WWYD?

My 4 yr old son (who has autism, this is stated for why im about to say routine) woke up at 730 this morning but just fell back asleep ( 10:00 ). He has a doctors appointment at 2:00. His bus comes here to get him at 11:20 and IF he were to go to school to keep him on his routine i'd pick him up about 1:45. Would you let him sleep and just call into school today so he's well rested for the docs (btw, he's not sick.. its his 4 yr check up/shots/etc.) or would you wake him up about 11 to get dressed and whatnot for school (he's clean and i could pack his lunch while he's sleeping, just would have to dress him.... what would you do?

I have a 10 year old son that is autistic, I have found things go better when you stick to the routine!

I, personally, wouldn't let my child miss school for a nap. He can still sleep for an hour until the bus picks him up.

I Had Pretty Much this same Dilemma Friday.
Which would be the Bigger disruption to Him.
Not Going to School?
Or School being Ended early(& you picking him up instead of Busing home)?
Also How important is His Sleep to how well he Deals/Handles the Day?

Quoting Lupin:" I Had Pretty Much this same Dilemma Friday. Which would be the Bigger disruption to Him. Not Going to ... [snip!] ... early(& you picking him up instead of Busing home)? Also How important is His Sleep to how well he Deals/Handles the Day?"

Last time I sent him to school after waking him for a nap he was unresponsive at school (ie: wouldn't do his centers, wouldn't do circle time, cried, slapped himself, etc.) He's not too too bad about a messed up routine if he sleeps through it... Like if he had a day off school and he slept til 1030/11 (like usual) and then we go do SOMETHING (anything outside the house) until sister gets home at 330 he's fine once sister is home. Once sister is home... routine is the same for him... But when he gets woke up from naps (and he was kinda restless last night... well every night.. but i think he kinda knew today was a doctor day) he can tend to get aggressive (only with himself, not his classmates, and sometimes his teachers he'll slap at). Which makes me wonder if i should wake him up to keep the routine even though more than likely he'll just be in a bad mood there only to get picked up by me and taken to the docs (which he HATES) to get shots and whatnot... or keep him home and let him sleep (he'd probably sleep til almost 1 since when he naps its usually a good 2-3 hour nap) and we'd leave here about 145 to go to the doctors....

i would not let him stray away from his routine. It will ruin the whole day IMO

Quoting Mom of 2 Monkeys:" Last time I sent him to school after waking him for a nap he was unresponsive at school (ie: wouldn't ... [snip!] ... sleep til almost 1 since when he naps its usually a good 2-3 hour nap) and we'd leave here about 145 to go to the doctors...."

In this case I would say let him sleep.  

We're at the point where we can vary from the routine just a smidge and it's ok.

But then we have 2 younger siblings who are ok with change so since he sees it's ok, it's ok with him.

In your case, let him SLEEP!

Tell him that there's no school today, make up some excuse. Unless for sure you know he'll be ok with leaving school early(Jacob wasn't at that age.) Make a believable excuse so there's no technical lying.

for Jacob he'd be more upset that he was leaving school early when his work wasn't done. But he would be ok with us telling him the teachers needed a day off.

Quoting TheCoopersKnitWitch:" We're at the point where we can vary from the routine just a smidge and it's ok. But then we have 2 ... [snip!] ... he was leaving school early when his work wasn't done. But he would be ok with us telling him the teachers needed a day off."

I called his teacher to let her know he had fell asleep when he did and she said just let him sleep because if he's not well rested he won't work at school and just cry. He doesn't do a lot of work there, just his centers that help with motor skills and such, no worksheets or anything. he seems to be ok with no school today... doctor sucked.. but he's happy to be home now.. he seen sissy who happened to go to aunt kaylas after school, so now hes jumping on his trampoline he got for school and is just doin hiw own after school thing

Quoting Mom of 2 Monkeys:" I called his teacher to let her know he had fell asleep when he did and she said just let him sleep ... [snip!] ... to aunt kaylas after school, so now hes jumping on his trampoline he got for school and is just doin hiw own after school thing"

This was my thinking too.

If he wasn't well rested it could make doing his "work" harder and then he might have a tantrum, break down, what not. And that's bad.

We used to make up believable excuses, like that teacher wanted to their mommy for dinner, and that's why school was closed, that they wanted to spend time with their family. And Jacob liked that and never questioned it. It was awesome.

Now that he's older, it's harder to make up a believable story.