So, ds1 is going on his first ever overnight school trip in a couple of weeks. He will be leaving on the Friday morning and returning on the Sunday evening, so two nights away from home.
The trip is fundamentally an outward bounds/activity weekend and when they initially sent the letters out, I thought ds wouldn't want to go and was ready to book a weekend at Legoland for that weekend to give him an excuse for not going. When I first told him about it, he was adamant that he didn't want to go. Then he went into school, where all the other children were of course really excited about it and decided he did want to go - not least of all because his best friend is going.
The Head gave a talk about the trip at the parents' information evening in September and said that children are expected to be self-sufficient and the point of the trip is to develop independence. So, they will have a timetable and list of equipment on the wall in their rooms and will be be expected to work out where they need to be, decide what is appropriate clothing for the activity and make sure they are there on time and suitably equipped etc.
I spoke to the Head (who leads the trip) at his last IEP review and said I was concerned about this, as ds is not at all independent, in fact he has a very low-level of self-awareness and would need far more support than his peers. Dh offered to go along as a general helper, so that he cold be available to supervise ds if necessary, but if not could just be another pair of hands.
The Head assured me that he had already discussed ds going on the trip with his class teachers and that they were keen for him to go, felt it would be good for him and understood that he would need extra help. They also, very kindly, told us that he has already been allocated a bed in the same room as his best friend, as they knew how important that would be to him and that he would need to know in advance in order to prepare himself - the other children won't find out whose room they're in until they arrive.
Since then ds has had his OT assessment and been dx with hypotonia, some hypermobility, extremely low core strength and very poor upper body strength. The school has had a copy of the report and I have also made sure I listed his AS and hypotonia on the health form we had to fill in.
The thing is, as the trip approaches I'm getting more and more worried about how he'll cope and whether or not the school actually do realise just how much supervision he is going to need compared with his peers.
At school he is in a very familiar ordered environment with a set routine and of course, this is the only environment that any of them have ever had to handle ds in.
Its a very different story when you are out and about with him, the phrase 'like herding cats' springs to mind! Without someone gently guiding him he would easily step off the pavement into the road, get left behind as everyone moves on and he's in his own world, etc, etc.
Of course in my mind this all translates into him stepping off a cliff, falling in a lake or getting lost in the caves. 
I know, I know [over anxious mother emoticon] 
The other thing is that he's been struggling to learn to swim and is still pretty much a non-swimmer after one and a half swimming courses. A lot of the activities on the trip involve water (canoeing, raft building etc) He told me yesterday that he's worried about a canoe capsising and him not being able to get out or turn it over - I told him he doesn't have to do any of the activities he doesn't want to do - but to honest I have been thinking the same thing - I can't imagine him being able to roll a canoe with his low upper body and core strength.
So, how to I go about approaching the school to explain exactly what the issues are and how best to handle them? He has an IEP review a week before the trip, but they're always tight on time and I don't think we will be able to cover both the SEN and trip stuff in the time allocated.
Should I write to the Head with a list of my concerns, so that he has time to think about and address them, then get back to me - or would it be better to ask for a meeting specifically to discuss it all?
I don't want to come across as a paranoid and over-anxious mother - even though that's what I am - but I would like some reassurances that all the school and activity centre staff will be made aware of ds's needs and will supervise him accordingly.
Any thoughts ladies?