!

 

[Nik's Mom]

Another option would be to find out when the club is doing an activity that you know your child would be ok with. We picked a time when we knew they would be in the club and not walking around to other parts of the ship. And it was a free play time, so we didn't have to worry about crafts, etc that our sons would need help with. We only left our sons that one time, but it was great to have an hour or two to ourselves. We did the exotic rasul massage!

 

[dclfun]

I know as a parent I'd be worried about leaving a SN child who is not as independent as others, but as for food, he wouldn't have to get it himself. They do take the kids to meals in the buffet area ( it's set aside as a private area ONLY for the kids/counselors) and I'm sure someone would help him with his selections. While 1:1 isn't offered, they're going to do their best to see that he's accommodated and guided to an area to play with something he'd enjoy or to participate with a group. I did once see a very low-functioning child in a tilted w/c being pushed by a counselor in the hallway, so there are considerations given. You'd also be welcome to join him and to participate if necessary. That's what I'd do- go in with him and slowly start to separate from him while he joins the group and also give suggestions to the counselors as to what he enjoys, how best to communicate, etc. The worst that could happen is that you'd be paged, and that happens with all children at times.---Kathy

 

[TwingleMum]

He loves WDW and I just wanted to make sure that he has a fabulous time. I plan on staying with him at the beginning and checking frequently. I would probably only put him in for short time periods.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Twinglemum, it sounds like you have a good plan. I would definitely at least give it a try. You won't know how your child will handle it until you try it. He may end up doing very well. I'd discourage you from leaving him there during times when the group will be traveling around the ship (like during meal times). Even though they have a wonderful system to keep the kids safe, it will probably set your mind at ease to know that he won't be wandering around.

We did leave our kids when they traveled from the Oceaneer lab to the Oceaneer club. There was a private hall that they used. It almost looked like a tunnel, but there were windows that you could see through. I got to see my boys traveling through there with the rest of the group. I'm not sure what they do to take them up to eat though. We picked our kids up before meal time.

 

[TwingleMum]

Thanks like most parents we try to have him do everything his brothers do but I still have to make sure both he and I are ok with it.