Kids Club for Autistic child not fully potty trained

[Mickeytwins4life]

Hi! We are going on our fourth DCL trip in March. I have twin boys, one of which is autistic. Our last three cruises, they stayed in the nursery, and we never had any problems. Our last trip, we even went to pick them up at the nursery, and they told us they had taken them to the kids club because things were "so slow." Anyways, his brother is potty trained, but because of his autism and his developmental delay it's a very slow process, and I'm concerned he won't be fully potty trained by the time we have our trip. I know he would be devastated if his brother got to go to the clubs and he didn't. Does anyone have any experience with the kids club and children with disabilities. I have read that sometimes they will make an exception, and sometimes not. Is there really nothing in place for kids like my son? Any information you could provide would be very helpful! Thank you!!

 

[Shanti]

Hi! We are going on our fourth DCL trip in March. I have twin boys, one of which is autistic. Our last three cruises, they stayed in the nursery, and we never had any problems. Our last trip, we even went to pick them up at the nursery, and they told us they had taken them to the kids club because things were "so slow." Anyways, his brother is potty trained, but because of his autism and his developmental delay it's a very slow process, and I'm concerned he won't be fully potty trained by the time we have our trip. I know he would be devastated if his brother got to go to the clubs and he didn't. Does anyone have any experience with the kids club and children with disabilities. I have read that sometimes they will make an exception, and sometimes not. Is there really nothing in place for kids like my son? Any information you could provide would be very helpful! Thank you!!

I don't think they let non-potty trained kids be dropped off at the clubs, but you could accompany your kids there during Open House, when all ages are welcome. They have a few Open House hours every day of the cruise, so this could be a good compromise for your kids.

My son is on the spectrum, and didn't much like being dropped off at the clubs, but he enjoyed them for short spells with me present, so the daily Open House hours were great for us.

The staff at the kids' clubs is okay, but not specialty trained or capable of managing an assortment of kids with developmental disabilities. They're very young staff & not always extremely attentive (some are better than others- you know how that is), and there tend to be a lot of kids at the clubs at any one time. So keep your expectations in check.

 

[DLgal]

I don't think they let non-potty trained kids be dropped off at the clubs, but you could accompany your kids there during Open House, when all ages are welcome.

My son is on the spectrum, and didn't much like being dropped off at the clubs, but he enjoyed them for short spells with me present, so the daily Open House hours were great for us.

This.

There are a lot of reasons other than the potty training thing that make the clubs NOT a good space for kids on the spectrum. I will leave it at that. You can PM me if you want to hear our horror story. Stick to the open house hours.

 

[lorimay]

Back in 2012, on the Magic my grandson was not 100% trained and 3 1/2. My daughter put a pull up on him and sent him, I think they called once for #2 incident.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Hi! We are going on our fourth DCL trip in March. I have twin boys, one of which is autistic. Our last three cruises, they stayed in the nursery, and we never had any problems. Our last trip, we even went to pick them up at the nursery, and they told us they had taken them to the kids club because things were "so slow." Anyways, his brother is potty trained, but because of his autism and his developmental delay it's a very slow process, and I'm concerned he won't be fully potty trained by the time we have our trip. I know he would be devastated if his brother got to go to the clubs and he didn't. Does anyone have any experience with the kids club and children with disabilities. I have read that sometimes they will make an exception, and sometimes not. Is there really nothing in place for kids like my son? Any information you could provide would be very helpful! Thank you!!

My understanding is that children who are at least 3 can attend even if they are not 100% trained, but you will need to stop by frequently, at least once an hour if not more often, to take care of toileting. @bbel is a former youth activities CM. Hopefully, she can pop in and answer.

 

[Shanti]

My understanding is that children who are at least 3 can attend even if they are not 100% trained

Actually they are required be fully potty trained. See below:

https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...not-fully-potty-trained-time-set-sail-264523/

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/oceaneer-youth-club/

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Actually they are supposed to also be fully potty trained. See below:

https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...not-fully-potty-trained-time-set-sail-264523/

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/oceaneer-youth-club/

I understand that's what is written, but that is not always what is practiced. The OP can discuss it with the CM onboard.

 

[bbel]

My understanding is that children who are at least 3 can attend even if they are not 100% trained, but you will need to stop by frequently, at least once an hour if not more often, to take care of toileting. @bbel is a former youth activities CM. Hopefully, she can pop in and answer.

Usually a child has to be 3 and fully potty trained. Unless there is a medical condition preventing the potty training which you have.
Most likely you will have to 'check in' with a manager for them to OK it and then if you do drop off you'll have to agree to come and check in every 30-45 minutes.

I've seen comments that CM are very young and untried. (Lol)
While we don't get training through disney, to get the job we have to prove we've done a lot and have a lot of experience. A very large percentage of us have worked with SEN kids prior to Disney.
And the majority of people I worked with are in the 25+ age group which is older than those i now work with in similar settings now on land.
However, Disney cannot offer 1to1 care and attention (although at quiter times and quiet itineraries I have seen it happen).

So, young and untrained = untrue.
Unable to provide the care and attention that some kids require = true.

 

[Shanti]

I've seen comments that CM are very young and untried. (Lol)
While we don't get training through disney, to get the job we have to prove we've done a lot and have a lot of experience. A very large percentage of us have worked with SEN kids prior to Disney....And the majority of people I worked with are in the 25+ age group which is older than those i now work with in similar settings now on land....However, Disney cannot offer 1to1 care and attention (although at quiter times and quiet itineraries I have seen it happen)....So, young and untrained = untrue. Unable to provide the care and attention that some kids require = true.

I spoke from experience with 2 DCL cruises within the past 2 years. The club CMs there when my son was present were all young (early 20's), and some were attentive, while others were not. And the clubs were packed with kids. It was okay for a typical & independent kid, but did not even approach a professional standard of care for kids with special needs. I didn't expect that from DCL, and was warning the OP to have reasonable expectations, as well.

There is nothing laughable ("Lol") about the very real experience I shared.

 

[bbel]

I spoke from experience with 2 DCL cruises within the past 2 years. The club CMs there when my son was present were young (early 20's), and some were attentive, while others were not. And the clubs were packed with kids. It was okay for a typical & independent kid, but did not even approach a professional standard of care for kids with special needs. I didn't expect that from DCL, and was warning the OP to have reasonable expectations, as well.

There is nothing laughable ("LOL") about the very real experience I shared.

For a start, don't think I mentioned your experience. But as you quoted me...

Like I said.

Young and untrained = untrue. I'll stand by that. Good for you and your experiences and i never doubted your experiences and cant take those away from you and like I said, never even got your experienced involve... but have you applied? Worked it? Lived it?
By saying that you definitely don't speak for me and all the close friends I gained as a YA at DCL and I wanted to put that out there! The way some people (not saying you) talk about it on here makes it sound like disney pick their CMs off the street and have 0 experience - which is very much LOL!!

Unable to give the care some kids require = true. Totally spot on. Will agree with anyone and everyone on that point. And was one of the most frustrating parts of my job.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We cruised with friends last Fall (Fantasy) who had a just over 3 year old at the time. Not fully potty trained, basically in pull ups. My friend sent the child into kids program and was called an hour later when the staff somehow found out he was wearing a pull-up. She was asked to take her child out and only come back during open house hours.
These are the "general" DCL rules but perhaps they accommodate kids with autism.

Side note - I can tell you a Royal Caribbean has a great autism friendly program on their ships, although I have no firsthand experience, but I heard others discuss it.

 

[bbel]

We cruised with friends last Fall (Fantasy) who had a just over 3 year old at the time. Not fully potty trained, basically in pull ups. My friend sent the child into kids program and was called an hour later when the staff somehow found out he was wearing a pull-up.

You learn to spot the 'bubble butt'
And it's not disney being difficult, or even really to do with cleanliness.
The rules that DCL follow mean that a child in a pull up/diaper is classed as a toddler which completely changes the ratios of the club and lab and for example on busy sea days would mean some kids have to get turned away even though they are old enough and potty trained.

The only way around this is through a medical condition.

I used to tell parents that if their kid was pretty much potty trained, send them but in underwear and we'd change them/and or call parents if/when needed. They can come check on them as much as they like and use the family bathrooms in the spaces together too.
Then the only time they'd get asked not to come back would be if accidents were happening a lot/every time they came.

 

[hanscarlet]

I think perhaps as the date gets closer, see if you can negotiate with your son and let him know that he'll miss out in the kids club if he can't hold his bathroom situation. I know it's easier said than done but sometimes kids can get motivated when they finally get it. That said our HFA ASD daughter wasn't trained until just before she turned 4 so I totally get it. Even now at 8 years old we really don't leave her in there longer than 90 min because it's too much stimulation after a while.


And re: the conversation around quality of kids club CMs, the majority of the time we have found that they are well informed and experienced working with kids on the spectrum, that said we have had a few situations that surprised me, one time at pick up asked me if she was OK with just standing and scripting our her own scene... someone who knows ASD kids probably wouldn't see that as a concern but whatever.... we cruise DCL for many reasons but the main one is due to their kids clubs because I like her younger sister being able to attend the club with her.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

You learn to spot the 'bubble butt'
And it's not disney being difficult, or even really to do with cleanliness.
The rules that DCL follow mean that a child in a pull up/diaper is classed as a toddler which completely changes the ratios of the club and lab and for example on busy sea days would mean some kids have to get turned away even though they are old enough and potty trained.

The only way around this is through a medical condition.

I used to tell parents that if their kid was pretty much potty trained, send them but in underwear and we'd change them/and or call parents if/when needed. They can come check on them as much as they like and use the family bathrooms in the spaces together too.
Then the only time they'd get asked not to come back would be if accidents were happening a lot/every time they came.

Oh I totally agree and understand DCL's stance on this. I was just saying what happened with our friend- meaning you do have to be both over 3 & potty trained. In my opinion wearing pull-ups during the day especially is not being potty trained. But having a medical condition totally changes things.

 

[cdoc29]

Our Last cruise on Fantasy my son was 5 and daughter just turned 3. Our son is on the spectrum but is low assistance required and the staff did excellent with him (he is potty trained) my daughter (who is not on the spectrum) was mostly potty trained at the time and we tried to send her in pull-ups for a just in case accident. We learned that having an accident (and she did have a couple during the week) was OK as long as she was in underwear. We usually just swung by about every 45 minutes or so remind her to go to the potty to try and avoid any problems and the YA’s called if there were.

But as for my son we let the staff know first day his neruo status, brought a doctors note (which they didn’t need) and told them what to look out for, what his stims were etc.... I personally thought they did a great job but realize others experiences will difer as all of us who have a child on the spectrum know ‘if you have met one child with autism you have met one child with autism'

 

[kandeebunny]

As a parent of a SN kiddo who has gone to the clubs before being fully trained (muscle tone issues and SPD) call special services and speak with them on the phone about your questions and concerns. Do it before boarding (as soon out as possible.) They do make accommodations for SN kiddos, they can go in to more specifics with you on the phone based on your personal needs and concerns. I have found they are VERY attentive to my SN kiddo (she fell and they closed off the whole room while dealing with it and got the medics up as she also has bleeding problems.) They are well trained, professional, kind, caring young adults, and if you let shoreside know, they will flag it on your cruise so YA, and their lead officer will be aware ahead of time. The staff has always known who she is and her issues the first time we check her in, so we know it is discussed prior.

 

[roysbrew]

If your ever interested in a non Disney cruise look into Celebrity Cruises. All of their ships are certified Autism Friendly. I think the staff has some training. you can check out toys from the clubs. The kids club isn't disney by a long stretch but my children had fun and there weren't a lot of kids running around. If a child isn't potty trained you fill out an accommodation form. They ask you to speak with a manager and won't change the pullup. They also have a questionnaire asking what are triggers so to avoid them and how to help the child.

Good luck and have a fun trip!

 

[Mickeytwins4life]

Thank you so much for all of your different perspectives! I appreciate all of the information!