Child care for special ed. child

[Baroquevenus]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone out there has traveled and let their Spec.Ed. child be included in the child care on the cruise ships? I'm trying to talk a friend and her husband into going on a cruise and they would like to use the child care program on the ship. But they are afraid the other children would make fun of their child. He is developmently delayed. He is 11 yrs old but acts more like a seven year old. Any help or insight would be appreciated, thanks.

[Queenie2]

I can't adress the teasing issue, because I think it pretty much depends on the group of kids. If they tease and make fun of somebody at home, then they would probably do it on a cruise too.

 

I can tell you that if the child needs 1-on-1 attention all of the time, then the program will not take him. They are just not set up for that. It was hard to tell the level of disability from your post, but I'm thinking that if he is just delayed and doesn't need special attention, then let him go to the program. It would probably be a good experiece for him.

 

Candy

[cjh]

I have children with spina bifida ages 8 and 16. Both are full time wheelchair users. I have never had a problem with the kids staff on Princess and on one of our cruises in the teen program with my daughter there was a girl with down syndrome. The staff helped her do crafts and helped her play board games and do other activities with the other teens in the program. One thing is I like to cruise just before President's week because it's less crowded so when you cruise depends on how much the staff is available to help.

 

Cindy

[Baroquevenus]

Thanks for you insights. He is delayed but doesn't need one on one. He can amuse himself with video games, his favorite thing to do. Would you put him in a lower age group or his age group?

[cjh]

It depends on what ship he is on but there are no video games in the the younger group on Princess which would be 3-7 but there are in the 8-12 group.

[Baroquevenus]

Thanks again for the info. I guess it depends on the age group spread where to place him. I think maybe his parents might want to talk to the cruise company and see how they handle children with special needs.

 

Thanks to all and happy cruising!