Grants | Autism on the Seas Foundation

Dreams Come True Respite Grants

Our grants deliver essential emotional support, reduce caregiver burnout, and rebuild family bonding in a sensory-accommodating environment. Our grants are far more than financial assistance; they are a support system that provides reconnection and relief.

Our grants are reserved for families facing significant financial barriers that make a vacation impossible. We are heavily prioritizing families who have never experienced a getaway together.

Sadly, social media users keep posting that the Foundation is "giving away free cruises" which has led to thousands of submissions from undeserving applicants.

To be notified when grant applications are open, join our grant alert list using the button below.

Please do not email our office directly requesting a grant or asking when they will be available.

Grant alerts are managed through our business partner, Autism on the Seas, you will be redirected to their website.

Relief

The professionally staffed respite program generates the trust needed for parents and caregivers to truly "let go". Guests with special needs receive support tailored to their specific needs.

Reconnection

Families are able to reconnect without the stress of daily routines, therapies and meltdowns.

Neurotypical siblings get greater airtime rather than a backseat.

Restoration

Parents and caregivers can return from vacation refreshed instead of exhausted. Families can carry forward treasured memories of new experiences that others often take for granted.

For many families, a getaway is something to look forward to each year—a chance to rest, reconnect, and create cherished memories. For families supporting a loved one with autism or complex developmental needs, true rest can feel financially and emotionally out of reach.

Through our Dreams Come True respite grants, we fund staff-assisted breaks using a proven, cruise ship-based program with nearly two decades of success. Our grants surround families with credentialed special-needs professionals. This unique support system alleviates continuous caregiver stress, fosters safe sensory inclusion, and restores vital emotional well-being and family bonding.

Typically, the respite grant will cover:

Staff-assisted vacations services
Cruise fares
Transportation to and from the port
Pre-cruise hotel when required
Travel insurance

Knowing how overwhelmed our families are by daily care management, our team handles every aspect of the planning process—direct booking of cruises, flights, ground transportation, and hotels, alongside step-by-step guidance on what to expect during their trip.

The Autism on the Seas Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit currently awarding respite grants to families residing in the United States and Canada.

From our Grantees: Reactions upon receiving a grant

I honestly thought I was dreaming because nothing like this ever happens to us. Since Stacey was born, our lives are constant doctors, hospitals, tests, occasional quick car rides, maybe a trip to the park, but mostly the walls of our home.

The Tarafa Family

Being chosen for this cruise grant has given my children and me something we desperately needed: something wonderful to look forward to. After years of physical, mental, and emotional struggles—including surviving a fire, domestic violence, raising two children with special needs while navigating my own disability, and facing the countless challenges that come with all of that—so much of our lives have been centered around overcoming obstacles, surviving difficult moments, and learning lessons from things we never asked to experience.

The Smith Family

I cried! It means so much to our family after having lived in the homeless shelter and pulling ourselves out of the hole we were in.

The Gomez Family