Group & individual vacation cruises
for adults and families dealing with
autism and other disabilities!
It's the Summertime. Everywhere you look, you see the trappings of photos that'll really show off what a wonderful time you could have, being sold to you. (But it doesn't matter how svelte you look in that sexy, "wow-my-own-mom-never-would've-looked-like-that" new swimsuit, because postcard vacations never involve the happy couple wrapped around each other each using one arm to pin down their thrashing toddler.) Everywhere you go, you hear about the exotic places you should go, and the luxurious ways you should get there. (But honestly, you'd be thrilled if a visit to grandma and grandpa's house didn't require several days' recovery time.) And despite the fact that it seems you barely have a social life any more -- except for with the characters of children's programming -- you can't seem to get away from people talking about going on vacation vacation vacation VACATION!
Except....you know....vacation is something you vaguely remember from being a kid, not something you expect to take now that you have one (or more). And it doesn't matter if other people with kids seem to be pulling it off. They don't have your kids. Even if you found a way to pretend you have a normal schedule and normal finances and normal aspirations for what would make a really nice break from normal life....you still couldn't take a normal vacation because, when you get right down to it, you're just not a "normal" family. You're living in a neuro-typical world, and you're just not a neuro-typical girl, so don't expect any shiny music videos, eh?
That's just the way it is. Right? Maybe not. What if I told you that there was a company offering a variety of cruise vacation packages specifically for individuals, families and groups dealing with, "Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and all cognitive, intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as (but not limited to) Cerebral Palsy and Down Syndrome" in someone of any age group? What if I told you that these individually tailored cruise vacations departed from a variety of locations, were available on a number of cruise-lines, offered special payment plans, and the whole shibang could be provided at no additional cost over what the cruise-line would normally be charging for whatever kind of room/vacation package you chose? What if I told you that whole shibang included, on top of all features of the standard cruise vacation offered by the cruise-line, everything from specially trained staff that also takes the time to learn about your specific (child's) needs before the cruise begins, to a cruise-specific PECS system and "social story" to aid with communicating activity choices, from dietary accommodations to priority everything, from un-potty-trained provisions to on-board doctors and nurses to both daytime and evening activity opportunities to have your children supervised (beepers provided for ease of quick contact with parents) while you go off and have some non-parenting time, and oh-my-god-some-of-the-cruiselines-will-even-offer-cabin-babysitting-so-you-can-have-a-night-out-alone-together-even-after-your-child-is-asleep.......!!!
I'm sorry. I got a little swept up, there. But I'm the one writing about it, and I can barely wrap my brain around it. This is the kind of thing I took for granted my own family could never do, should never even be so foolish as to try doing. And yet, as I investigated, every time I reflexively came up with a problem, that company was ready with a solution. (Worried that your child will find a way to jump overboard, simply because, if something has never even been a close call for a cruise-company yet, your child will find a way to do it? Well then, simply take advantage of the fact that there is no need for your child to ever move along an only-railinged part of the deck, and all doorways to such have locks.) The real beauty of it is that the solution doesn't merely allow parents of special-needs children to take a vacation like this and pretend to be "normal" -- it allows them to take a vacation like this while being honest and comfortable in all their neuro-atypical glory! What's more, should you so choose, you can experience this vacation with others (children being grouped by ability, not simply age) for whom being neuro-atypical IS NORMAL.
So check your budget and dust off your luggage, moms and dads! (Or dads and dads, or moms and moms, or single parents, or....whatever....they are open-minded about more than disabilities.) This isn't a fatigue-induced fantasy of frayed nerves screaming for a balm too good to be true. This is Autism on the Seas! And no, I haven't been on one of their cruises, nor do I get to do so by suggesting it to you -- but dang if I don't wish it was so!
For more info:
- Autism on the Seas is on Facebook as if an individual (and also as a group), and also has a message board.
- The company has been featured in Healing Thresholds, Autism On The Go, The New York Times, AutismTravel.org, and many other places. Their website also provides a collection of links to articles.
- The company has even offered cruises with a percentage of profits being donated to the ASA.
- Hear some different perspectives care of an article (but look to the message board for some Q/A that address the concerns raised in this one) or two on About.com.
- "Autism on the Seas" is a division of Alumni Cruises, LLC
1-800-516-5247
info@alumnicruises.org
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