Background: DS is 9.5, he has ASD, Dyspraxia and Dyslexia.
School have organised school camp. He is 6weeks into a new term with a completely new team. No TA going, no SENCO going just a team of 6 teachers and some parents.
To be "fair" the parent help names are being put in a ballot and drawn.
We met with the teacher and said that this while apparently "fair" meant that if one of us were not drawn then ds would be unable to go.
We were asked to put in writing what our concerns were (he has been at this school since he was 5 but there is very poor communication between staff one year to the next)
This is an small sample of the email that I wrote (hopefully it will give you an idea of needs)
...will find the physical activities extremely challenging, he has difficulty with co ordination and this combined with the pressure of being observed by other people can be very overwhelming for him. ....also has trouble with coping with new and out of routine situations and can go into meltdown.
Triggers for meltdown include being tired, being out of routine, being asked to do something he will find difficult, being watched by others, over stimulation, allergic reactions to allergens, hurting himself even if it seems minor to others, having other people too close and not being able to retreat all of which are concerns on the camp. We are not overly concerned about the actual camping over night part, ..... has camped since he was very young and is well used to sleeping in new environments and seems to cope well with this aspect of change in routine.
Meltdowns in ....... case are not aggressive but he will lose emotional control and become very loud and very distressed. ..... is still learning the best way to cope with a meltdown and re ground himself he at this current point of time will try to remove himself from the situation In full meltdown this may mean he will run off and hide at the best he will have a management plan of a place he can take himself to an arranged retreat before he reaches full meltdown. We are also concerned about the social backlash should a meltdown occur, it can be frightening for children and also it is far removed from behaviour most children of this age display. The strategy of having a safe place is not always employable as the further into the meltdown he is the less able he is to make rational and sensible decisions.
I guess for us the big concerns are that if he were to have a meltdown there is no one attending the camp who has witnessed a meltdown and knows how to cope with it while keeping ...... safe.
My assumption is that parent helpers will be supporting some of the activities and I feel particularly concerned that they should not be put in the position of coping with a meltdown as it can be scary and overwhelming even when you have seen and dealt with hundreds of them.
Our names were not drawn out as a helper and we feel that he can't go as it is a safety risk, he will be over an hour away for 3 days in an area he does not know at all with adults he also doesn't know. The school have said fine and that is our choice to exclude him, I am upset as I feel it is them doing the excluding by organising an activity that he actually can't participate in without support and not providing that support if that makes sense.
Sorry this is an essay thanks if you stuck with it.