AO Program & Child w/ Disability

[SaratogaTrunk]

Has anyone used the Adventure Ocean program for a child w/ a disability?

 

If so, any tips, comments, etc. would be appreciated :)!

 

My son is a visually-impaired 10 year old. He is blind in one eye, sighted in the other. No depth perception, which can result in tripping (can't see steps, drop offs, uneven terrain). He's a good golfer (he has control of the ball), but cannot catch a ball coming at him (hard to determine where it is in space). He's extremely photosensitive and wears transition (darkening) glasses w/ a cap when outdoors.

He cannot participate in any contact sports due to being at high risk for retinal detachment (common to his medical condition). He does exceptionally well once he learns the layout. He has an incredible memory-- a common trait w/ VI ppl.

 

Our TA has been in contact w/ RCCL's special services department-- I spoke w/ them last week. SS assured me that AO staff are all trained professionals w/ education backgrounds (most w/ degrees) and that they would be looking forward to accommodating my son. Sounds great....but....???

 

We have a drs. statement to provide upon boarding. We'll be able to board early to allow DS time to get acclimated to his new surroundings as well as to meet the AO staff.

 

I have to admit I'm a bit nervous!!:(

[crusinmama06]

I can *usually* say that all of the AO counselors are fabulous and great to deal with kids with disabilities. There have been many here that will report that.

 

But I did run into one new counselor last year on Freedom. She needed a few lessons on how to deal with children. :rolleyes: And frankly she picked the wrong mama to deal with (she picked the one with the big mouth and a internet connection to a cruise community ;) )

 

So when we took our speech delayed 3 year old to AO, I told them that she had a hearing impairment. Just had surgery the week before. And she is basically just hearing language clearly for the first time. I told them that she would have a hard time communicating ALOT with them. She could speak...but it was delayed.

 

Well after the first day the counselor wanted to kick her out. She asked me "Does she speak English??????" :mad:

 

So believe me, I went to the head of AO who removed this counselor from my daughter's group. But like I said, I am pretty sure this was an isolated incident.

[SaratogaTrunk]

But I did run into one new counselor last year on Freedom. She needed a few lessons on how to deal with children. :rolleyes: And frankly she picked the wrong mama to deal with (she picked the one with the big mouth and a internet connection to a cruise community ;) )

 

So when we took our speech delayed 3 year old to AO, I told them that she had a hearing impairment. Just had surgery the week before. And she is basically just hearing language clearly for the first time. I told them that she would have a hard time communicating ALOT with them. She could speak...but it was delayed.

 

Well after the first day the counselor wanted to kick her out. She asked me "Does she speak English??????" :mad:

 

So believe me, I went to the head of AO who removed this counselor from my daughter's group. But like I said, I am pretty sure this was an isolated incident.

 

Hi Michelle~

 

How awful!! The lack of understanding astounds me. You handled the situation well and I'm sure your daughter ended up having a wonderful experience :D. Did she receive a cochlear implant? How is she doing now?

 

Angela

[crusinmama06]

Hi Michelle~

 

How awful!! The lack of understanding astounds me. You handled the situation well and I'm sure your daughter ended up having a wonderful experience :D. Did she receive a cochlear implant? How is she doing now?

 

Angela

 

Actually it was less intense than that :) She had hearing loss due to constant fluid in her ears. We started her in speech therapy right before she turned 2. The therapist never tested her hearing and when I asked about it, she said she *could* hear fine (she thought) :rolleyes:

So after a year of therapy I took her to a hearing specialist who said she DID have severe hearing loss. And would catch up if the fluid was corrected with tubes.

 

So the poor kid could never really hear speech and that's what contributed to her lack of ability to communicate.

 

She got the tubes the week before the cruise, the doctor didn't even want to wait till we got back.

 

It's been 1 year since that and NOW she won't stop talking. ;) :D I guess she had alot to say and now she is just trying to make up for it...lol.

 

She still goes to therapy (a different therapist) 2x/week.

 

I can tell you that the Camp Carnival counselors (although I don't love the carnival ships) treated her like a star. They couldn't have been nicer. I hope you have a better experience with the Explorer Counselors than I had with the Freedom ones. :)

[njmomof2]

We just got off the Mariner and there was a boy who became friends with my son. He was in a wheelchair but participated in just about every activity that was available (even beat my son in bball). My son never mentioned that there was any issue with his abilities or special needs, and I ran into his parents one morning and asked about him...apparently he was sleeping off a late night in AO...the kids had an evening plan of trashing AO during the late night hours (but then had to clean the entire mess up again!). He didn't get in until 1 AM. I imagine that if there were any issues with his disability, they would have mentioned it.

[SaratogaTrunk]

We just got off the Mariner and there was a boy who became friends with my son. He was in a wheelchair but participated in just about every activity that was available (even beat my son in bball). My son never mentioned that there was any issue with his abilities or special needs, and I ran into his parents one morning and asked about him...apparently he was sleeping off a late night in AO...the kids had an evening plan of trashing AO during the late night hours (but then had to clean the entire mess up again!). He didn't get in until 1 AM. I imagine that if there were any issues with his disability, they would have mentioned it.

 

Hi Janet~

 

How old are the boys? It sounds like your son's pal was holding his own quite well :D! I hope my son will meet some other kids his age-- it's no fun spending all your time w/ mom/dad/g'ma. etc.! BTW-- I used to live in North Jersey-- Wayne and Highland Lakes (Sussex Cty.) A very pretty area!

[future1sttimecruiser]

Does anyone that has children with ASD (Autism) have experience with the kids clubs on RCL? I would like to book a 7 day FOS cruise next summer, but of course, I am a little aprehensive about leaving him alone in a new situation. I am also wondering, what is the staff to counselor ratio like? Does RCL give you any flexibility in determining which kids club is appropriate? For example, depending on the date of sailing, my son will be 6 or 7. What if I find that the 3-5 year kids club is more appropriate? Will they allow me to schedule him for that club, or would I have to use the 6-8 club? TIA for any assistance!

[tlmaule]

I don't have any experience with RCL - I also have a 7yo DS with ASD and called a few cruise lines for info before we decided on Carnival. I did speak with someone from RCL who could not provide any specific info for me. On the other hand, the Carnival folks have been SO helpful! I have spoken to their special needs dept as well as to the head of Camp Carnival at their home office. She spent a good 20 minutes talking to me and reassuring me that DS will have a terrific time. She did say that for ASD kids they are more flexible with the age groupings, and that once we were on board, we could see which group of kids he would be more comfortable with. She also contacted the head of the Camp onboard the ship to pre-introduce our son, so we're looking forward to the whole experience.

 

I do know that RCL has experience with ASD kids - I googled autism and cruises and found a travel agency that books group and single cruises for families with autism (autism on the seas (all one word) dot com) and they use RCL for their trips. Sounds like that would be fun!

 

Anyway, best of luck with your planned trip. We're going in 5 days (DS has been counting them down on his calendar :) ) so I'll let you know how things went.

 

:cool: Tamara

[cherishrwil]

My 2 year old son has ASD and we will be going on a cruise this summer on RCL. He will be 3 at the time of the cruise and will be going to the Adventure Ocean Kids Club. Even though he probably won't be potty trained by then they are allowing him to participate with a signed waiver from me and they will just page me to come and change his diapers. RCL is very accomadating with all of our needs and will be allowing us to have priority check-in and desembarkation as well as a private muster area inside the ship. They will also be making all of his special GF/CF meals. There is a travel agency, www.autismontheseas.com that can help you book your cruise but you can also call RCL special needs dept. and ask for all of your special needs request to be met.

 

Robyn

[future1sttimecruiser]

Thanks to everyone for your help! I am feeling better about it now. I am still interested to see how good the counselors are so if anyone has feedback about that I would really appreciate the information. :)

[kitty9]

I have seen the counselors work quite well with kids who are developmentally delayed, hearing impaired, autistic, blind, cerebral palsey and other impairments, and they do a great job. All you really need to do is point out to the counselors what your son needs, and they really will try and do everything you ask.

[Nekochan]

I've been on 3 cruises where my son was in the kids program - I let the counselors know his issues (ADD, processing and some ASD behavior) there were no problems. My son has an optic nerve coloboma in one eye and wears eyeglasses for protection - he's been wearing them since he was around 3 and is so used to them he can't go around without them.

[vicxen]

I have two sons, both on the autism spectrum, ages 8 and 12. I just came back from a cruise on RC arranged by Autism on the Seas. We had a fantastic time!

 

Their staff worked with the Adventure Ocean staff; in fact we had a dedicated AO staff person who was with our group for lots of our private events and he was great. It was amazing to be able to take my kids to AO and just check them in and... go relax! They also got to participate in the events like the Pirate Night and talent show.

 

I could go on and on, but I had high hopes for the cruise and all my expectations were exceeded. We are planning to go again next year! The website is www.autismontheseas.com.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, let me know and I will try to come back to answer them.

[DPurcell58]

We've taken our now 14 yr old 3 times on the Explorer. He's HFA - PDD-NOS, AO has been great with him. This last time they still let him be in the 9-11 yr group, since he knows all the rules and his behavior is fine. Actually, when we left the counselor told me he had been a pleasure. The 12-14 is too unstructured. Not really sure what we'll do in the future because of the way the groups are, he'll probably just leave if there aren't activities going on. But for a younger child, things work out just fine.