Pls. help-Autistic child & aft cabin noise

[TEAGAN]

We are frantically trying to book the last JR suite available on Voyager of the Seas. The only JS left is an aft cabin 7392. We heard that the aft cabins may have some kind of engine noise or vibrations. Our son has many health problems (Autism being one of them) & he has very sensitive hearing. Can anyone help me with suggestions re: this aft cabin. It looks like a great location with big balcony - but the noise (if there is any) might drive him insane. If we don't take the aft cabin - we can't get a jr. suite & we really need the room(of teh Jr suite) for his therapy & other needs. Thanks

[Arwenmark]

Hi I posted to you elsewhere, there is vibration but not serious noise as such at the back, but I would be more concerned with the ships Horn and the intercom announcements. The horn is VERY LOUD and will be blown leaving and arriving in ports and during drills and can be very startling. As can the Bing bong and announcements.

I don't think other than that that the aft cabin will be much noisier than anyplace else.

[etoile]

Going off what Arwenmark said, maybe you can arrange to be away from your room (maybe in the library?) when leaving ports, so your son wouldn't hear the horn, at least not as loud?

[DancerOT]

When I have been in the aft cabin, I havent felt there was extra noise. That being said, does your child receive private OT? I would talk to his OT about meeting your son's sensory needs. How does he do with earmuffs? Sometimes those help with drowning out noise if he isnt tactily defensive. Enjoy your cruise

[Tiiiigergirl]

Our son is Autistic and has cruised with us in an Aft cabin. We were on DCL about deck 6. The noise was not bad but there definately was vibration. He didn't have a problem with it, but that really isn't an issue for him. Now get sand on his fingers and ugh! If your son would be sensitive to that then you may want to consider changing to dates or cabin location to accomodate him.

 

We actually received our son's diagnosis late in life. He was pretty old but since he is adopted thru the foster system they were attributing many of his symptoms to early trauma so we have never cruised with him knowing the diagnosis.

 

Had we known I'm sure we would have handled many things differently. As it is now we don't feel safe taking him out of the country.

 

Feel free to ignore rest of post as they are my ramblings. He had a severe meltdown in Grand Cayman. He wanted Burger King and we were trying to find it. It was also too far to walk (I have a moderate mobility disability) and it was time for his meds that need to be taken with food. So we just went into a sandwich shop. However, he was set on BK. Nothing else would do. And because we didn't know he wasn't just being onery, things escalated. He was out of his routine and melted.

 

We started to head back to the ship. He was mad and upset. He grabed my cane and started running with it leaving me stranded. And then he ran out into the street. My husband chased after him and had to literally drag him back. This was not a quiet moment. My son screamed stopping beating me. (My husband has NEVER beaten him, but I do think the trauma of his past life caught up with him at that moment!) This was the point where I staggered up. The whispers of the crowd were awful, judgmental. I'm barely kept it together and got him to eat something so he could take his pill that was now overdue. I went back to the cabin and stayed there for the rest of the day. The memory of that day is painful.

 

Sooooooooo....... If you are still with me and bless me if you are, my advice is that if you have a concern in your heart, go with it. You know that keeping the routine intact is key to the peace of his world. I didn't listen to those warning bells that morning that said my son was overstimulated and needed to just stay on board and I will forever be sorry. I justified it beforehand by saying that it would be wasting the money I'd spent on his tour ticket. We ended up walking on eggshells the rest of the cruise (keep in mind we had NO idea what was going on his world!) and really ended up wasting the money of the whole cruise. It has taken two years for us to book another one but this one is without our son. He will be staying with his caregiver to give Mom and Dad a needed break!

[LoveMyLeo]

Tiiiiigergirl, Bless you for taking on the responsibility! We found out my brother was autistic when he was around 2 and 1/2. He is more on the mild side though I am assuming your boy is more on the severe end of the spectrum? My parents are debating on whether or not to go on a cruise because they would need to bring him...any suggestions for a good cruise line that can accomodate to his needs...For one he is a VERY picky eater! Right now he is only eating cereal and chicken fingers with fries. We'd also like him to be more social(on board activities/groups) because from what his teachers tell us he talks up a storm in the classroom yet when he is around family he is silent...my parent's main concerns are that he will not be able to speak to anyone for help in case anything happens yet I think he can..

[Tiiiigergirl]

Actually our son is high functioning but when he melts - look out! The complication is that he has Tourette Syndrome and VERY severe ADHD in addition. This is a challenging combo for us as parents but also for him to deal with.

 

He turns 13 next month and teenage angst on top of everything is yucky. Some days I want to run away!

 

I would recommend Disney but then they are the only ones that we've cruised with, with him. They were incredible, though.

 

As far as your brother...

They might allow him in the kids clubs on trial basis and see how he does.

 

The chicken fingers on DCL are good. They are my favorite pool side snack! If that is all he wants to eat then no problem. This is the line that marketed themselves initially as THE family cruise. Others have done a great job since from what I've heard but Disney does do a great job of it. Children of all ages are welcomed on this line. Disney as a whole tries to do a good job of accomodating meal requests and yours are readily available.

 

The clubs will not require him to join in any of the games. At least they didn't with my son. He is not much of a joiner and they let him be a loner. I know that is one of the most painful parts of this disorder as a parent but the staff there will not push. Our experience was that as long as the kids were well behaved they would not push them into much of anything.

 

I'm re-reading your post and not quite sure how old your brother is. At first I was thinking he was little but now I'm not so sure. I'll keep the info I just typed as it might be helpful to someone else.

 

I don't know much about the teen programs as our son was younger when we cruised with him. He was 11 the last time he cruised with us.

[LoveMyLeo]

My brother is 16...I still can't believe it. Glad to know they have chicken fingers! That is what the Disney representative had told us that they would put Chris in a group with 12 year olds and I think he is really social as long as we aren't around because he doesn't talk to his family just strangers...very convenient and frusterating. His teachers say he is a chatterbox in class and that he loves to teach.:)