Oceaner's Club and an Autistic Child. HELP!!!

[luvdatmous]

Hi, I am new to these boards & am in search of some assistance. I have written alot below, sorry, but I want to provide some background so that I can give & get full answers.

My DH and our DS, (turning 6 in 3 days) are booked on the 4 day Wonder cruise beginning on Dec. 31. We are old pros at doing the Magic Kingdom. My son just completed his 30th visit over Mother's Day, but we are rookies when it comes to cruises.

Our son is high level functioning autistic. He is completely potty trained, mobile & unlike many autistic children, is completely verbal. He attends regular public school in a special program for other autistic children. He is very bright, but would have a difficult time in a normal class of 26 children. Our son at times speaks in movie dialog (Disney of course). He does not fully understand that conversation is not scripted and that it is give and take. He is able to carry on conversations, but as a result of his disability, he prefers to play by himself while others play next to him & at times will lapse into scripted speech when he becomes unsure of himself. He does not flap his arms or run in circles & does not stare into space, all behaviors that are associated with autism. He attends an after school program that is for the general school population and does well. He does not require special one on one attention & tells adults when he needs things.

Our concerns & my question (finally) would be, should we tell the counselors ahead of time about our son's disability & his quirks or should we let it go until someone asks? We have no problem explaining his behavios, none of which are threatening or offensive and we want to be honest, but we also do not want to be told that he may not participate. We are afraid that they will automatically rule out his participation in the program without giving him a chance to prove that he will be fine. We DO want this to be a family vacation, but DH & I want some alone time as well.

HELP!!!!!!!!!

 

[jel0511]

You son WOULD MOST definately be allowed to participate, regardless of his disability. DCL is very good about that, and I think you definately should tell the counselors all. They are GREAT with kids and I think your son would have a blast. The only thing DCL states is that they can't provide one on one for a child with special needs, but it looks like your child doesn't need that. If your son starts to act "unsure" the counselors will be able to recognize it and try to help him become more comfortable. If they can't they'll page you to either help out, or just remove him for a little while to calm him down. As long as your child fits the guidlines, potty trained, doesn't need one-on-one attention, you're good to go. I would tell them if I was in your case, so they can try to do their best to include him, even if it is on the side since that's what he likes best. Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[dis4me]

I would definately tell the counselors his traits that may affect him during the cruise. I am sure they will not discriminate against him however they will be aware that it is a common behavior for him.Although my daughter is not autistic she does flap when excited.I alerted the counselors to this and the fact that she does not like loud dark situations. They did not hesitate to call me when she was frighteded during these times and also paid a little more attention to her when the activity was occuring. NO they will not give indiviualized attention but since your son doesn't need it, he should be fine.He will have plenty of opportunity to play by himself especially in the captain's closet.Have a great cruise.

 

[ducklite]

Most definitely tell them! They will not exclude him based on what you are saying here. He fits all the criteria. Better to have them understand in the beginning then have confusion and a possible issue later.

Anne

 

[SweetSpot]

Hi luvdatmous:

My son now 13 is also high functioning autistic and we cruised last November when he was 12. My son at 6 was very similar to what you describe, except he did the dialog from Berenstein Bears and Thomas the Tank (and pretty much anything else he had seem more than once). I have learned over the years to be up front with everyone about his autism. Although you would never know by looking at him or even being around him for short periods of time the fact is he is autistic and as people become more aware they become much more accepting and tend to treat him better despite his autistic behaviors.

My son could have easily passed for "normal" but I told the counselors when I signed him up that he was autistic and had it noted in the computer. I also let them know to beep me immediately if he or they were having any difficulty. When they beeped, I ran and they appreciated that and really didn't beep often. The counselors were absolutely amazing and accepting of him. They would let him participate and let him have down time at a computer if he wanted. It ended up being such and incredible vacation for all of us because he was so happy and my DH and I actually spent time alone.

We did have a rough first night because of the newness and the clubs are very loud as the counselors get the kids excited about the cruise. (If your son has difficulty with noise, bring ear plugs (2 pairs) they will be a life saver not only for the clubs but for the shows.) A comment was made by a counselor to the group about my son on the first night about his complaining about the noise and he was upset by it. I spoke with the counselor the next morning and in all the commotion of the first night he forgot about the autism and apologized for not beeping me. That was the one and only time we had difficulty and it was totally understandable.

Tell them and tell your wait staff if he has a problem with certain foods. The staff were wonderful and accepting. It was such a wonderful vacation that we booked again for this year while aboard. You will have a wonderful time.

 

[xhaustedmomma]

My son is autistic too and we leave Sunday June 29 for our cruise.
I'm a single mom so I am bringing my sil with me to help. He just turned 5. I'm nervous about how he will react to everyone and how everyone will react to him. I am pretty sure we won't be dining in the dining rooms.

Anything you want me to check on for you, let me know.
I do plan to tell the club and we will probably stay there while he's there most of the time unless he is doing really well. It will be fun to play at the club there. Im sure we will have a blast

Karen

 

[joyfull]

I also have a son with autism/ pdd that will be turning 13 one week before we cruise (july 13th). He is pretty much like what you have discribed. He loves Disney movies and can quote everyone. He also likes to move his arms and make loud noises. He loves to talk about different disney movies. I don't really know how he is going to fit into the "teen" group. Luckly I have a daughter that will be turning 15, and so she will be in the teen group with him. I figure that we will be doing alot of family things. My son is quite big so I have decided to steer him to the goofy pool right off the bat. I know he will want to use the slide in the mickey pool and he is way too big for that. I figure he will do pretty good in the dinning rooms. I have already made him a schedule for each day. He is studying them as we speak...lol He also loves the movies titanic and jaws, so he is very excited about going on the "Disney Boat". He isnt' afraid of the ocean, but I am worried about how he will do at the "ship drill". I will let you know what I learn when I get back......Or maybe if im lucky I will win the free internet everyone has been talking about! Cross your fingers....LOL

 

[SweetSpot]

joyfull:

You don't have to put your son in the teen group if you don't think he will be able to handle it. We are going again this year and confirmed before we booked that my son would be able to go down to the 10-12 group even though he would be 13 at the time. The counselors said it wouldn't be a problem to go down an age. The 10-12 has a good deal of computers and they have Playstation 2 so he was very happy there and fit right in. Unfortunately, he is very big for his age so he sticks out but he doesn't care and either do I.

We solved the problem with the Mickey slide by being the first in line to get on the ship and having the kids wear their bathing suits. The kids were able to get into the Mickey pool after we boarded and ate lunch while it was empty. We never went back because it was too crowded and too dirty but they were able to enjoy it all alone for a good amount of time.

I was also concerned about the ship drill. It is very fast and we made light of it by taking pictures and laughing about how we all looked. He follows rules and knew before hand that it was a rule of the ship to be at the drill and he was completely fine. Just make sure you prepare him.