Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[Weedy]

They will work with you son to see that he has a great time. This is post 105
Not extensively enough for us to be able to provide 1-on-1 care, which is not only what we're expected to tell guests but it's the truth. A number of us on staff definitely have worked with special needs children (but it's not a requirement, nor recognized by the company for us to be given any different duties/responsibility than anyone else)

Your best bet is to talk to a manager & let us know early on the embarkation date of the cruise, also so you'll know if there are any Counselors from a special-needs background who would be able to address his needs. We tend to have our big meeting and inform each other of children we need to be especially attentive to on the first day, and share strategies and let everyone know who to call on for guidance.

 

[DisneYE]

I asked my 14DD, who lives in the Vibe when we are on the ship ,if she would interact with another teen who had a disability. She looked at me like I had two heads and said "You know I would, why would you ask that?" My daughter will interact with anyone and has all types of friends, not just ones "like" her.

Redwings30, when is your cruise? We are cruising this summer as well.

your kid: she will go far

 

[Weedy]

This is post 555. This will show you that the kids are great


This question reminds me of some of my best, favorite memories working in the youth spaces on board, and I'll gladly answer why:

I think a lot of people can stand to a learn a lot from watching how children interact with other children with disabilities. When I first started I was always nervous and a bit worried for them - after all, kids can be cruel sometimes (As you can imagine, we tend to get our share of Make-A-Wish children as well) - and so I tended to keep a close eye whenever anyone with physical disabilities was on our spaces to step in, just in case anything that amounted to teasing or exclusion happened.

What I've experienced first-hand over the past few contracts as a Counselor has made me have so much faith in our next generation, it's insane! What I mean is that these kids, without fail, have openly embraced their peers with physical disabilities and go on to do so much more about making their cruise special than I would've been able to as a CM.

Some examples are:

-The 4-year old Deaf girl who this other 4-year old boy was crazy about and always played with her despite never speaking

-The little boy with a breathing tube who the older kids would sit with during programs

-The 5-year old in a wheelchair who the other girls worked together to put on a princess dress and helped push her around at the Royal Ball. (Cinderella confessed in the hallway later on that she almost cried seeing that!)

-The 8 year old with leukemia who made friends with two new "sisters" who held her hands for the whole cruise whenever they walked from one part of the room to the other

-The blind tween dude whose first dance was with every girl in Edge!


It always starts off with innocent, maybe blunt questions from the other kids: "Why does she walk like that? Why is he wearing that? How come she won't talk to me?" But then, when answered they simply say: "Oh, ok".

And I don't mean to get your hopes up or anything, but I gotta say watching these very nonjudgmental interactions between the kids was far more magical than -dare I say it - Mickey Mouse doing the same thing! It's wonderful that he's social, that will go a long way in making that first introduction to the other kids. Hope he enjoys the cruise!

 

[joycsk]

Like I said it may depend on the teen. Some may be comfortable around someone disabled some may not be and you will never know until you get there. My best suggestion would be if there is a meet group for teens on your cruise join the thread and find out in advance, as they may be more welcoming if they know about him in advance rather then find out on the first day.

Like others, I do find this comment surprising. However, I'm wondering if the education system where this poster lives is exceedingly different from ours in the US. I am a public school teacher in Pennsylvania. The ADA and its advocates have pushed for MAJOR changes in most American public schools. Inclusion is now the NORM and no longer the Exception. Perhaps that experience is not shared further north.

My own children 10 and 13, have attended classes with several students who have varying "abilities." Yet, it IS possible/likely that this is not typical around the globe. . .

Cheers to those offering encouragement!

 

[scm]

RE:However, I'm wondering if the education system where this poster lives is exceedingly different from ours in the US.

From personal experience, I would say 'yes' but in the most positive way. Given the Disney emphasis on inclusion, I would suggest that an individual perspective expressed here should not be assumed or implied to be negatively representative of an entire country.

 

[joycsk]

RE:However, I'm wondering if the education system where this poster lives is exceedingly different from ours in the US.

From personal experience, I would say 'yes' but in the most positive way. Given the Disney emphasis on inclusion, I would suggest that an individual perspective expressed here should not be assumed or implied to be negatively representative of an entire country.

Well, I put both feet in it. I'm pleased to learn that inclusion is common. I was trying to find some way of mitigating the comment, somehow, and successfully made it worse. I seem to have a knack for that. . .

 

[rebbyparker]

Like others, I do find this comment surprising. However, I'm wondering if the education system where this poster lives is exceedingly different from ours in the US. I am a public school teacher in Pennsylvania. The ADA and its advocates have pushed for MAJOR changes in most American public schools. Inclusion is now the NORM and no longer the Exception. Perhaps that experience is not shared further north.

My own children 10 and 13, have attended classes with several students who have varying "abilities." Yet, it IS possible/likely that this is not typical around the globe. . .

Cheers to those offering encouragement!

Inclusion is common here in Michigan as well. My DGD has had classes for the past five years with individuals with these abilities. These individuals have been included in her school plays, choir concerts, orchestra concerts and also participate in her Book Bowl group. There are two girls in her dance class as well. I think inclusion will be the norm all over in the not too distant future.

 

[scm]

Well, I put both feet in it. I'm pleased to learn that inclusion is common. I was trying to find some way of mitigating the comment, somehow, and successfully made it worse. I seem to have a knack for that. . .

Thanks for appreciating my dual citizen sensibilities that have made me see at least 2 sides to every issue.

 

[mom2princess&prince]

Hi, I read about 13 year olds going to Vibe in your FAQ's and was hoping to clarify a couple of things for my 13 year old DD that is beside herself about the possibility of not being able to go to Vibe.

She will be a little over 2 months shy of her 14th bday when we cruise so from what I understand, she will have to start in Edge and then hope to move up to Vibe, is that correct? I understand that logic that they want to see how the kids are before moving them up but I am worried about her missing out on those initial connections at Vibe and signing up for activities, etc. especially since we are only on a 4 night cruise.

I am wondering how much time she would need to spend in Edge and how quickly she could move up if eligible, we have a 10:30 check in and are hoping to get on the ship early so should I send her right to Edge or talk to someone about it so that she might be able to go to Vibe the first day?

Thanks so much for all of your help, your thread has so much great info!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Look all I was trying to say was it may be unfair to the teens on board the cruise to be presented with someone that is disabled that they do not know. The high school I went to had a number of special needs teenagers in and anytime they were brought into a classroom with everyone else, someone from that department would explain to that class what was the person's individual needs were. I never had any problem with that at all. I mainly suggested about posting on a cruise meet thread to maybe see if there were other teens going on the cruise that they were going on so they knew in advance there would be poel that know about their son. Besides wouldn't it make more sense if they know someone in there in advance just in case something happens?

I feel your comments are entirely inappropriate here. Her son has just as much right to be there as everyone else. And to say she shouldn't even bother sending him because other teens may be uncomfortable saddens me.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Wow...we wouldn't want anybody to feel uncomfortable now would we?? So glad my kids have had kids of all types of abilities in their classrooms, they learn tolerance and patience.
OP, I say go to the club the day you board and speak with the counselors. If you take care of his personal needs before going to the club(something I do anyway with my younger son)he would be fine.

lemme guess... you don't have any kids (hence your glib comment) and/or travel alone all the time...only a person devoid of knowledge of social interaction will say something like this...

<insert incredulous gape here>

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Like others, I do find this comment surprising. However, I'm wondering if the education system where this poster lives is exceedingly different from ours in the US. I am a public school teacher in Pennsylvania. The ADA and its advocates have pushed for MAJOR changes in most American public schools. Inclusion is now the NORM and no longer the Exception. Perhaps that experience is not shared further north.

My own children 10 and 13, have attended classes with several students who have varying "abilities." Yet, it IS possible/likely that this is not typical around the globe. . .

Cheers to those offering encouragement!

I want to apologize if some of what I posted was harsh. Something to keep in mind is not everyone on a Disney cruise is from the US. Like I said in another post I just made but the high school I went to had a special needs department and they would integrate them into regular classes as much as possible. Most of the time when they did that they would let us in the class know a few things about them so we would know what to expect. I really don't see why it would be wrong for someone to reach out on a meet thread and ask if any teens would like to get to know there DS, or DD that had a disability in advance so they could render any assistance that they might need or even help them out with other teens there that don't know them.

 

[redwings30]

Thank you to everyone who provided kind words and encouraging suggestions! As I mentioned, my son will be 15 during our a Halloween cruise. That means 15 years of being well aware that not everyone is accepting. However, we provide as normal a life as possible for him; that means he will see that not everyone wants to be his friend, and that's okay. Because the kids that do give him a shot are enriched having known him, and vice versa. I never worry if he'll make social connections; he's far more social than me and I'm "normal" - my question was mostly in regards to whether the club itself would be open to him based on his abilities. The suggestion to not even give the club a shot is not even an option. He deserves the chance to experience this vacation just as anyone else's child. If it doesn't work out, no worries - we gave it a chance.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

The suggestion to not even give the club a shot is not even an option. He deserves the chance to experience this vacation just as anyone else's child. If it doesn't work out, no worries - we gave it a chance.

I'm sorry if I implied that I just worded it badly. I hope you and your son have a wonderful time and I hope he does make some friends on board.

 

[redwings30]

I'm sorry if I implied that I just worded it badly. I hope you and your son have a wonderful time and I hope he does make some friends on board.

I do appreciate that, thank you

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I do appreciate that, thank you

your welcome

 

[Vodo]

Just finishing our first Disney cruise and happy to report our 3.5yr old loved the kids club. After past carnival and RCL cruises where he didn't want to spend time in their clubs we went in hoping for the best.

We checked him in the first night and he went in quite happily (the fancy hand washers helped, lol), then came back to check on him about an hour later to see if he wanted to leave and found him running around with new friends while wearing a Spiderman costume (the costume became a common sight). Needless to say he wanted to stay longer and always happily went back.

We dropped off a number of boxes of Jaffa cakes and jammy dodgers last night that we brought for the counsellors, so hopefully that made their night a little more fun! Now to go ashore and check right back in for the second cruise...

Thanks for all the useful information in this thread, it really helped with our planning!

 

[CDENNINGJ]

I have a new Q. We're going to be on the Dream in a few weeks (just my 7yo DS and myself). I would really like to do the CC 5k. Is there any chance that I will be able to get him to Scuttles and be able to run?

Also, it's going to be Valentine's Day. Would the CMs in the Kids Clubs like some chocolate? I'm bringing some for the folks who are kind enough to sign a frame mat for him, but I'm happy to bring more!

Thanks in advance!

PS. Will there be any special Valentine's Day activities?

 

[Nannylisad]

I have a new Q. We're going to be on the Dream in a few weeks (just my 7yo DS and myself). I would really like to do the CC 5k. Is there any chance that I will be able to get him to Scuttles and be able to run?

Also, it's going to be Valentine's Day. Would the CMs in the Kids Clubs like some chocolate? I'm bringing some for the folks who are kind enough to sign a frame mat for him, but I'm happy to bring more!

Thanks in advance!

PS. Will there be any special Valentine's Day activities?

I believe scuttles is open. There is a CC5K thread. :0)

 

[RedskinFan]

I have a new Q. We're going to be on the Dream in a few weeks (just my 7yo DS and myself). I would really like to do the CC 5k. Is there any chance that I will be able to get him to Scuttles and be able to run? Also, it's going to be Valentine's Day. Would the CMs in the Kids Clubs like some chocolate? I'm bringing some for the folks who are kind enough to sign a frame mat for him, but I'm happy to bring more! Thanks in advance! PS. Will there be any special Valentine's Day activities?

I did the CC 5K when we were on the Magic a couple weeks ago . Scuttles Cove is on the way to the 5K start line and was open when we walked by it. One of them women I ran with actually dropped her kids off on the way to the race and had no issues getting to the start line in time for the race.

 

[CDENNINGJ]

Thanks! Very helpful.