Cruising with a child with autism

[Yillup]

There have been some great tips in here. Thanks so much to everyone! I'll have a chat to his occupational therapist to figure out any strategies that would be best for him. I'm going to miss his OT when his early intervention funding runs out!

 

 

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[Esilef]

There have been some great tips in here. Thanks so much to everyone! I'll have a chat to his occupational therapist to figure out any strategies that would be best for him. I'm going to miss his OT when his early intervention funding runs out!

 

 

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We are paying for OT using the mental healthcare plan. Have you looked into this? I think you can get up to 20 sessions covered under Medicare with part payment

[motherof]

I'm just worried that the waiters will sing happy birthday. Might have to request that they don't but if anyone else in the room is having a birthday it's melt down time!!!

 

Should I try singing it to him at home??

Your waiter will not sing it if you ask them not to. And they will warn you if it is being sung to anyone else. I would not recommend trying to desensitize him by singing it at home. Prior to middle school my daughter would develop fears, work them through over a period of months, and get over them. She ended up at a middle school that saw "looking normal" as the ultimate goal. To that end they forced her to listen/feel/deal with her current fears. Which turned fears into phobias that she still lives with 14 years later. :mad:

 

Thanks for the earlier suggestion of earbuds. The muster drill is also tough for my daughter, mainly because there are visible whistles -- something else she was forced to deal with in middle school. I tuck the whistles into the lifejacket flap so they can't possibly go off on their own...

 

She likes the idea of having her music available for the muster, and came up with the idea of using them in the MDR so she doesn't have to leave the room whenever The Dreaded Song is sung. She is going to come up with a calming playlist, and practice with it while I sing. Not The Dreaded Song (in case it doesn't work), but anything else so she can see if the music blocks it out.

 

Her response when I told her about your son: "See, I'm not the only person who is afraid of that song!" :)

[Esilef]

Thank you for the suggestions. Wondering if I should get my son an iPod with calming music & noise cancelling head phones?

 

Happy birthday can be such a loud song that the cheering ect scares him to tears.

[motherof]

Thank you for the suggestions. Wondering if I should get my son an iPod with calming music & noise cancelling head phones?

My daughter prefers headphones to earbuds, but everyone is different. Try both. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch that you can trust him with, the Shizen Oceanscapes app is very soothing. Beautiful scenes and soothing sounds. My daughter and I are also experimenting with Naturespace for soothing sounds.

 

My daughter used to love the Happy Birthday song. Her feelings about it were so intense that they triggered fight or flight. Which, in her case, is always flight.

[Yillup]

Just keeping everyone updated. I emailed Royal Caribbean's admin people for special needs. They got back to me pretty quickly. They said I'd need to talk to people at check in and would be able to get faster check in, I should talk to the kids club staff myself when onboard (and they'll give us a pager), I don't need to bring any doctors notes or anything unless I feel they'd be helpful, and any therapy-type items we need to bring it's good to bring them. So basically, not much to do before getting to the port...

 

 

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[lacruiser]

This has been such an interesting thread. My own children (now almost grown) are not autistic, and my only experience with autistic children have been in teaching a few very high-functioning Asperger's kids (foreign language).

 

Thank you for enlarging my knowledge of how kids with autism can react. I would never have imagined that "Happy Birthday" could trigger a panic attack! I hope that others will benefit from reading about these reactions, and wish you a lovely holiday.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I just want to say how much I appreciate the love and care shown here by so many parents of special needs children. My own grown daughter is severe-profound mental retardation with autistic tendencies (non-verbal, not potty trained and severe SIB). She is now almost 40 years old and doing well in a group home.

 

I know the challenges faced by families with special needs kids and how important it is to include them in everyday life. While we were never able to take our DD on a cruise (I think that would have been to stressful for all of us) we did include her in almost all of our regular family activities. Even our church provided a 1:1 person in Sunday school for her so she could leave when the group activities became too much. God bless all of you for the obvious love you are showing to your children and the example you are giving others around you about what true devotion really is. I believe with all of my heart that God has given you a special blessing and your lives are so much better for it.

 

For just a bit of practical advice from someone who has been there - we were blessed to find a high school girl when our Susie was little who could baby sit her with utmost patience. She was more reliable and trustworthy than most adults we knew around her. We paid her to go with us on several vacations and she provided us with needed "adult time" away by being there for Susie. She stayed at the hotel with Susie when it was not appropriate for her to be with us, such as during a wedding, They both enjoyed themselves and we all have happy memories from those trips. Sometimes we all need a break. That would not work for everyone, nor would it be needed for everyone. But for us, that was a perfect solution for some of our non-cruise vacations.

[4biegelboys]

All such great ideas. Thank you it will come in handy when we cruise with our son in march. I also sent them an email and they sent me a package of info about the ship, excursions, ect. So that we could go through stuff with him. Or best truck has been to prepare him about our trips. Thinking of trying to get there as early as possible to check in so we can take our time and explore the boat.

[xxHadleyxx]

Colleen (if you are reading)--your DD sounds a fair amount like mine. She was not diagnosed until 14, and was always anxiois/intense, but did not really start to struggle until her teen years. So, cruises that had been easy before were harder (bust still very good)for a while there (it gets better :) knowing what you are working with really helps her and you come up with strategies to relive the worst of the anxiety).

Noise cancelling headphones are a HUGE help to my daughter. Have your DD try one several pair in the stores to find some that also feel good to her. DD likes the BOSE Quiet comfort. They are not cheap, but well worth the money for the sense of calm and control they help DD to keep.

 

DD has always been able to do the muster drill except one time when she was particularly anxious all that morning. On that day, I stopped by Guest services about an hour before the drill and explained and asked if she could possibly stay in the room through the drill (the rest of us would go) and we would take her later, or meet with staff later as they preferred. They were GREAT, an allowed that and made sure all staff knew to to knock on our door.

 

If you are lucky, your muster station will be in a theatre or lounge, and then it feels much less chaotic.

 

The biggest thing we have found with the drill is that the stairwells AFTER are panic inducing. They re so crowded and then DD feels trapped. We have learned to stay put and not leave our assigned area for 10 minutes or so (trying to beat the crowd, even if they say you can leave a minute or so early often backfires, as another station elsewhere may have been let go early).

 

All such great ideas. Thank you it will come in handy when we cruise with our son in march. I also sent them an email and they sent me a package of info about the ship, excursions, ect. So that we could go through stuff with him. Or best truck has been to prepare him about our trips. Thinking of trying to get there as early as possible to check in so we can take our time and explore the boat.

 

I am sure you have thought about this--but just in case, there are also many photos and videos of the ship online that you can preview with him ahead of time, to help it all be familiar when you get there.

[CanCruiser007]

Hello, I have been reading the previous posts..thank you also for the information. We were specifically looking for information on RCCL and those travelling with others with special needs.

 

We will be travelling for the first time on a plane with our family from Canada to Florida and going on a cruise in Feb 2014 on the Liberty of the Seas.

 

We are very excited, but nervous. Our DS has Autism, is a very big 10yr old, higher functioning now (but diagnosed as severe initially) and verbal.

 

We are concerned regarding the Muster drill, embarking/disembarking, and the kids group.

 

We have already contacted the Special Needs department of RCCL and they have been very quick to respond with helpful information.

 

They did recommend also informing those at the port/guest relations if we have any additional concerns/questions.

 

special_needs@rccl.com

 

We have been also given a heads up by other parents also for our flight to contact TSA 3 days ahead of time and at the gate....fingers and toes crossed for a wonderful vacation as this is a birthday trip for both our boys

 

Very excited regarding the Dreamworks characters onboard..they are his favorite :D

[Iaminspired]

Hi Everyone

 

I emailed Special Needs at RCCL about the fight or flight potential of the Muster Drill and they got back to me with arrangements for a private muster drill for our family. We are to check in with Guest Services when we board to finalize those arrangements. I also emailed RCI dining with our specific needs about a table assignment in the main dining room and they got back to me quickly with a table number and description of the table (beside a wall and window, in a quiet area, not far from the entrance.) I've printed out both emails to keep with my paperwork, just in case. Royal has been so accommodating and helpful! And it is a bit of a thrill to get an email directly from the ship!

 

Even though Kayla is looking forward to our trip, the anxiety is building. We are talking through the arrangements on a daily basis and will put together a social story (though apparently I do it wrong and she wants her CYW to help her with it). We leave in 10 days and I'm expecting them to be an up and down of excitement and anxiety. She missed a day of school last week after panicking about the muster drill and the "what ifs" of not getting the accommodations she needs on board. Once I talk her through it she is better.

 

Thanks so much to everyone for all the suggestions posted here. Incorporating them all is making our cruise all the better! We are picking up noise cancelling headphones today and I'm looking for some chewies since she is back to munching on the strings on her hoodies.

 

And thanks NHDisneylover for your supportive comments. It's always good to have someone who understands!:)

 

Colleen

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Hi Everyone

 

Thanks so much to everyone for all the suggestions posted here.

 

Colleen

 

We all hope you have a good cruise. :) Come back and tell us what worked and what did not. It could help others in your same situation.