"Aging down" for teen with autism on RCI

I am traveling with a 15 year old daughter who has autism. I chose RCI because I had read that they allow kids with autism to adjust their Ocean Adventure group depending on their needs. This is huge for us. I have spoken with RCI special needs representative who reiterated that she will be able to "age down". However, I just came across something on the RCI website for autism that has me worried they will not do this for a15 year-old. This is not what i have heard or was verbally told; but the person i spoke with that told me she would be fully taken care of never asked her age and might have assumed she was a child and not a teen. Now im a little worried. (Not that we plan on putting her in AO very often, but my husband and I have a few avtivities planned on our sea days that we can not do together unless she is supervised.) Our daughter would likely be happiest where a 8-10 year old would be. She loves to play on computers/wii, color and play with figurines (If they still have Little People toy she would be thrilled.) She is extremely easy to manage and prefers to be by herself playing quietly. There is no way she would enjoy or be safe in the minimally-supervised teen areas.

Can anyone tell me if there is going to be a problem aging her down when we get there? I'm afraid to call and confirm and get the answer that they only do this under age 11. We will adjust accordingly, of course, but I would love to know of any experiences out there.

Call the "Special Needs" dept....they deal with this sort of thing all the time. Then, have them send you info in writing....

OP says she's already called Special Needs.

I think she's looking for someone with personal experience of the policy on her ship.

OP: If you do get on board and find that your daughter can't be placed in a lower age group, can you and your husband take turns at doing the activities you want to do, with one of you staying with your daughter?

Emailing the special needs department is your best bet, but honestly I've found a lot of confusion between the people who make prior arrangements for cruises and what actually happens on the ship. If the special needs department confirms in writing that you will be able to put her in a younger group, you will have a stronger case to make with the kids club staff. I would very politely - and ideally out of earshot of other parents - request this accommodation and hopefully they will grant it. If you have something in writing, you can also go to guest services and ask for a manager for help. But I wouldn't feel 100% confident about this until I was on the boat and spoke to the kids club staff, since sometimes they take things like this at their discretion and it is a matter of getting lucky and finding a kind employee wiling to help you.

Thank you, very good advice.

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In my experience, the aging down is for kids who would be in the kids clubs, not the teen club. For example, you can put your 9-11 year old in the 6-8 group because these are very similar programs and often are combined.

Teens are generally not allowed to go to the younger areas for liability. Teens are big compared to other children - a child entering puberty will grow 4-5 inches in a year or two. So many parents of 9-year-olds will not be happy with a 15-year-old in that group. Whatever the special needs department tells you can be overruled by the staff on the ship.

The teen areas are also open - kids can come and go. There is no way for the staff to prevent a teen from leaving. This is not true for the younger groups. This makes it even more challenging for children with autism.

Our last cruise, we gave up relying on trying to do it on our own and booked a group tour through Autism on the Seas. Not sure how far into your planning process you are, but it might be worth it to check and see if they are running a cruise during the time frame you are looking for. They will provide care for your teen and target it to her abilities (younger toys, contained area, etc)