Whole World of Adventures for Special Travelers

“I want to pick up a kangaroo!”

“What about koala bears? I have a crush on them!”

“Can I rent a surfboard in Tahiti?”

“I want to go snorkeling.”

“Not me! I’d be afraid!”

These are not the ordinary remarks of everyday travelers, but the cheerful and unabashed comments of a special group of people who seldom get to travel.

People on vacation don’t often run into fellow travelers who are developmentally disabled, emotionally handicapped, traumatically head-injured or autistic.

But they did on a recent cruise aboard the Delta Queen. There was the man named Fred who came aboard wearing a crash helmet (because he’s subject to seizures). He shook their hands, one after another, saying, “Hi! I’m Fred. We’ll be traveling together.”

The Other Passengers

“At first, some of the other passengers didn’t know what to think of our group. But by the third day they loved us,” said the group’s leader, Dee Duncan, founder and director of Duncan Tours/Special Travel.

Robin Hixson, general manager of the Delta Queen, agreed. “Out of 150 other passengers, there were only two complaints,” he said. “I personally admired them a lot and I think most of the passengers felt that being around the group was a positive experience.”

“Special” is more than a euphemism for such words as “disturbed” or “retarded.” These people are special because they cut across the social conventions that restrict much of our everyday behavior.

They speak to strangers when others might be too shy or reserved. They laugh when something strikes them funny, while others might be embarrassed to laugh. They aren’t too polite to abruptly change the topic when a conversation begins to bore them.

It is these qualities that endear them to other travelers who are lucky enough to find “special” travelers on their cruise boat or in their sightseeing bus, said Maureen Raphael, tour coordinator, Duncan’s one full-time employee.

A Hearst Castle guide squired one of their groups around the estate at San Simeon, warming to her task as they asked questions worthy of a prying gossip columnist about the former occupants. But her favorite question came at the end of the tour when she asked them: “Now is there anything else you’d like to know?”

“Do you have children?” asked a member of the group.

Letter of Praise

A Sherman Oaks mother of a 26-year-old mentally retarded daughter wrote a letter of praise about Duncan Tours/Special Travel.

“Our daughter is not emotionally or socially retarded, but she needs to be with others who think, talk and move at her pace. During her school years, in special education programs she had the companionship of friends. After graduation she rarely saw them, and there was little opportunity for making new friends. The warmth, rapport and social acceptance that was part of her school life was gone,” she wrote.

“Dee Duncan has discovered the tremendous value of travel for what she fondly calls ‘mentally challenged’ individuals. She believes that a person with a special need should not be perceived as a problem, but rather as an asset and a contributor to the lives of others.

“Her goals are to dispel the myths surrounding these individuals and to make travel available to people who often live very isolated lives.”

Because of the special needs of her clients, Duncan provides a service beyond compare with most tour operators. Occasionally she puts aside her daily routines to do a one-to-one tour.

“One of my clients is a mildly developmentally disabled woman, in her 60s,” Duncan said. “I recently took her on an overnight trip to Los Angeles to go to the theater. And last month we went to see ‘The King and I,’ playing at Pismo Beach.”

Such custom-designed tours can be expensive. These one-to-one overnights cost about $200 a day. However, that pays all expenses: for the escort (doubling as driver), transportation, theater tickets, meals, gratuities and accommodations for both traveler and companion. And while the clients are able to enjoy the theater, a fine meal and the pleasure of travel itself, many of them can’t manage their own finances, so that too becomes part of the service.

List of Chaperones

“We have a list of on-call chaperones,” Duncan said. “Some of them are nurses. Others are volunteers who are experienced in dealing with developmentally disabled people.” They include teachers, counselors, therapists and psychologists.

The challenges are many, Duncan admitted. Some of the travelers are emotionally disturbed or unduly fearful, although they long to have the experience of travel. “They need extra assistance,” she said.

Duncan, 32, has been leading such tours for nine years, as a residential supervisor at the Devereaux Foundation in Santa Barbara and on her own since January, 1985. Raphael had also worked at Devereaux.

In the dozens of tours she’s led, Duncan said, “there have been very few behavior problems. I think the reason is that they’re so excited to be able to do this that if they have a tendency to have tantrums, for example, it wouldn’t be while they’re on tour.”

But what about the stresses of travel, which can be difficult for anyone?

“We really work with them ahead of time, to let them know what to expect,” Duncan said. “They know all about jet lag. They know about the difficulties they might face. They’re probably a lot better prepared than many of us for the experience of travel.

Once in a Lifetime

“Often this is a once-in-a-lifetime event for these people,” she said. “Not only do they get a tremendous thrill out of it--they’ll remember details of these trips long after the rest of us have forgotten.”

But that’s not all there is to it. Duncan and Raphael have an outlook that explains why they are able to do what they do.

As Raphael said: “We don’t have problems. We have situations. For example, a seizure is not a big deal. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We know how to deal with it. If you’re always thinking how you’ll handle this problem or that problem, everyone would be uncomfortable.”

Jay, an autistic man in his early 20s, was considered unable to travel, but Duncan felt he could handle a two-day outing, and when that was a success, she included him in longer trips.

In the past year he has gone on a ski trip to Mammoth (with two instructors to each beginning skier) and a trip to New Mexico that included a hot-air balloon ride. “Now he wants to try river rafting,” Raphael said.

Another person on that trip to Mammoth last winter was Brad, also in his 20s. Once an advanced skier, he suffers an aneurysm and is subject to uncontrolled seizures.

“Yes, there is a risk,” Duncan said. “Brad could get hurt on the slopes. But what kind of life could he have by playing it safe? To him, it’s worth the risk.”

One aspect of the tours that keeps them going smoothly is the number of chaperones to travelers, generally at least one to four. This raises the price as well, for even if some of the chaperones, or guides, are volunteers, their transportation, food and accommodations must still be paid for out of the overall trip cost.

Some ‘Scholarships’

Scholarships to pay for all or part of a trip have been granted to a few travelers, 15 so far, for nearly $6,000. They are supported by contributions from grateful parents and others. The tour operator has also applied for nonprofit status.

One trip designed for scholarship participants is an annual outing to Zaca Lake, in the Los Padres National Forest, over Christmas.

“The people I especially want with us at Zaca Lake are the ones who can’t afford to travel and the ones who are left behind in institutions when families come and take the others home for the holidays,” Duncan said. “And believe me, although I don’t go on every trip, that is one that I wouldn’t miss for the world.”

The youngest at Zaca Lake last Christmas was a 7-year-old boy in a wheelchair who is unable to talk.

There were 23 travelers and a staff of 14 at the lake, she said, “including Santa Claus, and we had gifts and a Christmas tree. I have such vivid memories of those three days. I felt privileged to be there.”

How do Duncan’s tours differ from the usual tour offerings?

“We don’t go to a lot of lectures or museums,” Duncan said. “We don’t focus on architectural details. We make sure our activities are on a level our people can understand.”

Amusement parks are favorite places. Disneyland. Universal Studios. Hot fudge sundae outings. Shopping.

Customized Tours

Each tour is custom-arranged for the level and interests of the group that signs up. And each is thoroughly researched to accommodate the needs of the group, which can include people in wheelchairs, people who might have seizures, others who have bladder problems or have difficulty walking.

“We rent or charter vans,” Duncan said. “We’d love to have a contribution of a van with a lift. They’re outrageously expensive to rent.”

Duncan requires an extensive profile for each traveler, including information on any physical impairments, any sign language or other special communication system used, allergies, dietary limitations, fears, habits, behavior and travel experience.

A sampling of tours and prices: four-day ski trip to Mammoth, $480; springtime eight-day cruise aboard the Delta Queen and four days in New Orleans, $2,690; five-day camping adventure at Yosemite Valley, $420; six-day Bahamas cruise, $1,090; five-day New Mexico trip, $820; 18-day tour to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand, $4,230.

Plans for 1988 also include a week in Hawaii, a weekend in San Francisco, a stay at a guest ranch and longer trips.

Duncan Tours/Special Travel, 5276 Hollister Ave., Suite 115, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93111, phone (805) 967-2841.