Children w Disabilities

[LNLisa]

Do the children's programs admit children with disabilities?

 

I have a 7-yr old nephew who is autistic and mr. His main goal in life is to be FREE! :D Unfortunately for his parents, this means constance vigilance because he will and has run away. :(

 

I'm wondering if the cruise lines children's programs would admit a child like him? He would need extra care and attention for sure. On the other hand, these are parents who could really use a vacation!

 

Then there are many children with less severe disabilities who would still also need extra assistance.

 

I'm just thinking, this would be a good topic of conversation at the next family gathering. My Sister-in-law would definitely be interested if only to satisfy her curiosity. Any info. would be helpful.

[Triplet and One]

I have traveled twice with my moderately mr daughter(1st time 10 years old and second time 11 years old). Both times she really enjoyed the kids club. I was sure to introduce her to the staff and make sure they were aware of her disabilities. I also surveyed the areas and determined that she might be better off with a younger group than her actual age level. Even though her age warranted being allowed to leave the kids club any time she wanted, I did not allow this. There is a paper to be signed by parents when they drop off their children where you can write special care instructions and also give or not give permission for your child to leave on his/her own. Also tips are also a good incentive for extra care. If you find a staff member who you particularily like you could try to give intermittent tips during the week. Have a great time...it will be ok.:)

[DPurcell58]

My son is 13 and is high functioning autistic. We've taken him on 4 cruises so far and he goes to the kids program, but he's not a runner and is able to participate in all activities. They would probably have to discuss it with counselors, not really sure that they would have someone to be "one on one" with him. They could probably try it out for a short time to see how it goes. The door in the kids programs are usually shut or locked during the sessions.

[DPurcell58]

Another question - is this child verbal???

[kathyemma]

I have spoken with RCI about this in the past - my neice is severely handicap (she's 11, still in diapers, can only say 4 or 5 words) and we were thinking of taking her on a cruise. Basically RCI told me (keep in mind this was in 2005...) if they knew she was coming they would have someone on board that could handle her. (don't think they would change diapers - but I'm her aunt and I won't even do that!) So give them a call and see what they say. I think I spoke to someone in the travelers with special needs dept.

 

Good luck -

 

Kathy

[kittycat_26]

I would think (and hope) that alot of it would depend on whether or not they have the staff for this. If there are only two staff and 12 children, then it wouldn't be fair to anyone if it become 1 staff to 11 children and 1 staff to 1 child.

 

Alot would probably depend on the specific needs.

[ms-getaway]

I would cruise disney. I have a severly disabled child, he was a 24 week preemie who weighed only 1 pound. he is now 13. he has cp and is wheelchair bound, still in diapers, and is non-verbal. I took him took him to disney world and they were sooo very accomodating. I was scared of the whole cruise thing so he did not go with us on our last disney cruise.we took my daughter who was 7 at the time. I talked to the kids club abd they said next time he would be more than welcome!!! I guess i would have to change diapers, administer his meds, and tube feedings but they would make sure he had a great time. they were even nice enough to give us a tee shirt graduation cap, and diploma from disney sea university that his sister got, to bring home for him.

All the charaters also signed a special pillowcase in his honor. I would do the research and find a cruise line that you would feel comfortable with. these special kids deserve a vacation as well..

 

wishing you all the best.

Akeisha:)

[ilovevacations!]

I have a 13 yo daughter who is highly functioning autistic & mild mr. She is verbal but cannot read, etc. She does not "run" but will go with anyone (strangers, people she knows, etc.) if not supervised. We had her on 2 Celebrity cruises when she was 10 & 11. Each time I spoke to the head of the kids program about her & she in turn spoke to my daughters counselors in the camp. I did "downgrade" her 1 level as she is developmentally delayed & gets along better w/kids a few years younger. We are on VOS next week & I will only put her in the kids prgram if she can go into the 9 to 11 yo group as they are n ot allowed to leave without a parent. We never had any problems in the past. We found the people who are running the programs to be wonderful..

[DPurcell58]

The 9-11 can definitely sign themselves out (with parental permission). My son has done it the last 2 years on the VOS and EOS. Even though he's HFA, he sticks to the rules and we made a meeting spot each time he would leave the program.

[LNLisa]

Thank you so much for the information! I'm thinking that I will send a link to this thread to my s-i-l. They have several other children too, so I think the cost would be too prohibitive right now, but it may be something to plan/work towards if we know it is possible.

 

On my nephew, he is nonverbal. Currently he is not potty trained, but I think they're working with him on that, so he may possibly be pt in the future.

 

In the past they've taken their children camping. The first time was stressful because none of us had a plan. Since then, I think they've had several successful camping trips. So...by planning it out and talking to the cruise line ahead of time, as so many of you suggested, it might work! :D

 

I'm so glad to know that this is a possibility for them!

[time4agetaway]

Do the children's programs admit children with disabilities?

 

I have a 7-yr old nephew who is autistic and mr. His main goal in life is to be FREE! :D Unfortunately for his parents, this means constance vigilance because he will and has run away. :(.

 

 

I spoke with RCCL yesterday, because not only do I have a daughter with Down Syndrome, but my 6 year old is high functioning autistic. The cruise line indicated that children with special needs are welcome.

[sweet angel]

Please forgive me if it seems like I'm playing devil's advocate here, but if I were the parent, I would be questioning not only if the child is "welcome", but if the staff is properly trained to deal with/care for/supervise said child. Sure the cruiseline can ensure that they have extra staff in the kids club on that particular sailing, but if the staff is not knowledgeable regarding the disability, they won't be much help. Does that make sense, or am I just reading too much into it?

 

My son is almost 16 and not disabled, and I still worry about him in the teen club sometimes. :) I can't imagine how I'd be if circumstances were different.

[HookedOnCruisin'2]

..... I guess i would have to change diapers, administer his meds, and tube feedings but they would make sure he had a great time...

 

Akeisha:)

 

I wouldn't dare leave GB feed and Rx to non-medically trained strangers. I seriously doubt they would do this anyway d/t the medical liability involved. I would think that he would qualify for home nursing care. If so, you could take your nurse with you. He/she could work whatever hours medicaid covers and be off the rest of the time. The nurse could attend camp with him.

 

I do private duty pediatric nursing and have friends who have vacationed with their patients. I would pay for my own cruise and work the prescribed hours if it were my patient. Just an idea...

[hawkfish]

This is somewhat unrelated, but I thought I would offer this up, as this group might be interested.

 

My DH and I went to Curacao on our honeymoon 3 years ago. Our resort was directly across from another resort, with a small, shallow inlet in between. The resort across from us had a large group of families, all of whom had children with special needs. The resort seemed to have a lot of experience working with families with special needs, and seemed to be able to accomodate most everything they needed.

 

Because of the gently sloping beach and shallow water, the families were able to take the kids into the ocean under very safe circumstances. Several had wheelchairs with heav-duty tires that did really well in the sand, so I don't know whether those were provided by the resort. Everything was easily accessible by wheelchair, and half of the rooms at the resort were on the ground level, making those wheelchair accessible as well.

 

But the look on these kids' faces, getting into the water and floating freely was pure joy. Many families had other children with them, and you could tell that they were having the times of their lives!!

 

If you would like more information, please send information to my hotmail account: thompsonfaye. I'd be happy to provide more details.

[babybaby]

We have taken my special needs adult daughter on 3 cruises. She is mild to mod. mr. She functions at about 6-7 yrs. Cannot read, is learning impaired, autistic traits, behavior disorders, severe ADD. God Bless her, she is a sweetheart and the light of our lives.

Now let me just say it is not much of a vacation for me, but we manage to have a good time. Someone has to be with her at all times. She will go with anybody, knows no danger, and chokes easily.

I would worry to death if she was in a strangers care. So many special needs children have their own signals and ways of communicating, how would they know what the child is trying to get across. Like my child saids the opposite of what the situation is (says she is hot and is really cold).

Each child is different and has their own set of circumstances. If a parent is comfortable leaving their child and the cruise line is willing to make the effort to accomodate them, you still have to think about the rest of the group. I would not want the staff to have to give all of their time to my child and the rest of the group miss out.

So many things to consider for our little angels!