Travelling with an austistic child

[ajkcruising]

Hi there,

 

This is our first cruise Legend of the Seas off the Dominican Rep. on Dec. 30th for 7 nights and we are bringing our almost 5 (Jan. 18th) daugther with us. She is autistic. She just learn to walk about a month ago,,can take up to 18 independant steps.

 

We are bringing her special umbrella-type stroller for mobility, but after reading in this threads I have few questions.

 

She is water crazy, I am thinking of bringing her little pool, it doesn't need to be inflated, the water will keep the walls up, see pic http://public.fotki.com/18012003/karicia-mia/karicia-mia-june-2007/img3048.html She is potty trained with a Big Mac device but I don't want to take a chance on ruining others holiday, so I will not have it in the pool, maybe just in for a quick picture in the water and that would be it.

 

Would this be appropiate and allowed? Would there be a space by the pool where I can place it maybe between two lounges?

 

We are planning on taking as many excursions as possible that are not very hard and spend a lot of time on the beaches.

 

As for dinner we have a late sitting and are planning on taking her with us for the both formal nights,,, she does well in restaurants and tables of 10, but she needs a highchair,,, would I be able to get a setting like I did (see pic) http://public.fotki.com/18012003/karicia-mia/karicia-mia-july-2007-/img3318.html with the alternative to eating at the WJ if the big table represents too much for her to handle every night.

 

I will ask for in-cabin sitter to start at 10 PM, for New Year's eve and maybe two other nigths as I figure I will keep her busy all day and by that time she will be ready to go to bed,, so I will put her to bed and let the sitter watch her while she sleeps.

 

Sorry this is so long,, basically my two questions for now are:

-would that pool be OK and where can I place it?

-would I be able to get a highchair that can hold her 40 lbs?

 

Thank you

 

 

AJ

[kitty9]

AJ, yes you can bring the pool and put it anywhere you find space. They tend to put those lounge chairs very close together, so you'll have to do a little "housekeeping" to make room, but it shouldn't be a problem. As for the high chair, I've never seen a chair that would accommodate a 40lb child. You will have to contact RCCI and their special needs department and see what they can do, but don't count on them having such a large high chair.

[ajkcruising]

We are all very excited and at the same time nervous, not knowing what to expect.

 

The chair she was sitting on the pic I posted was at a regular hall, we actually had our chair in the car, but theirs was just fine. She is 40 lbs, but very long,,,, she is not fat,,, I see her very skinny for 40 lbs.

 

I am able to sit her on the HC at MacDonalds and most restaurants, but I will follow ur advice and contact RCI,, I would rather bring a booster seat that I can secure to a chair with a velcro belt than not being able to have her on the table.

 

Thanks

 

AJ

[crusinmama06]

How easy would it be for you to transport that pool? Does it fold up easily? That's the only problem I can see with it. Inflatables collapse into practically nothing. You WILL be able to find deck space onboard. :)

 

Since this is your first cruise, I have to ask....are you SURE you want late seating? Late seating goes from 8pm - 10pm. My kids would never make it that late (3 and 7). So we always choose early seating. We eat at 6pm and are out of the dining room by 7pm. They tend to move the service right along when you have kids in early seating. ;)

 

And that highchair in your picture are the type they use. I had to go back and look at my pictures, but I found one of my daughter sitting in one at dinner.

 

[ajkcruising]

Thank you for the pic,, I am so happy to see that chair.

 

The situation with my daugther and the late dinner is that she is a little energizer-bunny,,, going going,,, if we have an early dinner,,then she will fall asleep and RECHARGE with a 2 hour nap and don't sleep at night.

 

We figure that she will be busy all day, shower and have dinner and then go to sleep all night. Specially for those nigths when I want to use the sitter service.

 

As for that pool,,, I actually bought it because I had an inflable Dora with two rings and it took so much more space, plus the blowing up was a pain when we visit people in the summer, and to take the pump,,,too much space and the chances that it might get pinched (It happened before)..the one with the walls we just roll it into a thick plastic tube.

 

I wanted to ask also about the excursions,,, so far I been looking into the beach/city tours in Martinique, barbados and St. Lucia ... we are convince to do the ones for about 3 hours listed by RCI,,, but I was wondering....if the ship is docked from 7-5, the excursions are 3 hours long.... what happens with the rest of that time?

 

Are we RRRRREALLY spending the 3 hours ON the beach and the rest of the time is just tranportation? I want to be able to keep her in the water as much as I can.

 

Do u recomend I don't take the tours offered by RCI and try to find a tour in-land that would offer more beach time? I am kind of worry about that because I feel safe being with RCI crew so we don't miss the boat,,, but in the other hand...I don't want to arrive at a beach at 8 AM and leave it 3 hours later.

 

Please forgive my ignorance but I have no idea how any of this works.

 

Thanks

 

 

AJ

[NoelsCat]

I definately think the highchairs will accomadate your daughter. My son is 34 pounds and fits into any standard highchair -- so your slight daughter would certainly fit fine! :)

 

I see no problems with your pool.

 

At most ports you can simply catch a cab and go to the beach-- save yourself some money and leave when you are ready.

 

BTW, your daughter is lovely.

[crusinmama06]

*Usually I suggest that you do take the tours offered by the cruiseline. That was until I went to Cozumel and was dropped off at a beach for 6 hours with 2 young kids. :rolleyes:

 

So if you can go to the port of call boards (I haven't been to those specific ports or I would try to help you with each one) and ask:

--how far the beaches are from port?

--how expensive are the taxis?

--are there facilities at the beach?

 

If the beach is close. If you can get there easily by taxi. Then venture out on your own. Just ask for recomendations.

 

And that makes perfect sense about the late seating. I see what you mean. :D

[ajkcruising]

I just told my DH about the situation with the pool,,, he is not happy about it and insist that we tried so hard for her to be potty trained,,, but I don't care,,,, is a different enviroment and I explained to him that I will take the pool, for the same reason I put pull-ups at night.. "Just in case"...!!!!

 

I will go to those forums later and check things out,,, I wanted to do a little sightseeing as well, maybe about an hour but wanted to spend lots of time on the beach.

 

I remember in Nassau the ships were docked about 20 min from the beach of the hotel we were with a nice beach,,, and after walking up and down downtown, and taking few pics with the market guys and some local police I didn't want to venture into history,,, so I think this time specially now that we have the baby we should do the same,,,I just hope the weather is in our side.

 

Thanks a lot,, u really are a great help.

 

Thanks Kat,, I tried to keep my daugther looking as typical as possible in a fashionable way,,,, we are simply humans and a child with a different ability is accepted easier if his looks are pleasant. I had people told me that they can't tell that nothing is wrong with her and other ignorant people even ask why is that big kid in a stroller? why are u park on a handicap spot? why do we go ahead on lines at the rollercoasters?

 

God game me lemons,,, so I can't make apple juice,,, then,,, lemonade it is!!!

 

That is another reason why we are going on the cruise,,, we are trying to offer her a life as normal as posible within her different abilities.

 

I will keep on posting as I encounter more questions,,, thanks again.

 

AJ

[lucigo]

We have taken our 4-1/2-year-old son on 7 cruises (he has autism also). If you have any questions feel free to email me, this name at aol.

 

One thing I want to make sure to make you aware of is that you will need to bar the cabin door with your stroller as there is no way to lock the cabin door from the inside. All she has to do is pull down on the handle and it will open.

 

If you don't have one, I would suggest getting her a medic alert bracelet with her name, your name, and your cell phone number on it. If she won't wear a bracelet (sensory) then make sure to bring a sharpie to write your lifeboat letter on her hand.

 

Have you filled out a special needs form? We always ask for priority boarding (no line), a booth or window at dinner in a secluded area of the dining room, and I write to camp carnival explaining the situation. They have always been great with him.

 

I could write a book, but those are the things that come to mind as most important.

[ajkcruising]

Thank you Lucy,

 

I will send u some questions.... I will try not to drive u crazy.

 

I am very happy to see that u have been able to cruise this much with ur son.

 

We did not get the SN form,,,I will talk to my travel agent tomorrow about that.

 

She has a necklace with personal info engraved,,, by now she has gotten used to it.

 

Thank you

 

 

AJ

[Jeni99]

HI I just love that you started these questions AJ, I also have an autistic child, a boy who will be 7 when we cruise for the first time next October! It is so great to see other families with Austisic kiddos cruise!! :) I love your saying so much about God giving you lemons!! What a great outlook on life!! :)

 

Thank you Luci for some great things to think about and ask for on the cruise. I didnt know you could write to camp carnival ahead of time how did you do this? Sounds like something I will really have to do about my son and my daughter. Thanks :) Jenn

[ajkcruising]

I used to have a life,,,, now I have Karicia-Mia,,, she is the other life, the second chance God gave me to learn to appreciate the little things in life, because her gains are so slow and so far in between everything she does I get to enjoy until she does something new. But the 20 hours of IBI a week are making a big difference.

 

I wanted to suggest that for entrataiment, I take a Magna doodle pad,,, the one with the pen attached,, it always works and I will bring our portable DVD player to let her watch Bratz movie!!!!!

 

I was wondering if there are movies for rent? I am planning to bring her favorites, but there is always room for something new.

 

With all the people I know with autistic children,,, soon there will be an Autistic cruise with sensory room and all the things our children enjoy.

 

Take care

 

 

 

AJ

[mikenhe]

its so refreshing to see the attidudes in this thread and the positives to be taken out of life - certainly in comparision to some others on the boards who try to turn everything into a complaint.

 

I hope those of you who face challenges with your special children have a wonderful cruise. I'd rather have you as fellow cruisers than some (many) others.

 

 

Attitude is everything. Thanks for bringing a positive one.

[Zeta3]

My DD also has autism and will be taking cruise number 6 next month. My DD sleeps much better on the ship, the gentle rocking knocks her out.

 

The one area that can be interesting if there are sensory issues is the Life Boat drill. It can be crowded and loud. When the life boat drill is held out on deck you may want to talk to the crew member in charge of your area so you can get a spot in the front row. You will have more room and can see without feeling squished in the back.

[Rhealsmom]

I agree with you zeta. Our DS is now 29, with a lot of developmental delays on top of the Autism. When we get him on board the ships - it is like he is in his element. The self-styming stops, he sleeps so well, the rocking stops, etc..

 

Camp Carnival has been amazing. Yes he is an adult -- but likes the same activities that a 2 year old might --- so they let me take him to Camp during their open sessions. Of course, I am always aware of the other parents and children and if they are uncomfortable, then I will remove him --- but we have never had a problem.

 

He has also had a couple of major melt downs. On our 1st cruise 9 years ago -- he had a "fit" just as we left our cabin to head to dinner on the 1st night (our mistake, supper was late, strange people all around, making him dress up in a suit and tie, etc...) He started throwing his fit when we were about 15 doors down from our cabin. People came into the hall to see what the commotion was -- and down came our cabin steward and attendant. Our stewart immediatly helped us pick our DS up off of the floor and the attendant ran to open our door.

 

The attendant, then came running back down the hallway with our DS's night time teddy. They were wonderful. We had been on the ship all of about 6 hours and already wondering if this really was a wise decision.

 

It was one of the best decisions we have ever made (second to the decision to adopt our DS). Only you will know how your daughter will react -- but from our experiences, Carnival has been amazing with our son. Even though he is an adult, they still fawn all over him, like he was 2 or 3.

 

I know you will have an amazing cruise. One you all will enjoy.

[cherishrwil]

www.autismontheseas.com

 

If you are going on a RCCL or Celebrity Cruise this is great!