HAL and autistic children

[kaiiak]

Not sure if this is the place to post, or the family board would be better. Anyways, here is my dilemma. I booked a cruise on the Eurodam for April 2012. When we booked the cruise (a year in advance) we were in the process of getting our 2year old tested and identified as having autism. He has since been diagnosed, and now I am getting cold feet regarding this cruise.

 

When booking, I figured he would be potty-trained by the time we cruised - he will be 3 and 3 months when we sail. Now, however I am really thinking the potty training will be delayed, as most of his other skills are about a year behind his age. My concern is if he is not potty-trained he may be upset the whole time that he can't swim (I can try bringing the little blow up pool for him to splash in on deck).

 

My question is will Club HAL allow him in if he is not potty-trained since the delay is technically part of his disability? We were really looking forward to him participating in Club HAL for a few hours a few times on the trip. Its nice for him to be around his typically developing peers, even if he can't communicate with them yet, and just watches them.

 

Other than that, I think he would be a fine traveler on a cruise. He is a very "mellow" child, doesn't really have tantrums often, goes to a regular preschool 2 days a week and seems happy there, is use to eating out at restaurants, etc. Its just his happiness on the cruise I am worried about. We went to Maui last summer and had a fabulous time there, so I am considering canceling the cruise in favor of Maui again, but my husband and older son (15) are REALLY looking forward to cruising again. Any advice??? I have lots of time to decide...

[fireboat]

I think that you will find that the HAL Kids programs have a very reasonable amount of kids in each age group. So your child will not get lost among the masses.

 

Our kids have food concerns and we were able to get in contact with HAL. We filled out some paper work, which set our expectation low. When we got on board, our kids could not have been treated any better.

 

You should contact HAL and speak with someone who can answer all your questions and hopefully alleviate some of your concerns. He/she should be able set your expectations. Leave it to the on-board staff to exceed them.

 

Happy Travels!

[IRL_Joanie]

Not sure if this is the place to post, or the family board would be better. Anyways, here is my dilemma. I booked a cruise on the Eurodam for April 2012. When we booked the cruise (a year in advance) we were in the process of getting our 2year old tested and identified as having autism. He has since been diagnosed, and now I am getting cold feet regarding this cruise.

 

When booking, I figured he would be potty-trained by the time we cruised - he will be 3 and 3 months when we sail. Now, however I am really thinking the potty training will be delayed, as most of his other skills are about a year behind his age. My concern is if he is not potty-trained he may be upset the whole time that he can't swim (I can try bringing the little blow up pool for him to splash in on deck).

 

My question is will Club HAL allow him in if he is not potty-trained since the delay is technically part of his disability? We were really looking forward to him participating in Club HAL for a few hours a few times on the trip. Its nice for him to be around his typically developing peers, even if he can't communicate with them yet, and just watches them.

 

Other than that, I think he would be a fine traveler on a cruise. He is a very "mellow" child, doesn't really have tantrums often, goes to a regular preschool 2 days a week and seems happy there, is use to eating out at restaurants, etc. Its just his happiness on the cruise I am worried about. We went to Maui last summer and had a fabulous time there, so I am considering canceling the cruise in favor of Maui again, but my husband and older son (15) are REALLY looking forward to cruising again. Any advice??? I have lots of time to decide...

 

Had to make sure before I responded to your questions, but here it is:

 

* Club HAL® — Kids*: Children, ages 3-7, can participate in such activities as story telling, fabric painting, indoor games, arts and crafts, drawing contests, ice-cream sundae parties, puzzles, bingo, pirate treasure hunts or a farewell pizza party. Children in the Kid's age group must be toilet trained. Children in pull-ups or diapers are not allowed in the youth facilities, due to mandates from US Public Health. Exceptions to this rule cannot be made.

 

http://joanjett2000.topcities.com/HAL/Amsterdam/Club-Hal-Info.html

 

Only thing I can think of is to pray like heck that you can potty train him quicker than you think you will be able to. I do not know if that is possible as I have never had to deal with Autism, but I wish you well and hope your child surprises you:)

 

Joanie

[kaiiak]

Thanks. I'm planning on calling the Access Dept at HAL to get more information, was just wondering if anyone had any firsthand experience. My family LOVED traveling on HAL before the little one came, and would love to do so again, but I want to make sure he's happy too. So far he has no food issues except for extreme picky habits so I'm sure he'll be fine there. Plus, he loves bread and theres never a shortage of that on a cruiseship. Yes, I pray he'll be potty trained too, but we'll see.

Thanks!

[kaiiak]

Spoke with Chris in the Access Dept, who had no information on Club HAL, was transferred to Michael in Ships Services, who tried to be helpful and told me what the policy is (which is what I had already read on the website) but did say they may be able to make exceptions to the rule, he forwarded me an email address to someone else, but haven't gotten a response yet. I did revisit our itinerary again though and we only have two sea days, so maybe we can find distractions for those two days....?? Baby Blow Up Pool may be a good distraction for a few hours on deck.

[JoFromFL]

Back in the day, I used to work with autistic children. Watching the joy they often got from simple activities was very special to me. You sound like a great mom who wants her child to enjoy the best vacation possible.

 

As far as the rules go for the toilet training requirement, I am sure it is because of the possible health hazards of an "accident" contaminating the pool or play surfaces. Also, staff are not expected to change diapers, although you have to believe that an occasional accident happens with toddlers. But I digress....

 

One option that seems like a win-win would be to inquire if your child could participate, even though potty training is still in progress, IF you attended the activities with him. That way, you are there to take care of any diaper changing, AND you have a great opportunity to see how much fun he is having and have many great photo ops. I think that solves the staff concerns and most importantly, he gets to participate. (With the possible exception being any pool activities, and you could use the blow up pool as the alternative.) It looks like there are many activities that would be no problem as long as mom is nearby.

 

I know this would not give you the time away from the children that parents (myself included) are able to enjoy on cruises, but from the sound of your post, that did not seem like a priority.

 

Hope that suggestion helps.

[lucigo]

We took our son in Oct 2009 on the Eurodam when he was 6. Most of the time he was the only child in their kids area. There were VERY few children on the ship. If this is the case for you I'm sure they would be ok with just giving you a call if he needed attention (a diaper change).

 

As far as potty training, use visual aids, make him a book with pictures and steps, we used a power point. Our little visual learners do really well with these types of things. Figure out his most cherished possession and use it as a reward . We used Mario Kart. :)

[lucigo]

I just wanted to add, if you are getting cold feet you might consider switching to a more child-friendly cruise line. My son actually is verbal enough that he told me he didn't like the HAL ship and he wanted to go on Carnival LOL My 16-yo called it the zombie cruise. There honestly isn't a whole lot for a 3-yo to do on a HAL ship. RCI, Disney or Carnival might be better choices.

[kerrytens]

As far as potty training, use visual aids, make him a book with pictures and steps, we used a power point. Our little visual learners do really well with these types of things. Figure out his most cherished possession and use it as a reward . We used Mario Kart. :)

I totally agree. We made a potty book (it was super detailed) and had a HUGE reward set. She was allowed to see this reward but until the act was done, it was not hers to touch.

 

OP, if your child is anything like mine once it clicks, it is set, done, complete. It seemed to take longer (well in my mind) for my kiddo to truly 'get it' but there has never been any set backs once learned (this is very typical of her learning pattern too btw). Good luck and don't sweat it!!!

[xxoocruiser]

Though you might be able to technically argue that your sons delayed potty training is part of his disability, the US Public Health Laws that HAL has to abide by cannot be overlooked. Not being potty trained still poses a potential health hazard to others regardless. ADA law generally allows for a reasonable accomodation to be made but you can't expect the cruise line to grant a reasonable accomodation when by doing so it presents a possible health risk to others and violates US Public Health Laws.

 

BTW an adult that has a disability and has to wear a diaper would also not be allowed in the pools for the same reason. It's not limited to children.

[Romamom444]

We are booked on RCI's Allure of the seas in April 2012 with the autism of the seas group. Our daughter has autism and they have staff trained in autism that travel on the cruises. They have a web site called autism of the seas. You should take a look at it. Hope this helps. :)