Non-verbal child at Camp Carnival

[Lady_Jag]

Hi!

My 2-year-old daughter has apraxia of speech. Essentially, this motor planning delay means that she understands a huge amount of words, but she has problems getting her mouth and tongue to actually form the words. So, for example, if you asked her what her name was, she would only be able to hum "eh-HUH-huh" instead of saying "Alyssa."

 

Anyway, my question is will she be able to participate in Camp Carnival? Granted, our cruise isn't until May 2009 so she'll be 3 by then. Plus, she has weekly speech therapy sessions that are doing wonders for her already, but I don't think she'll be able to speak THAT many more words in just 10 months time.

 

I'd really hate for my daughter to miss out on some of the fun activities just because she can't say what those activities are! :( So, do you think she can participate if at the first night's meet-and-greet, I were to explain to the counselors that she can understand them, but won't always be able to verbally answer them?

[Catrin]

I have found the girls at Camp Carnival to be WONDERFUL!!!

 

I am sure if you spend some time at the meet and greets, and explain your situation, and maybe your daughter can meet HER counselor....

 

There are so many things to do, most do not require much verbal interaction.... once she is comfortable there, I am sure she will have a great time!

 

Catrin

[Kerry's Girls]

My daughter has global delays and participated in the Carnival program the week she turned two. She was also quite a challenge for them as it was her first time in a "day care" setting, so she cried miserably each time I dropped her off. The staff, without exception, was amazing - so patient and caring. They stuck it out with her, and after awhile each day, she was having an amazing time. (I would stand around the corner and listen until she was happy.) Based on my experience, I think your daughter will be well cared for and will have a wonderful time.

 

Best,

Mia

[kat89447]

She will be fine and probably will make strides in her vocal develpement. My niece (2) is the same way and when the adult couldn't understand her it was amazing how well the other kids could and help them understand. My sister has also taught her some signals like potty and water etc. so if she has to go real fast she can signal instead of the added stress of trying to get the words out in a hurry. She is not completely potty trained yet so this is a big help with both. good luck and she will love the club.

[Lady_Jag]

Thanks so much for your replies! I feel so much better knowing that other parents have "been there, done that."

The potty sign is a good idea. My daughter already know some sign language, and I will be sure to incorporate one for potty when we start potty training next week. :eek:

[crusinmama06]

They are WONDERFUL!!!!! GREAT! AWESOME! THE BEST! :D :D :D

 

Can you tell I really liked them? lol

 

Here's our experience. My daughter (now 4) has a major speech delay. We thought she had apraxia at first. She has been in speech therapy since she was 2 years old.

 

At the time, she went on two Carnival cruises. Those couselors had NO problems communicating with her. She didn't need verbal communication, they made it work.

 

On her 3rd birthday, I took her on RCCL Freedom. I filled out all of the medical paperwork alerting them to the fact that she was speech impaired and had just had tubes placed in her ears the week before. So she would be relearning speech. I got paged 2 times the first day. The counselor said to me "Does she even speak ENGLISH? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" :eek: :mad:

 

I was so upset I told her that I didn't have any problems with her on Carnival. She said "Well we are different then Carnival. They are a daycare"

 

So I turned the counselor in. No more problems...lol.

 

So my point is that Carnival was very good with my daughter. NO problems.

[teachnh]

I have to agree with everyone about Carinval. We sailed on the Liberty. My son was three at this time and very speech delayed. I noticed his name tag had a different coloring around it as oppossed to my other children. It wasn't very noticable to everyone else but the couselors knew to look for it. They were wonderful with him and he had a great time!! Now at five he talks a lot about that cruise. While he is still getting speech therapy he is in such a better place now to start kindegarten in the fall. So, go and have a great family vacation. :)

[Lady_Jag]

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! I feel much better now. CruisinMama, you made me chuckle with your story. Good for you for reporting that idiot!

[crusinmama06]

CruisinMama, you made me chuckle with your story. Good for you for reporting that idiot!

 

Yeah hell hath no fury like a momma with an internet connection to a cruise board. :D :p

 

The live report and feedback from CC gave me the confidence to turn her in. She was pulled from my daughter's room. :D

[teachnh]

Yeah hell hath no fury like a momma with an internet connection to a cruise board. :D :p

 

:D Soo true! Good for you!

[travelinjen]

These replies about Carnival have given me some hope. I just returned from a cruise on NCL's Majesty and, the more I think about it, the more dissatisfied I am with our kid's club experience. I wasn't really sure what to expect but the patience and care you've described didn't seem to be there. I took my son (almost 3) to the kid's club twice. Normally as long as he has toys he doesn't give a hoot whether we are around or not.

 

But the first time when I came to pick him up after an hour they said he cried a lot, asked me if he ever talks and whether he had been to a babysitter before. He has been going to nursery school and loves it there. We never had a problem dropping him off. He talks but not a lot.

 

I tried again to take him several days later but this time I waited in the hall for a minute or two. Sure enough, they were already talking to him in a stern voice and telling him to "join the group", soon he was crying. I couldn't see what was going on so maybe he was doing something he shouldn't but to me it sounded like they didn't give him much of a chance. I went back in and calmed him down. I stayed while he played for awhile and he was fine. They told me I would have to go so I left but 20 minutes later I got a page to come back.

 

I returned to find him crying in a corner and no one doing anything to comfort him. At first I figured maybe it just didn't work out with him and I was expecting too much from the staff but at the same time I never saw anyone try to engage him the whole time. This was the one dark spot on a great cruise, next time I will definitely consider cruising with Carnival.

[crusinmama06]

Sure enough, they were already talking to him in a stern voice and telling him to "join the group", soon he was crying.

 

That was exactly what happened to us on RCCL. They kept telling our daughter to join the group, she didn't want to join the group. At the time, not having a huge vocabulary, she was unable to relate to her peers (things have changed now). But she preferred playing by herself. And they got angry with her. They even went as far to tell me that "She wanted to slide on the slides. It was time for crafts so we gave her a strike" :rolleyes:

 

That was the big difference I noticed between Carnival and other cruiselines....when the kids are doing their own thing, as long as they arent harming themselves or others...lol, the counselors will not force them into circle time.

 

I personally think the Carnival staff are more equipped to handle YOUNG children.

 

I'll let you all know how Disney handles her. I know how they were with my oldest, but she was VERY vocal from a young age.

[KandMGIn]

Not to be a stickler...but it is dyspraxia...not apraxia. Apraxia happens to adults after a stroke. Anyway...my DS has Developmental Dyspraxia and we cruised on the Carnival Conquest after he just turned 4. I found the staff very receptive and also patient with him. They let him get his words out on his own and did not finish his sentences, which many people did do...that really annoyed him!

[crusinmama06]

Not to be a stickler...but it is dyspraxia...not apraxia. Apraxia happens to adults after a stroke. Anyway...my DS has Developmental Dyspraxia and we cruised on the Carnival Conquest after he just turned 4. I found the staff very receptive and also patient with him. They let him get his words out on his own and did not finish his sentences, which many people did do...that really annoyed him!

 

They do call it Apraxia in children too. When they were testing my child, some other moms on my online moms group were also going through the same thing. All of our therapists called it "apraxia". I had never heard of it before they started testing her for it.

 

But you're right, it is also known as Dyspraxia.

 

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/

[KandMGIn]

When you aquire it, it is apraxia of speech. When you are born with it, it is developmental..and then it is dyspraxia. Unfortunatley, the words bacame all meshed together and now, people seem to use each word for the developmental type...

 

I am on the EOS soon and am worried now about the treatment of speech impared kids....Anyine have anything good to say about RCL or the EOS in particular?

[crusinmama06]

I am on the EOS soon and am worried now about the treatment of speech impared kids....Anyine have anything good to say about RCL or the EOS in particular?

 

Just stay on top of them and be prepared to go to the head of AO if you notice ANY problems with the counselors. Don't let them blow off your concerns. They made it seem like my daughter was just being a bad kid. :rolleyes:

 

Now, with that being said, the AO staff on Freedom were a NEW staff...especially the one girl that we had the problem with. She had only been employed with RCCL for 2 weeks. I have read reports about the EOS staff and since they have been there longer, they seem to know what they are doing.

[SEASPORT]

Last year my 4 year old autistic son did fine @ NCL's kids program. He has the vocabulary of a two year old and is difficult to understand. We were honest with the staff and they gave us a pager in case of a problem. I learned to tip the kids club staff on the first day(it goes a long way). He had a good time and they only called us once because he didn't like the magic show. Have a great trip:) :) :)

[LHP]

Our youngest son has Autism and we started cruising with him when he was 5. He had already had 2 years of speech therapy by then, which helped. He also has Ataxia and has been in physical and occupational therapy since he was less than a year old.

 

Camp Carnival has always been wonderful with him. They have done things like keep him in a lower age group twice, when it was appropriate.

 

He is now 17 and has been through every age group on most of the Carnival ships and the care has been consistantly wonderful every time.

 

Now this is not to say you can't get a counselor who isn't "with it". We have been blessed with excellent care all these years.

 

As he got older, I tried to always be realistic. For example, when he was in the 9-11 age group they would do pool sessions. He LOVES to play "around water" but he could not swim. The counselors offered to take him to this session but I suggested that I take him. That way, he could enjoy the pool time with the other kids and the counselors did not have the added stress of watching a special needs child that could not swim. He had a wonderful time and the counselors truly appreciated the fact I was willing to help.

 

Now he is in Club O2 and I dread the day he is to old for that....because it is his reason for cruising. The Club O2 directors have always been so wonderful with him.

 

He will be a Milestone Rewards Member by the end of the year and Camp Carnival is the reason!!

You just can't put a price on a special needs kid getting to be "normal" for an entire cruise and that is the gift they have always given him.

[GwenyP]

Another one here giving a thumbs up for Camp Carnival. My four-year-old has global developmental delays due to a genetic disorder called mitochondrial disease. Anyway, I emailed the director of Camp Carnival before the cruise and told her about Anna's needs and she assured me she would be fine. She gave the counselors on the ship the heads up that Anna was going to be there so when we boarded they were already looking for her at orientation.

 

After that cruise, when planning our next one, I called Princess and Royal Caribbean to inquire about how Anna would be handled and was pretty much blown off. So, we've got another cruise with Carnival booked for November. It's also very helpful that they change diapers, which the other cruise lines, Disney included, don't do.

 

One thing we definitely do is book our cruises for the off-season so there will be far fewer kids in the club. It's less overwhelming for Anna and it gives the counselors more time to spend with her.

[chrystine]

My son has PDD- he is 8 years and about to go on his 9th cruise. We have always had wonderful experiences with Camp Carnival (starting when he was age 2). The counselors were always accomodating and understanding. If he wanted to play alone and not join a group, he was allowed to do so. We had the opposite experience on a few other cruise lines' programs were he was reprimanded for not be a "joiner". Now that he is older, camp has been easier for us (on other lines) but when he was young, Carnival was by far the best. He loves cruising and always seems to make great strides and improvements when we travel.

[2ndguesser]

WOW - everyone's making me wish I had booked a Carnival cruise. They sound absolutely wonderful.

 

Now I'm a little nervous about the kids club at NCL. I wish they didn't force the kids to join the group. My almost 5 yo is in the process of being diagnosed for ADHD and has a really short attention span. he does not do circle time well. My 3 year old is extremely slow to warm up and when he meets new people and tries to talk he can only mouth the words - no sounds come out! I hope they do well in Kids Klub. I really desperately need a break from them as I am a SAHM and we don't have any family nearby or babysitters we use regularly.

[isk8]

We have a cruise booked on Freedom of the Seas in Sept 2009. My son has high functioning autism. He'll be 4 at the time of the cruise. His issues are primarily social - he has trouble playing with other kids, and he has a language delay - both receptive and expressive.

 

We booked FOS primarily for Adventure Ocean and the H2O Zone. He loves swimming. But after reading this thread, I'm thinking we should have booked on Carnival. We have time to switch since our cruise is over a year away.

 

Does anyone have any advice? I'm sure if we stay on FOS, everything would be fine. And my son is making great strides with therapy, so his deficits may not be that bad next year. On the other hand, if Carnival handles atypical kids better, it makes sense for us to cruise with them.

 

We've never been on RCL, but we've cruised Carnival in the past (before kids!) and had a very good time.

 

Thanks!

[chrystine]

We have a cruise booked on Freedom of the Seas in Sept 2009. My son has high functioning autism. He'll be 4 at the time of the cruise. His issues are primarily social - he has trouble playing with other kids, and he has a language delay - both receptive and expressive.

 

We booked FOS primarily for Adventure Ocean and the H2O Zone. He loves swimming. But after reading this thread, I'm thinking we should have booked on Carnival. We have time to switch since our cruise is over a year away.

 

Does anyone have any advice? I'm sure if we stay on FOS, everything would be fine. And my son is making great strides with therapy, so his deficits may not be that bad next year. On the other hand, if Carnival handles atypical kids better, it makes sense for us to cruise with them.

 

We've never been on RCL, but we've cruised Carnival in the past (before kids!) and had a very good time.

Thanks!

 

I'm sure your son will be fine on the Freedom since he is high functioning. We sailed on the Liberty last year and my son enjoyed AO very much. He was 7 at the time. We had a not so great camp experience on the Serenade when my son was 3 but I think that was a function of the ship being new and the counselors not being experienced with special needs children.

 

Don't worry about it too much and enjoy your cruise :)

[crusinmama06]

We have a cruise booked on Freedom of the Seas in Sept 2009. My son has high functioning autism. He'll be 4 at the time of the cruise. His issues are primarily social - he has trouble playing with other kids, and he has a language delay - both receptive and expressive.

 

We booked FOS primarily for Adventure Ocean and the H2O Zone. He loves swimming. But after reading this thread, I'm thinking we should have booked on Carnival. We have time to switch since our cruise is over a year away.

 

Does anyone have any advice? I'm sure if we stay on FOS, everything would be fine. And my son is making great strides with therapy, so his deficits may not be that bad next year. On the other hand, if Carnival handles atypical kids better, it makes sense for us to cruise with them.

 

We've never been on RCL, but we've cruised Carnival in the past (before kids!) and had a very good time.

 

Thanks!

 

 

I honestly don't know what to say to this. Usually I would say "Hey he'll be fine, go for it"...but I dunno since our situation was on Freedom. With that being said, Freedom of the Seas was our FAVORITE cruise ship, so I would hate to see you (and him) miss the experience of that ship. :(

 

I know I was able to have the counselor removed. But I can't lie and say that their program wasn't structured because it was. When it was craft time EVERYONE had to do crafts. When it was dance time EVERYONE had to do dancing. On other ships the kids kind of joined in what they wanted and did stuff on their own if they didn't want to do the scheduled task.

 

For some reason they wanted to 3-5 year olds to be very structured but in my older daughter's group (6-8) they could choose to play the games or go off and be on the computers.

 

I won't be back on RCCL until February 09 (Independence) so I will come back and see if it is the entire program or just that staff for that week.

 

On every other cruiseline - the kids could CHOOSE to do the schedule task or to play with the toys/slides.

 

Maybe someone here has a child who has been in the 3-5 year old group on RCCL recently and can tell us if they allowed to children to choose the tasks they want to do?

[chrystine]

Michele poses a good point. Perhaps RCI's AO is more structured for the 3-5 age group fleetwide since her experience on the Freedom sounds a little similar to our experience on the Serenade when my son was 3.

 

My son was actually reprimanded for not wanting to join in some of the group activities. One of the counselors told me my son was anti-social. He was only 3 years old lol. We tried the program for 2 days and he would give me a look when we dropped him off like I was sending him to jail. Each time we picked up him, he was crying and being forced to participate in a group activity. We chose to leave him out of AO the rest of the cruise.

 

This experience was a great shock to us as we cruised with Carnival 2 times in the year prior to the Serenade cruise and had the most positive experiences. My son never wanted to leave Camp Carnival and after the first day, he was so comfortable with the other kids and counselors that he wanted to join in most of the group activities, but was never forced to do so and could take breaks as needed.

 

But, like I said previously, my son enjoyed AO on the Liberty of the Seas last fall. Perhaps the 6-8 group is less structured than the 3-5 group? I never really considered that but it is possible. I just chalked it up to getting the wrong counselors on the last RCI cruise.

 

Good luck with your decision!