How do you adapt to your sensory needs when you travel?

We really do need to do do do do.

Yes, we do.

Hello, hello, hello everyone. This is Danielle and Vida with Indy Out Loud, and yes, it's been over a week since we've been live. Vida was traveling and I wasn't feeling well last week, so I just decided to keep my bare minimums going and protect my body and my time and my energy. So we are back, but we're talking about adapting your sensory needs when you travel. Uh, we both traveled recently because I traveled 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, 3, whatever. And then Vida did last week. So you were telling me a story about your cruise earlier.

Yes. Yes. Okay. So we went on a Carnival cruise and they have these— they— I told them when I booked the cruise that myself, my son, and my sister are autistic because they asked if you have any special needs. And they're like, oh great, we have these sensory bags for you. Fabulous. So I was thinking it was something that the cruise line gave to— gave out. And when we got in the rooms, didn't have them. No worries, things. And but I kept seeing this commercial pop up on their cruise TV, like, we're the most sensory-inclusive cruise line. Come to customer service and get your bag. So of course I went to see what, what was in there because we were supposed to get them anyway. And so they bring me a little drawstring bag. And it's got the big noise-canceling headphones like you'd wear, like at a monster truck rally. And it's got 3 fidgets and it's got a card to wear on your lanyard that basically says you're autistic and you're overstimulated. And the, you have to sign them out. And if anything is, then you have to turn it back in at the end of the cruise. You have to make sure you haven't lost anything. And if anything is lost or damaged, it's a $50 charge. And I looked at my husband and I looked at my mom and I'm like, yeah, no thanks. And so I have been thinking about that the entire vacation because vacation for a neurodivergent person is super overstimulating anyway. But I applaud Carnival for having this sensory kit, but I have questions about the rollout, about, you know, are y'all just having this to check off a box that you have this sensory kit? Because the executive function that it takes to sign up for the bag, go get the bag, keep track of everything in the bag And then collect it at the end of the cruise and turn it back in. Well, it's a fool's bet. Like, it's a fool's bet. People are going to end up being charged $50 for the things in the bag anyway. And we all knew this, so we were just like, no, no thanks, because we had some sensory stuff that we had packed because we self-soothe all the time. But it kind of broke my heart because it was like You have this thing and you're putting on your commercial that you're a sensory inclusive cruise line, but you're not.

You have— that's not— but that's not sensory inclusive. That was— that really— do better. What cruise line were you on?

It was on Carnival Cruise.

Do better, Carnival.

Right. But I think, I think this at a lot of places that we go, because, okay, there's the bag. I've checked the box off. I have a sensory bag. If If autistic people need it. But when you're at dinner, it's very loud. It's overstimulating. There wasn't like a low stim dining spot that you could go to. There's only one low stim location really on the boat, and kids are not allowed in there because it's an adults-only Serenity Deck. But it is a low stim area, but it's for adults that don't want kids around. It's not for— Neurodivergent people that need a sensory break.

So I'm going to talk to cruise lines, travel, whatever here. Providing support for sensory needs is not a pair of headphones and a couple fidgets. I mean, I could give you 9,000 things that you could have on a cruise ship for Sensory needs. One, a quiet room, just a quiet room to go to eat, because most people who are going on a cruise are going with family. So their, their, their room is not the quiet space that they need.

Right.

You need a quiet room with low lights and you've got to have a room somewhere on the ship with no windows. And you could put LED lighting in there that can be adjusted. Hello. It's super simple. It could be the size of a closet. It does not have to be anything special. Weighted blankets.

Yeah.

Having a weighted blanket available to someone when they request a sensory need, having good earplugs like Loop earplugs, or even there are so many off-brands that are very, very cheap, are much better than big heavy headphones. And shampoo, conditioner, and soap in the room.

Um, but then, but then I have questions about the card, the card that you wear on your lanyard that like, I, I'm autistic and I'm having trouble. Okay, so are your people on your cruise, um, trained in that? Like Like if someone is having a meltdown, a sensory issue or something, like, are you, are your cruise staff trained in that? And if not, which I highly doubt, like, is there one person on the ship that's trained in that?

Because I'm going to guarantee you, if you're thinking that your medical staff on the ship is trained in that, they aren't, or very few are. That's unless you especially have them trained. Just because they're medical staff doesn't mean they're trained to deal with sensory needs.

I don't have a problem with the fact that they're not. I just do not—

No.

Don't advertise that you have this, and then it's, it's really just kind of band-aided in it. Because I would have rather them been like, here's your bag and it's $25, but it's yours to keep. You don't have to turn everything in. I probably would have bought one for all of us. Um, but having to keep track of it and then turn it in at the end, the level of anxiety I had in the 30 seconds that I thought about if I needed that bag was huge. It was like, no, I don't, because I will lose at least a fidget and then it's a $50 charge. So no.

Yeah, that, I mean, paying for something, having sensory items available on a cruise. For purchase, great, advertise that. I mean, most of us would be like, oh, I don't have to worry about remembering packing these things. I can just go purchase them. Great. That's amazing. Again, hire a neurodivergent specialist to come in and give you suggestions and consult with you on how to make your cruise actually Sensory friendly.

And one interesting thing that I thought, because, you know, my husband's a veteran, John's a veteran, we went to the big Veterans Appreciation, um, assembly that they have. They brag, Carnival Cruises brag, because they are cruised by more veterans than any other cruise line. And that's great. So what kind of, besides having an assembly where you're all like, thank you for your service. What kind of things do you have in place for veterans that are overstimulated?

Sensory needs can come from trauma, PTSD, combat vets, very, very common with combat vets. Sensory overwhelm can come from being an exhausted mother traveling. Sensory overwhelm could be autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, Whatever. I mean, they can be so many things. A child on your cruise is probably in sensory overwhelm, whether they have sensory issues or not, just because it's a different environment than they're used to.

Well, and you have so many on vacation. I mean, it's the 5 senses and maybe the 6th sense if you're dealing with very sensitive people. So we're talking about There are sights, there are sounds, there are, you know, things to feel, tactile responses. Some— there's all kinds of things that can overstimulate you. And, uh, you can leave one area and go to another one, and you're just immediately overstimulated in a different way. But there's no place to get away from it with the exception of your cabin.

And again, if you are traveling with other people, that may not be a safe space or quiet space for you. You might not actually have that space. So having those space— do better, Carnival. That's it. Do better, Carnival.

And so it made me— so then the whole trip I was just like Sherlock Holmes on the boat looking at all these things that were like, that's not That's like, where's the, where's the place to go? Where, you know, where, what would I do if my kid melted down on the ship? What would I do? You know, like, what would I do if I had a meltdown on the ship? Like different things. Uh, what would I do if John had a post-traumatic stress episode on the ship? And I know that those are outlying situations for a lot of people. They're like, well, in the highly unlikely situation. That, that happens, we'll deal with it as they come. Okay. But if you are in the travel industry, statistically speaking, it's going to happen more than any other place because you are dealing with a huge quantity of people. So on a cruise ship, they're not—

Especially yet. Well, in, in 1 in 9 people Have neurodivergence, some form of neurodivergence. Adults, 1 in 9 adults. So, and now that people are more aware and it's becoming more of a— where it's acceptable, we are trying to do things like go on cruises. We would avoid vacations and cruises and things before. Now, You advertise that you're sensory friendly, so that makes us think that this is something that I can do as a neurodivergent adult, and I'm looking forward to this. You told me that these things are available, and then they aren't, and you do it very wrong, and now I'm trapped on a boat. And I have to tell you, I have a lot of anxiety about being trapped on a boat because I need— I need to support myself with my sensory issues. So Sight, smell, balance, all of these things. And I love a boat. I love boats, small boats. I go out in boats with friends and stuff all the time. So that's not a problem for me. But the idea of getting on a cruise ship and being trapped and not have my sensory needs met, I would be so angry if I got on a cruise that told me that they were sensory friendly and they absolutely built like what you're talking about. Absolutely not. That wouldn't be helpful to me.

Right. So if you've ever been to a sensory-friendly movie showing, they dim the lights. They're not completely dark, but they're not completely 100%. So they dim the lights. Um, the sound is different. Like it is a, it's lowered. It's not so, uh, intense.

Did you know it's not fully surround sound either?

Right. And then, um, people can get up and move around as needed. You know, so those are things that are sensory inclusive, you know, and there are, there are travel companies that may not be 100% sensory inclusive, but are doing a much better job of working towards having some kind of offering for neurodivergent people.

Yes. And I mean, that's part of what we're doing with going to Disney World. We have a travel agent that specifically works with, for sensory-friendly travel. So, I mean, she's fantastic. I mean, they focus on Florida and Disney World and stuff like that, but they do world traveling travel agency stuff. And they focus on sensory-friendly travel. And they have a lot of things that they do for that. And it's amazing. And it's why we're working with them. And part of why we're taking a retreat and doing a retreat in Disney World is to teach people how to go somewhere like that and have it be sensory friendly, how to accommodate themselves and do all of those things and how Disney accommodates them. Because Disney does a lot to accommodate for that.

Right.

But it's, it's really disappointing as an adult who would love to go on a cruise. Now, now I have to admit I'm very worried and may not take that leap. Because I would be worried that it would be they checked a checkbox off with a few cute things that they found on an ADHD post online that could help.

Well, there's a, there's an organization that they paired with for that. I think it's called Culture City. But I found things where I could sensory soothe myself on the ship. Like there are places that A lot of people don't know about to eat on the ship, you know. But I found those because I was looking for places that weren't super crowded to eat. And by the last day of the cruise, guess what? Everyone had found that place. And so then it was not—it was not a safe haven anymore. And you know, there's not one place on the ship that's not lit up like a slot machine, you know, because they're trying to keep people. Dopamined up so that they're doing stuff on the ship.

That's— I have to admit, that's something that Disney does well, is Disney takes you in and out of those dopamine highs really well and helps you with those transitions. And it's something I've talked about quite a few times where you're going in and out of certain areas where they take you through those ups and downs so that you can keep going. So Disney does that like super, super well. They've got like, um, okay, because I geek out and this is my thing, Galaxy's Edge. You go from regular Hollywood Studios, it's crazy, and Main Street and Sunset Boulevard, excuse me, and all of that. And then you go into Galaxy's Edge and they take you through this long, dark tunnel that's cooler. And they play a certain type of sound and the sounds are neurologically tuned to calm you down and make you chill and relax from the chaos that you were just in and transition into a new world and where you go into a bunch of different sounds. When you walk out of that tunnel, you're hearing different sounds and there's different smells and things going on. But Disney does that in a lot of places. Go into Adventureland and they take you over a wooden bridge and the sounds change, the smells change. It's one of the more popular candles is being over in Adventureland with Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean and stuff. And then—

It makes me wonder how Disney addresses that on their cruise line.

I know that they have sensory-friendly play areas and sensory-friendly playtimes on the cruises, but not all of their cruises, just some of them are specifically set up for that. But something that they do, and I know they do, is most of their cast members are trained even in the parks. Uh, not all the food service people aren't, but regular cast members out in the park dealing with people in lines and all of that are trained to help with a neurodivergent meltdown, a mental health emergency, a medical emergency, you know, all of those things. They are trained to do that before they're even let loose in the park.

Well, and if you think about the cost to the average person to go on a vacation is huge. It's a huge expense. And so everybody wants to feel like they belong. And it could be, it could be as easy as saying like, well, we don't have something that's specifically for the neurodivergent group, but maybe they could have a neurodivergent cruise, you know, like, or something. You know, I just thought—

I'm sure that there's a neurodivergent cruise. There's got Okay. I know there are ADHD cruises because we're in that crew that does those things every year. But are there— there's gotta be a neurodivergent. If you know of a neurodivergent cruise, please message us below. If you're a travel agent that knows about this stuff, please message us below because we would love to be talking about these things with our community.

I just, I was just a little irritated. It's like, don't tell me that you are sensory inclusive. When all you have is a bag that I know it looks good on paper because you're sensory inclusive and this does this stuff, but this is not what that means.

This is not what that is. I mean, that was— no, just no. I mean, that, that makes me so mad. And, and again, it makes me think twice about doing something like a cruise. And I love the idea of a cruise where I get on that boat and I don't have to worry about my food, my sleep, my, my entertainment, my anything, because everything is just there and executive— my, my decision fatigue can decrease because I don't have to make decisions and stuff, but don't make my sensory needs go through the roof.

Okay. So I thought about this so much. So it wasn't just about It was, that's what started it. But then I was like looking at everything. Like it's a lot of the food is set up buffet style, right?

Mm-hmm.

Um, they don't have, they like, they have hamburgers and they have pizza and then they have all different kinds of food on their buffet, but safe food, you have to really look for it. I was on this cruise as a neurodivergent individual, then having a child. And my sister, like we were all like, um, they don't have chicken nuggets on there anymore. And and I looked at a forum, like other people complained because there wasn't chicken nuggets readily available. And I was just thinking, how could they do this? I understand that it it is a delicate symphony on there because it's efficiency. But they have like this one little um. Part of the buffet that set off to the side, they put fruit and stuff on it. And I'm like, why couldn't that just be safe food? Like plain pasta noodles with a selection of sauces if you wanted on the side, you know, chicken nuggets, this, that, and the other. And it's like, um, because if they didn't have this— there was one particular burger shop on the cruise ship and you could get them plain or plain with cheese. If it hadn't been for that, my son would have starved the whole trip because he goes, I'm not eating that, that looks weird. Like when we would go through the buffet line.

If there are going to be children on ship, like if you allow kids on the ship, there should be children's safe food. Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, plain noodles. And cheese to put on— cheese and butter and put on said noodles and potato chips. Like, really basic, basic food.

I mean, people do— like, people that cruise all the time, they bring their own snacks, or people that vacation all the time, right? We are champions. If you are a neurodivergent person, has neurodivergent kids, and you travel, you get really adept at bringing safe foods with you because people do not think about that. But there are some things that would be—

I travel with all of my food when I travel and I'm traveling in the US. So I went, I traveled what, 3 weeks ago and I was traveling about 10 hours away to a place with chain restaurants that I eat at all the time, things like that. I am so worried about not being able to get my safe foods and I have medical issues to go with that. So I have safe medical foods, safe, normal foods that I traveled With a cooler and 2 bags of groceries to make sure I had everything I needed to eat.

Now, I do think that people will, uh, like if you asked on the cruise, like, hey, I, I need this. Now, they didn't have chicken nuggets, but if you wanted plain noodles, I bet you could get them. But I was thinking about this. Disney is set up for kids. So there are safe foods?

Oh, there are safe foods everywhere. I can get popcorn everywhere. I can get chicken fingers, chicken nuggets everywhere. I can get breaded ones or grilled ones everywhere. I can get french fries everywhere. I can get, um, pretzels everywhere. I like— Disney is Even for me who has mega food allergies, mega food— I have major food issues. I can get what I need at Disney World.

Yeah, I think Disney is set up to be way more neurodivergent friendly as a travel location.

It was built for neurodivergence.

Than any other place. And so it's like you see those people, it's like, I go to Disney every year and I don't have to worry about anything.

It's like, yeah, I can see So this is part of why, I mean, people are asking, why are you doing a retreat in Disney? So this is a professional development retreat/training retreat/dopamine retreat. We're going to teach you how to use the science of Disney because Disney World has done a fantastic job in decision fatigue. We're taking the decision fatigue out of the trip. We're taking the decision fatigue out of the trip. For food, for drinks, for your room, for figuring out how to get in and out of your room, how to travel to and from your room, all of those things. We've taken that all into consideration when planning this trip because I want to be able to do things easily. We're staying in a Skyliner resort, and there are 3 reasons why we're staying in a Skyliner resort. One, easy, easy travel. And the Skyliner is a lot of fun. And if you are afraid of heights and hate heights and stuff like that, there is an alternative of a bus of every single location. We made sure of that too. But the Skyliner, for most people with neurodivergence, is an extremely calming and decompressing ride. You wanna know how many times I spent on that Skyliner while I was there during, during Christmas, which is the busiest time of year at Disney World? I love the Skyliner because with the exception of just after fireworks, you can ride that gondola car by yourself.

Mm-hmm.

I made my husband and my son and my daughter-in-law ride their own so I could have my one of my own. And they're like, yeah, fine, need a break. I mean, they totally understand. And they're like, oh, we can open up the little extra window so you get a little extra air. I mean, they are neurodivergent friendly and they understand every single bit of this. It's why we've chosen Disney World because it's such a big deal. I cannot recreate that type of Neurodivergent support doing a retreat in a condo on the beach somewhere?

No. And it, I mean, it's something that's needed. It's something that's not thought about, right? But that's the thing. We talk about inclusivity so much, and it definitely needs to be, Um, but it's more than checking a box. It's more than having noise-canceling headphones and fidgets available to make yourself neurodivergent friendly. It's a, it's a, it's a commitment. It's, it's a, it's a bigger task than just having a little bag that you can hand out.

It's If you're trying to be neurodivergent friendly, you have to think of sight, sound, and touch. You have to think of planning things so that decision fatigue is not an issue and executive functioning is not an issue. So if somebody checks the box that they need sensory needs taken care of and they need something done on your cruise line, on your trip, on your airplane, whatever, you need to hand that to them and not expect them to come find you and remember it existed and return it and all of those things. All of those things. And again, tell me when I book the trip that it's gonna cost me an extra $50 to get these things.

So I can make the decision then. And depending on the products, I might have been willing to do that.

Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, I, for that particular thing, I bring my fidgets with me and I bring my earplugs with me because I, I'm neurodivergent. I need those things to go with me. They go I mean, when I say they go everywhere, they're sitting right here next to me while I sit on the couch. They're right here with me at all times. And fidgets, I get fidgets everywhere. Those are things we can supply ourselves and we're going to supply ourselves. We've already thought of that. We already— because we traveled to your location, so we have those things with us already. We need things like a quiet room. We need sensory-friendly foods. We need Lighting in our room that we can adjust, that's not either on or off but is adjustable for us, for our sensory needs. We need a weighted blanket available to us, unscented soap available to us, even if we, as we're filling out the form to purchase this ticket and do all of this stuff, that we check those things that we want those things in our room. And don't tell me that can't be done and on large scales because it absolutely can. Like, I know it can because with somebody with money can request those things and get them immediately. So don't tell me that everybody couldn't, and I would pay significantly more for a ticket for, to have that availability.

So it was interesting in the cabin, there was a button to turn on the lights and it's these overhead lights that go around the edge of the room. And it was old school fluorescent lighting. You could hear it ting, ting, ting, ting, and then it turns on and then you could hear it, right? So it's like, oh. And, and I looked up the age of the boat because, you know, neurodivergent, and I became Sherlock Holmes. I looked up the age of the boat. Like, was this built— boat built before LED lighting? Like, was it? Why is there no dimmer switches available? Why, why is this? Why is that? Why? And so, so then I got to thinking, like, have you never had anyone walk around your ship and have a conversation like that, or pick that apart, or write you a letter that said that there— that these were things that happened, or that I noticed, or that— and, and where does that go? Because a lot of these travel companies are fairly responsive to feedback.

I, again, well, I'm gonna guess that neurodivergence, the RSD kicks in.

Yeah.

And we never reach out because it's, it takes a lot of executive functioning skills to tell them. It takes rejection sensitivity to overcome that. And then we're in such overwhelm for being on a trip like that, that it would take weeks for us to recover from a trip like that in order to be able to do that. So, okay, sensory needs. I travel with a nightlight so I can shut lights off in my room but still have soft light in my hotel room because most hotels don't have LED lighting.

I brought a nightlight. I brought fidgets. I brought coloring books and things to where we could have a quiet activity. I brought You know, because you're also on a ship, so you're kind of forced to unplug, you know, from electronics and stuff. But it— so it was just so interesting because I know Disney gets feedback from people because people take their special needs kids there and then they have the executive functioning to, my kid had a great experience, my kid had a bad experience, and this is why. Like, because we'll advocate for other people. Like, I'll advocate for my son before I'll advocate For myself.

Because, yeah, because I'm the mom of an ND kid, I would even taking my ND adult kids, my son and my daughter-in-law are both neurodivergent on the autism spectrum. I was making sure they had everything taken care of. They are adults. They didn't need me to do that. Well, they did need me to do that. I was worried about those things and making sure all of those things were being taken care of and making sure all of my needs were taken care of. And then I have my husband who is Completely separate sensory needs for me. And I'm making sure all that— and Disney made that super easy for me. Disney made it super easy for me. And the people that go to Disney World, the tips and tricks forums for making sure those things are taken care of, and I know all of the things before I go, super easy. Disney has done a really good job of putting that information out there. And again, There's nothing wrong with cruises or anything like that, guys. It's, it's the fact that they put out there that they're sensory friendly and yet they provided a bag.

Yeah. So, so if you want to go somewhere that is neurodivergent friendly and you want to go with a bunch of neurodivergent people and you want to learn how to manage overwhelm while you're traveling and do professional development, You should come with us in September. We are going to Disney. The tickets are on sale and we ask the questions. We, we're going to ask all the questions before we ever get there because our goal is to make sure that you have an amazing experience and learn stuff.

And, and if you are not neurodivergent and want to come to the trip because you work with neurodivergents, you work with neurodivergent kids, you have a spouse, your child is you work in a school system, therapist, whatever, come, come. One, we'll train you how to work with neurodivergence to create those sensory-friendly, neurodivergent-friendly environments. But we're also going to show you how to recreate some of the things that Disney does in your office, in your space, in what you do and how you speak to someone and how you approach them, because it's so important. 1 in 9 adults are being diagnosed with ADHD. 1 in 9.

Yeah.

And ADHD is hereditary. So if there's 1 in 9 adults, 1 in every 3 children, I don't know what that stat is. I'm making that up. But really think about that. How are you supporting neurodivergence? If you are a cruise director on a cruise line, if you want to come with us and learn how to do this, Come join us. If you are a therapist, if you are a teacher, if you are a counselor, if you're a school admin, if you are a parent just learning about neurodivergence with your kids and, and not understanding your own, come join us. We absolutely can help you. We're going to help you transform things into neurodivergent-friendly spaces.

Yeah.

And learn how to create accommodations for yourself because many of us who were diagnosed as adults, are still learning how to create some of those accommodations for ourselves. Vida and I are ADHD, for those that don't know, and therefore we become Sherlock Holmes in figuring all of these things out, which is why we do what we do. So we've explored all of these things and learned all of these things and built programs around it. So we are here to support you if you have any questions. Um, tickets are $3,250 right now. They go up $250 in 6, 7 days. 7 days, they go up another $250. So please sign up today. We do take payment plans. If you have any questions, we have third-party financing, and you can use HSA and FSA funds to pay for this trip as well. So come join us. We are here to help and support you.