Children's Club?

[mousireid]

Hi folks, was going to post this on the Resort Threads but thought I would start here (mods correct me if I am wrong). My son has high functioing autism and I also have a 4 year old daughter. My husband and I rarely take time away but were considering one meal together durig our vacation and am trying to decide if a kids club would be a good idea. Does anyone else have any experience with this, I would lovce to know.

 

[DisneyMama409]

i cant help but i'd love to know as well. I have two kiddos with pdd nos

 

[mousireid]

I know that some seem to have better reviews than others and I DID search and read the reviews. But for special needs of any kinds, I would be interested to see how they handle these situations, if they know roughly what to expect or if it will end badly To the point where I will skip a dinner date with my husband if I freak out too much about how the kids club is going!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Schmeck]

How does your son handle the situation at home - have you used any type of similar arrangements in the past? If so, then you could supply the kids' club with a 'helpful hints' sheet for your son.

Start making a list of situations that would stress out your son and cause a problem - contact the club of your choice on your first day there, and see if there are accommodations the club can make.

 

[ireland_nicole]

My kids have done neverland club and they loved it. DD has high functioning autism as well. I took with me a list of her food intolerances, some behaviors, and best calming methods, and we chose to eat at the GF so we could get back quickly if needed. They had our cell phone and would have called us if needed. They had a great time, the staff was awesome w/ DD (and DS fwiw). They are still asking to go back and that was 3 trips ago. ( now we bring grandma).

We also used the in room sitting service, and they were also fantastic. beforehand they asked exactly what we wanted in terms of gender, age, personality, etc. the sitter arrived early with lots of activities and asked us specifically what our expectations and restrictions were; she followed them to the letter and somehow we came home to sleeping children (WOW!) We actually used them twice that trip and they made sure to send the same woman both times; the kids absolutely loved her.

I've found just being open about my childs abilities and needs with the staff seems to be the most helpful.

Have a great trip!

 

[JESW]

My Aspie ds is 15 so he aged out of the kids clubs a couple years ago, but for several years he & his sister went at least one night each trip. (dd is 4 years younger)

The only clubs we tried were The Neverland Club (we would eat at the Kona Cafe to be close) and Simba's Cubhouse (we would eat at Jiko's to be close) and the kids enjoyed both. Dd likes arts & crafts so she would usually join that crowd while ds would sometimes join in depending on his mood. Some visits he would hang out with other kids and some visits he would just play his game boy - especially if he was trying to finish a game.

We found the clubs to be great for both our kids and it was nice to get a couple of hours to ourselves after a crazy week at the parks. As mentioned above, we ate close to where the clubs were and were gone about 3 hours. We would use any remaining time to sit in the lobbies of the hotels and just RELAX.

I hope that you get to try them and they work out for you!

Jill

 

[livndisney]

Here is what I wrote on the last thread about Kid's Club and special needs.

"Legally, my child had the right to be there. However after I spoke with the CM's that day, there was no way I would have left my child. (Just my opinion). It was clear they did not want to care for my child.

On the other hand, I have read very good reviews of Kids Nite out. They even have a place on the reservation request form for Allergies, Special Needs and Medical Concerns."

 

[kittycat9]

We have a child with mild CP and used the in room service last time. He wears pull-ups because of a kidney issue and can't use the care centers. We were very happy with in room, and plan on using it at least twice this time for both of our children. They ask all the right questions, and send someone qualified to work with your child. In our case they sent a school teacher that had experience working with SN children, and could respond properly if my son had a seizure or something similar happened. She came with a bag of games, color sheets, etc. The price isn't that horrible, given that I pay $15/hr here at home for a qualified sitter - and since this is our vacation too, it's nice knowing that DH and I can have a chance to get away.

Just a tip if you have a chance to stay on CL, I did call yesterday and confirmed that concierge will bring snacks down to the room for the kids, since the sitting service won't leave the room. But that's an extra assurance for me, knowing that someone else will also be checking on them

 

[sunshine74]

I would love to know if anyone has had experience at the kids clubs with SN kids with language disorders. My DD is 6 and DS is almost 3 (DS is typically developing). Once DS hits 4 I'd love for the kids clubs to be an option for both kids.
My DD had developmental delays that most profoundly impact her communication. She is learning to use an augmentive communcation device, but also uses word "approximations" (sounds) and signs. If we were to tell the kids club the important signs like bathroom and eat and play, will they be able to get her engaged in activities and meet her basic needs? Or, should we stick with in room care like Kids Night Out (which we have not tried yet, but I will likely try my next time down)?

I haven't posted on this board yet, but am a serious lurker. I LOVE Disney for the fact that it gives us a few days a year that we have fun and can be mostly "normal" even with a special needs chid....

 

[SueM in MN]

I would love to know if anyone has had experience at the kids clubs with SN kids with language disorders. My DD is 6 and DS is almost 3 (DS is typically developing). Once DS hits 4 I'd love for the kids clubs to be an option for both kids.
My DD had developmental delays that most profoundly impact her communication. She is learning to use an augmentive communcation device, but also uses word "approximations" (sounds) and signs. If we were to tell the kids club the important signs like bathroom and eat and play, will they be able to get her engaged in activities and meet her basic needs? Or, should we stick with in room care like Kids Night Out (which we have not tried yet, but I will likely try my next time down)?

I haven't posted on this board yet, but am a serious lurker. I LOVE Disney for the fact that it gives us a few days a year that we have fun and can be mostly "normal" even with a special needs chid....

What kind of Augmentative device does she have?
If you don’t want to send it with her, what about printing out a simple low tech paper version of a communication board with some of the very basic things she may want to say?
With something like that and word approximations, they may be able to figure out what she is saying.
How does she do on non-verbal communication?
(My youngest DD does not talk, but somehow she can communicate pretty well. I’m always surprised at the things that this non-verbal person has somehow told other people).

 

[Eeyore5]

I would love to know if anyone has had experience at the kids clubs with SN kids with language disorders. My DD is 6 and DS is almost 3 (DS is typically developing). Once DS hits 4 I'd love for the kids clubs to be an option for both kids.
My DD had developmental delays that most profoundly impact her communication. She is learning to use an augmentive communcation device, but also uses word "approximations" (sounds) and signs. If we were to tell the kids club the important signs like bathroom and eat and play, will they be able to get her engaged in activities and meet her basic needs? Or, should we stick with in room care like Kids Night Out (which we have not tried yet, but I will likely try my next time down)?

I haven't posted on this board yet, but am a serious lurker. I LOVE Disney for the fact that it gives us a few days a year that we have fun and can be mostly "normal" even with a special needs chid....

I don't have kids so I can't help with the child care at Disney. But I am a Special Education Teacher and have worked with several children using various augmentative communications devices. I have also helped families get them so I know who outrageously expensive they are. I would be hesitant to leave an expensive device in a child care center with no experience/training in using the device. There are too many ways things can go wrong - including losing the device. Ask your child's Sped teacher or Speech Clinician if she would make a board with the main symbols your child would need and laminate it to make it last. It is something I would gladly do for a family if I haven't run out of laminate for the year yet.

 

[SueM in MN]

You may find it interesting to look at some of these link (copied from the disABILITIES FAQs thread). THe 2nd link has pictures of the pages I made for DD’s Vantage device. She also is now using Proloquo2Go on an iPod touch and I have made WDW pages for that as well.

Communication Devices, PECS
Thread about making Communication Boards
Thread with links in post one to find pictures of communication pages for each park
Link to report of park experience of Dynavox user
Thread about PECs
mousescrapper's special guidebook for her son
Marie S's Going on an Airplane PEC book
Marie S's WDW Visual Schedule and Choice PEC book
DisMomAmy's Visual Help Cards
Thread about new picture book about MK by Kevin Yee.

 

[Brightsy]

My kids spent an evening at the Neverland Club last year. My younger DS was then 7 and he's also HFA. Both kids had a BLAST!
They didn't have mac-n-cheese, but my son ate a ton of chicken nuggets, not something he had ever shown much interest in, and he hasn't since but that night...
Anyways, the only problem I had with the Neverland Club was getting my kids to leave when I came to pick them up!