Child with Autism Cruising on Carnival

[lucigo]

We are leaving Saturday out of New Orleans, looking forward to a week with my husband and youngest...even brought 3 books, have high hopes of actually being able to open them! LOL

 

We have been teaching B to snorkel in the pool! I'm so excited about possibly being able to take him out to see some fish!! I got a blow-up chair/raft that he can sit in or lay on and put his face in the water. Of course nothing ever goes as planned but at least I have a plan, right!!?? LOL

 

I have also decided to bring the "disney stroller" as I think we will want to do some shopping in Cozumel and I have a feeling its that or DH carrying him and he is just too big for that. Since he is 8, I know he "should" be walking but I'm getting over myself and doing what works. And along the same lines, yes we are bringing a magna doodle. :rolleyes::D

[kerrytens]

We are leaving Saturday out of New Orleans, looking forward to a week with my husband and youngest...even brought 3 books, have high hopes of actually being able to open them! LOL

 

We have been teaching B to snorkel in the pool! I'm so excited about possibly being able to take him out to see some fish!! I got a blow-up chair/raft that he can sit in or lay on and put his face in the water. Of course nothing ever goes as planned but at least I have a plan, right!!?? LOL

 

I have also decided to bring the "disney stroller" as I think we will want to do some shopping in Cozumel and I have a feeling its that or DH carrying him and he is just too big for that. Since he is 8, I know he "should" be walking but I'm getting over myself and doing what works. And along the same lines, yes we are bringing a magna doodle. :rolleyes::D

Have a GREAT cruise Luci!!!! Can't wait for the review upon your return. Have fun:D

[lucigo]

Have a GREAT cruise Luci!!!! Can't wait for the review upon your return. Have fun:D

 

Thanks, I'm excited...now this "tropical wave" better not become a problem!

 

Yesterday I came home and asked B if he wanted to see my "cruise toes" as I had just gotten my cruise pedicure. He comes running in and says Sure!! That should have been my indication it was going to go wrong as why would an 8yo boy care about my pedicure LOL He looks and says, Uhh mommy those are not cruise ships on your toes, those are just flowers!

[kerrytens]

Thanks, I'm excited...now this "tropical wave" better not become a problem!

 

Yesterday I came home and asked B if he wanted to see my "cruise toes" as I had just gotten my cruise pedicure. He comes running in and says Sure!! That should have been my indication it was going to go wrong as why would an 8yo boy care about my pedicure LOL He looks and says, Uhh mommy those are not cruise ships on your toes, those are just flowers!

Gotta luv him:D I keep trying to see if my chickie will let me do her toes but no go so far. I have 4 more months to get her used to the idea of having toes like mine. Hehehe

[lucigo]

Gotta luv him:D I keep trying to see if my chickie will let me do her toes but no go so far. I have 4 more months to get her used to the idea of having toes like mine. Hehehe

 

Aww that would be fun, maybe she would go for the Del Sol ones?? You could always resort to painting while she is asleep LOL

[kerrytens]

Aww that would be fun, maybe she would go for the Del Sol ones?? You could always resort to painting while she is asleep LOL

:eek: And deal with the "oh no, my toes" in the morning??? No way. :D

 

I will check out Del Sol for sure.

[blondietink]

We had a wondeful experience with the special needs department at Carnival in February, even though my special needs "kids" were 19 and 20 years old at the time. The cruise could not have been better. My 19 yo with Autism is more independent than my 21 yo with Down syndrome, so the younger one got more freedom around the ship. The crew was wonderful to both of them and treated them like kings!

 

However, what really surprised me was the reactions of the passengers. I had many, many people come up to me and ask about my sons, how well behaved they were, how it was wonderful to see disabled people on the ship, how their own children taught special needs children, their grandchild had special needs and "we" gave them ideas on how they could successfully bring their own grandchildren on a cruise, etc. Even when I was making a run late at night by myself to get coffee or ice cream, people would talk to me in the elevator. People were genuinely interested and nice. The whole experience was so different than Disney World. While the staff at Disney World is always accommoting and helpful, the other tourists can sometimes make it less than magical, if you know what I mean.

 

So, our next cruise is right after Thanksgiving and we are all so excited. We are following it with a week to take in the Christmas decorations at Disney World, which we aren't as excited about. First time in over 10 years I would rather do a vacation to someplace other than Disney World! And, it's more affordable, too!

[momof3cruisers]

I also think that parents of special needs kids learn what their kid's triggers are - it is easy to redirect when you know something will set your kid off (and bring on that dreaded public display of a meltdown. LOL)

Very much so!

 

I have an 11 year old who is PDD-NOS with asberger's symptoms. (OR something like that. :rolleyes:) He basically is at a normal functional level except in certain situations.....and then it gets bad. We know those situations and I am relieved to find out about the special needs department at Carnival as we will be traveling with them in Jan.

 

Tell me if any of you have dealt with this....we cannot do an alternate option for muster as far as him staying in the room. He will hear those announcements and completely lose it that they are saying everyone has to be there and he is not. He has VERY black and white thinking. NO compromise.

 

However, that whole standing in your area with everyone squished together is not an option either. When we travelled on the Paradise, our muster station was on the lido deck and we just sat in a big area with chairs in it. (He was not there, but that would work fine for him.) Is there anyway to find out about where your muster would be so I can figure out how to handle it? Any other ideas?

 

Boarding I think he will be okay. He can wait, he just can't have all those people so close to him.

 

Good to know about the writing on their hand. He is NOT going to wear that bracelet all week. He deals with it at the Y because it comes off as soon as he is done in the pool.

 

I will be requesting a table alone. Didn't know I could do that. I really want to do assigned dining but it will be much more relaxing for us if no one else is at the table. (Figured we were going to have to do Anytime to make sure we got a table to ourselves.) Getting him to deal with the attentiveness of the waiters will be interesting enough.:)

[kerrytens]

Very much so!

 

Tell me if any of you have dealt with this....we cannot do an alternate option for muster as far as him staying in the room. He will hear those announcements and completely lose it that they are saying everyone has to be there and he is not. He has VERY black and white thinking. NO compromise.

 

However, that whole standing in your area with everyone squished together is not an option either. When we travelled on the Paradise, our muster station was on the lido deck and we just sat in a big area with chairs in it. (He was not there, but that would work fine for him.) Is there anyway to find out about where your muster would be so I can figure out how to handle it? Any other ideas?

 

:)

We had arranged a private muster drill on Carnival. They arranged for a few people to meet in the library. Would that help your son? At least he would be able to attend 'a' muster drill;) He would still go with the other pax but it will be held in the quiet and calmness of the library. Someone will come in and explain everything for you. I can sympathize with the black and white thing completely!

[MreenD]

Are you familiar with Autism On The Seas? They will arrange all the special needs for you on your cruise and will also provide you with great "extras" including social stories and t-shirts. They act as a travel agent without any fees charged to you. You can find them on the web and also facebook.

 

The person with autism does not have to be a young child--they make arrangements for adults also.

 

Autism on the Seas also books sponsored cruises every few months where they have trained staff to care for the person with autism and planned events, etc.

 

We used them for our first cruise (son was 15 at the time) and we were treated like royalty on the cruise due to Autism on the Seas prearrangements.

 

I don't have a financial interest in this company--just love what they do for us families with children with autism! :-)

 

Hope this helps.

 

Maureen :-)

Edited August 2, 2011 by MreenD

[momof3cruisers]

We had arranged a private muster drill on Carnival. They arranged for a few people to meet in the library. Would that help your son? At least he would be able to attend 'a' muster drill;) He would still go with the other pax but it will be held in the quiet and calmness of the library. Someone will come in and explain everything for you. I can sympathize with the black and white thing completely!

 

Yes, that is exactly what he would need. Some people is just fine just not being squished together. And then he will be following the rules too. Thanks!

[jenniferafisher]

I just called carnival cruise lines to see if I could request not to have my son's room cleaned during our 4 night cruise. He is 14 years high functioning autism old he is verbal but prefers to stay in his room and stem with beads while listening to music or looking up preferred topics on the internet. He his able to understand safety directions and evacuation procures if needed. The customer service representative said that I must remain with him at all times during the cruise and that is carnival's policy I asked her to send that to me in writing and she continued to leave me on hold for 30 minutes. When I had the chance I notified her that is not what I read online about children with special needs is this: 

If a child with Autism is cruising, the family should meet with Guest Services upon embarkation to receive safety information and accommodations for the safety briefing. If I have a high functioning child that I know can be in his stateroom safely and communicate with me via mobile phone for his wants and that is what he prefers why would carnival demand when they are not familiar with his capabilities. If he prefers to stay in his room all trip and drink soda and eat chicken nuggets. He has no problem letting me know if he wants to venture out or not. My request for opting out of room service such not raise an issue. I prefer not to have a stranger disturbing him in his personal space!!!

 

Edited January 4, 2019 by jenniferafisher

[spookwife]

You do realize this topic is 8 years old right?  But you cannot demand/request zero cleaning.  At minimum the cabin stewards need access once per day or every other day.  They are required to check and make sure everything is in working condition, that the place isn’t being destroyed and that illegal items are not being used or stored.  Furthermore, they may have issues with him being in the cabin alone.even if your cabin is across the hall, adjacent or even connecting.  This is especially true during port calls if you leave the ship.

[jenniferafisher]

39 minutes ago, spookwife said:

You do realize this topic is 8 years old right?  But you cannot demand/request zero cleaning.  At minimum the cabin stewards need access once per day or every other day.  They are required to check and make sure everything is in working condition, that the place isn’t being destroyed and that illegal items are not being used or stored.  Furthermore, they may have issues with him being in the cabin alone.even if your cabin is across the hall, adjacent or even connecting.  This is especially true during port calls if you leave the ship.

obviously inport if I left the ship he would come as well, I didn't think I had to spell that out. This is referring to our time on board. If I want to go eat or swim and he does not he is old enough and functional enough to supervise himself. As far as the room cleaning, if they would like to schedule a time each day to come and inspect for contraband or room condition I would be open to that and so would my son he loves routine but it would have to be an inspection down to the minute. I don't want them coming in a moving anything and room cleaning does have a tendency to do so. If he has his comic book on an unmade bed and someone moves it to make the bed and puts it back or in another location he will be very upset to the point he will not stop taking about it most likely for months. This is the type of situations that would have to be avoided. But to demand that he must stay by my side 24/7 at his age and capability level is absurd!!! Is it discrimination. Not all individuals on the spectrum have the same needs and they shouldn't have the same requirements!

Edited January 5, 2019 by jenniferafisher

[spookwife]

If he is that rigid, then why are  you taking cruises?  No one can demand strict adherence to their ( pax) schedule by cruise staff under any circumstances.  a ‘normal’ teenager would be subject to the same requirements pertaining to cabin access by staff.  The cabins are serviced at the same time each day: during breakfast hours and during dinner hours.  But no you cannot demand a specific time.  

 

Best you can hope for is to have a meeting with with his cabin steward on the first day where you can discuss your concerns.  But they have their own requirements to adhere by.  

 

on board, the Captain is judge jury and executioner, and if their policy is  kids not in supervised activities must be with adults, then so be it.  The phone rep has no idea of your son’s abilities or maturity and is probably quoting a broad policy regarding Spectrum individuals regardless of age or status.  

 

There are far far more stories of teenagers running wild and creating havoc than there are of ones hiding in the cabin all day and no one, quite frankly, takes a parents’ word that their little angel is practically perfect in every way. spectrum or not.

[Essiesmom]

If he is rigid about routine, then establish that routine with him and the cabin steward.  Carnival gives you the option of morning and/or evening service.  Establish with your son the time to leave for breakfast - or some other activity.  Set that with the cabin steward.  And instruct the steward not to move or adjust anything on his bed.  And why.  It certainly ought to be doable.  EM