There is a fear that appears to have crept up when planning any type of vacation; will we be asked to leave a venue, resort, flight..?
I wish that I could assure you that a course in empathy is part of all training for all travel suppliers; however, this sadly is not the case.
How do you ensure that you are not stuck at home when you would much rather be visiting and exploring sights? The trick is to choose your destination where there is a successful protocol in place for children and adults on the Spectrum.
One of the many reasons I separated from the ‘travel agency model’ is that there needed to be a knowledgeable and accepting resource for the disabled traveler to arrange a vacation. As someone who knows firsthand the challenges that arise when planning a holiday; I enjoy creating inclusion in travel.
Royal Caribbean has achieved the following Autism Friendly Certifications fleet wide:
- Bronze Level – all required autism friendly products and services in place
- Silver Level – all Youth staff trained on autism awareness
Developed by Autism on the Seas’ Advisory Team, autism awareness training covers following topics:
- characteristics of autism and developmental disabilities
- correct person-first language and terms
- skills to initiate a conversation with a parent about his or her child’s needs
In addition, all Youth staff is required to have a four year University degree or international equivalent in education, recreation or a related field. They also have at least three to five years qualified experience in working with children ages six months to 17 years.
Royal Caribbean offers a wide range of autism friendly products and services, and they include:
- Priority check-in, boarding and departure
- Special dietary accommodations including gluten-free and dairy-free
- Adventure Ocean flexible grouping by ability for children 3 to 11 years old
- Adventure Ocean toilet-trained policy exception
- Pagers/phones for parents of children in Adventure Ocean program while signed into our care (subject to availability)
What Do You Offer For Teens With Autism?
- Expedited check-in, boarding and departure
- Special dietary accommodations including gluten-free
- Autism Friendly Toy Lending
- Autism Friendly Films
- Social Story
- Teen Program with teens-only hangouts and activities. Please note while some activities are hosted, they do not provide supervision or one on one attention.
What Do You Offer For Adults With Autism?
- Expected check-in, boarding and departure
- Special dietary accommodations including gluten-free
- Austin Friendly Toy Lending
- Autism Friendly Films
- Social Story
- Cruise Activities Program. Please note while some activities are hosted, they do not provide supervision or one on one attention. (Adults are not permitted in Teen or Adventure Ocean spaces.)
