autism/cabin doors

[LOVE2CRUISEALSO]

I have a 4yr old son that has a mild case of Autism. He likes to run away at times. I wanted to know if the cabin doors on Carnival cruises have door chains? If the door handles are the push down & open I'm in trouble. :confused:

[PrincessDreams4P&B]

I have a 4yr old son that has a mild case of Autism. He likes to run away at times. I wanted to know if the cabin doors on Carnival cruises have door chains? If the door handles are the push down & open I'm in trouble. :confused:

 

First let me say..AWESOME that you are taking your son cruising...I have 2 sons, one with High Functioning Autism and another with Sensory Integration Disorder..we are going on our 2nd cruise in Oct. The cabin do not have chains on them but I would recommend a little devise you can pick up at Target or Walmart that attaches on the door and the frame. When the door is opened and the 2 pieces are seperated (there is an off switch for when you leave the cabin, but a chime will sound, letting you know the door has been opened.

 

I also know that there is a band devise being sold (I don't know the name of it) but you have the base and the child wears the watch like devise, and if he gets out of range, the base goes off.

 

I found this one on the net, it's a bit pricey but what price can you put on piece of mind...

 

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/vbsik.html

 

Our son is actually on a similar type unit but ours is monitored by the police department.

 

Hope you have a great trip

[etoile]

The doors on most cruises are pretty heavy...I would be surprised if a 4-yr-old could open them.

[OldinJersey]

etoile - haven't had a wild child, have you? (giggle) Some four year olds can open a bank vault. For some reason I do not know the wild ones also seem to find a way to strip naked before the mad escape. this is not the same thing as a badly behaved child. They're just,ummm, wildly adventurous and amazingly creative in escaping.

Our neighbor's 4 year old rolled a big kid's bike up to a van, managed to get the window down a bit and get in (while standing on the bike seat that was leaning against the van). Then he took off the break and rolled down the (on a hill) driveway. luckily swerved and hit a house.

I think he's a state trooper now, and can drive whenever he wants.

[smitty3000]

I am sure you have already thought of this but I would definitely put ID (cabin number) on your child at all times even at night. When we were on Destiny all children had to wear a arm band that told what life boat they went to which I thought was a great idea. I don't know if all cruise lines do this now but they should, it was the first time I had ever seen this done. Hope you have a great time with your kids. My boys are 20 and 18 now and we have a lot of great memories of the cruises we have been on. Happy Cruising!!!:)

[LOVE2CRUISEALSO]

Thanks for the info. I'll be getting the door chime for sure. The only issue I have with the arm band is that he keeps trying to take it off. He get's so upset. I know on the cruise they have to have it on. :eek: :)

[OldinJersey]

my dh says they make GPS pajamas for the explorers. With a non-verbal autistic child such as the ones lost camping a few times recently I suspect a microchip in both the child and clothing might be considered. On shipboard perhaps a device that looks like a cool adult product might be good for the 4 year old.

[Fergus]

Google "tattoos with a purpose" - a company that makes custom printed tattoos that you can put on your child. I believe you can include info on allergies, medical issues, disabilities, etc.

[etoile]

Very cool Fergus! I would think even the generic ones would be helpful. For adults, there's REAL medical tattoos that can be an alternative to medical alert bracelets. :)

[msraye]

Magellan's sells a door wedge for travelers. It is to keep people from coming in but could also be used to keep a small child from getting out!! I believe it also has an alarm.

[cruise kitty]

dd used to sleep walk from when she was 3 until about 8 we always had to have a door alarm on even when we traveled, we would bring the two piece type and attach it with sticky back velcro. She's 17 now and grew out of it, but believe me when you wake up to find your 3yo in the back yard at 2am

(she opened lock and deadbolt) it's pretty freaky! She would still get up and try to get out and we were awakened by the alarm 3 to 4 times a week. I still don't sleep soundly and probably never will. good luck and have fun.

[LOVE2CRUISEALSO]

Google "tattoos with a purpose" - a company that makes custom printed tattoos that you can put on your child. I believe you can include info on allergies, medical issues, disabilities, etc.

 

 

This is great! I just ordered some:o

[Rhealsmom]

We took our first cruise with our non-verbal Autistic son when he was 17 - - He too, is an escape artist --- but when he loses track of us --- he has major melt downs.

 

The 1st thing that we did was "introduce" him to every cabin steward on our side of the ship --- so if they saw him on his own -- they knew how to contact us and where he belonged. This proved very helpful when he had a melt down on his way to dinner one night. We were well away from our cabin - but the stateroom attendants cleared the way so we could carry him back to our cabin - they then went and got our stateroom attendants who came right down and assisted us with calming him down.

 

It has taken many years --- but he will now where a medical alert bracelet -- but I also take a "Sharpie" marker and mark on the back of his upper arm (Where he can't see -- so it doesn't bother him) - our cabin number and his name, our names and the names of those travelling with us. Fortunately - he has never gotten away from us - but, there is always a first.

 

Finally, we always place a chair and any other moveable furniture in front of the doors. DS is a grown man now (turning 30 on our next cruise in 5 weeks) so a chair blocking the door isn't going to stop him - but it will slow him down a bit and give his old fogey mother a chance to stop him before he actually gets out. We also bring along the door alarm... Again, it won't stop him - but will alert my DH and myself.

 

Cruising is the best thing that has ever happened to our DS. A number of the Autistic behaviors lessen while on board -- we even asked our doctor if we could get a perscription stating that DS had to cruise permanently.:D Unfortunately, the doctor wouldn't agree to this request :( --- so I guess we just have to really enjoy the ones we get to do.