? on wording absence note HF autistic 7 yr old missing school for WDW...

[prcoamo]

I was wondering how others have handled this issue? My dd (7) attends special developmental school, she is on autistic spectrum (high functioning) w/ sensory disorder. How did you go about wording absence note to your school's teacher/principal, in explaining the positive benefits that an autistic child can experience and take out of in a trip to WDW (educational, social/language communication & expression, the overall joy and happiness etc) I have ideas in my head of what I would like to convey but am having trouble putting it all together on paper

If anyone has sample letter and wouldn't mind sharing, that would be most appreciated. Thank you

 

[DIS-NH]

As the father of (2) autistic childern.....I called the teachers and the administrators (Who we all be come very familiar with through IEP's and team meetings....) and simply told them the truth. "I'm taking the children to Disney". We all agreed that the value of a family vacation shows them more of the world than simply thier home town is significantly more valuable than anything they would cover in school whole we were gone.

Also...We committed to making up the missed work (haha)

Since then, they've come to expect that we're going every six months !!

Have fun.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I told my son's teachers at the beginning of the school year that he would miss 5 days of school in May. I explained that summer was out of the question due to heat and crowds. I also explained that I would use it as an educational opportunity. We worked on counting animals from our room at AKL (he was learning to count). Then I did a graph and he placed a sticker of the animals that he saw on the paper.

While we were at the parks, we pointed out colors and numbers throughout the day. Our ds also participated in some of the crafts at Epcot for the Flower and Garden festival, as well as in World showcase. I took lots of pictures. When we returned, I presented it all in a nice journal. The teachers loved it and even showed it off during a school district meeting with the special ed department.

I really do believe that the hands on activities helped our ds. He is not the type of kid to learn by doing worksheets. He needs to see it in real life situations. What better place to learn than WDW!

Have a great trip!

 

[cymomtx]

In my district as long as I write a note, it does not matter why my child missed school. It is excused once a note is written.

 

[kmjmom]

As a teacher of children with a broad range of disabilities, I am always willing to recommend activities to my parents who would like ideas to reinforce their child's learning during a trip. I also find students very willing to draw/write about their adventures during a special trip. I get almost as excited as they do when the trip is Disney!!!

 

[pugdog]

Why would it matter how you word your letter to the school? Why do you feel you have to explain yourself to the school? It's YOUR kid and YOUR family vacation. Enough said.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Why would it matter how you word your letter to the school? Why do you feel you have to explain yourself to the school? It's YOUR kid and YOUR family vacation. Enough said.

Because some school districts have a very strict policy on attendance and have been known to give parents a difficult time. I've been pretty lucky so far, but I've read some horror stories on this board. Didn't Triplefig have a bit of a struggle getting permission for their trip in September?

Some school districts have no understanding sometimes.

 

[Frankiesmom]

We just tell them we are going. I do provide dates etc. well ahead of time;but I don't give them the opportunity to think they can try to upset my kids vacation. My DS is almost 5-high functioning Autism;we are isolated enough due to his behavior/meltdowns, that WDW is his favorite place in the whole world-he is the happiest at disney. I have no experience with older grades as he will be entering kindergarten this fall. Right now he is in an extended pre-school program and we had this trip scheduled since Feb;before we found out he would qualify for the summer program-I spoke directly with pre-school special ed coordinator and told her our plans-she told me they give parents such a hard time because they get paid by how many kids attend each week.She said she appreciated our honesty and that it was ok. Hope this helps! Angel

 

[sameyeyam]

I usually email kids teachers a couple of months ahead of time to let them know we are going to Disney. Then I email them about 2 weeks ahead of time as a reminder, so if there are any assignments, etc. they can take that into account. Have never had any problems.

 

[SueM in MN]

Because some school districts have a very strict policy on attendance and have been known to give parents a difficult time. I've been pretty lucky so far, but I've read some horror stories on this board. Didn't Triplefig have a bit of a struggle getting permission for their trip in September?

Some school districts have no understanding sometimes.

I think she had more trouble with getting her children who did not have disabilities excused.

I'd agree with the people who recommended talking with the teachers. They can usually see your reasons for needing to visit during the school year as opposed to during the school break times. Usually the Special Ed teachers can see a lot of positives to a WDW trip and are very supportive.

 

[pugdog]

Because some school districts have a very strict policy on attendance and have been known to give parents a difficult time. I've been pretty lucky so far, but I've read some horror stories on this board. Didn't Triplefig have a bit of a struggle getting permission for their trip in September?

Some school districts have no understanding sometimes.

Go figure, your paying the taxes that pay their salary and they give you a hard time? A parent should be able pull their kids out for what ever reason at anytime without any crap from the school. Yes, you should try to minimize any disruption during the school year, if possible, but sometimes you can't. Schools that are that anal should have some type of additude adjustment.

 

[SueM in MN]

Schools that are that anal should have some type of additude adjustment.

A lot of it is part of the 'No Child Behind' stuff, so it's not up to the school district. It comes out of the states who are following what the federal government says.

 

[prcoamo]

Thank you all for you suggestions and replies. DD is currently attending summer program at her school, so I've sent a letter to the summer school teacher asking for guidance and assistance. She won't be dd's teacher come September but she is a teacher at the school so she should be able to give some info.
I'll then follow up w/ teacher she will be assigned to once school officially starts in Sept. I don't foresee any issues, my main concern was w/ the timing of the trip which scheduled for 9/28 - 10/6 (3 weeks into start of school) and the amount of days she'll be out (7 total)
I'll be calling the school directly today as well, hopefully I can speak directly to the principal

 

[prcoamo]

Update on dd's school - I was informed that because it is a "vacation" her absences would not be excused Although the women I spoke w/ was not the "attendance" official at the school she stated that in her own opinion it was something that she herself did not agree with but that as far as she knew that's what the rule was. I'll be calling back to speak w/ the official "attendance" person directly for official confirmation on this.
Has anyone ever actually gotten a vacation absence excused? Should I not have been honest? Although I don't know how else I would of been able to explain a 7 day absence. This news has brought me to points of concern, sadness, and now anger.

I';m also waiting on a call back from dd's school district (special ed committee) to find out if these absences will affect services she is receiving -
if it will reflect badly in anyway

Just doesn't seem fair to me and saddens me that dd's school has taken this position. But I am determined to not let it dampen mine and dd's spirits -
We are going to WDW and let the chips fall where they may

 

[Anne MN]

There are districts that if a child has an IEP- they can not count an abscence as not excused.
I have not run into that yet with DD, all her abscences have been for DR or hospital.
I know that our new district is smaller and a lot friendlierr
previous distric did not have a problem when we pulled both DD's out 2 weeks after school started for Make a Wish trip. but DD has IEP and what are they going to say, NO?

 

[kmjmom]

Don't worry about the excused or unexcused absences. In the District that I teach in, parents have the resources to take their children to a broad variety of destinations and experiences. While the absences can create gaps in a child's instruction of group lessons, I'm sure from the amount of thought you appear to be putting into this trip you will be able to work with your child's teachers to keep your child on track. If your child responds favorably to social stories, it might be a good idea to create one prior to your trip to familiarize him/her with aspects of your itinerary.

 

[MrsBenjamin]

If your child has an IEP listing specific services, they cannot be taken away from your child for "missing school".

You are probably hearing the "official line" from the school department.

Seven days probably does not qualify as "truant", usually that's more like twenty five.

Even though it's stressful, I would put it out of your mind. They can't "make" you cancel this trip.

 

[prcoamo]

Thank you all. I spoke w/ school attedance official and she confirmed that it would be unexcused but not to worry about it and stress about it, students take vacation all the time and its just that its their school policy not to count vacation as excused. As long as I write a note to her teacher and arrange any assignments, if so requested by the teacher, everything will be fine. She also said that dd's school district will them most likely send me a letter about the unexcused absences and all I would need to do is tell them that we were out of town on vacation or whatever.
So, i feel alot better now.

 

[kmjmom]

So glad that you are feeling better. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[itsagloomyday]

You are not going on vacation. You are providing an educational opportunity for your child. Approach going to Disney as an opportunity to work on math skills (counting money, making change, etc.), science, social studies (Epcot and AK) reading skills (reading signs and maps) and social skills (waiting in line, interacting with other people, eating at restaurants, etc.)

Encourage school to consider this a field trip. Good luck.