
Help Luke be 1st autistic studnt to go on Spanish class trip
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Hello all, I think it fitting, that I should happen to be posting this on National Autism Awareness Day. My son, Luke, is 16 years old, autistic, and genuinely one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. He struggled quite a bit in the lower grades, but now, as a sophomore, he has come into his own. He is an honor roll student and does his best at every academic task that comes his way. He is fully mainstreamed in General Education classes and is the kindest, most chivalrous kid you could ever meet.
When he began high school, Luke was told that, due to his autism, he could be exempt from the Foreign Language classes, which are usually required to graduate. Luke immediately balked at the suggestion and announced his intention to take Spanish and "possibly French" if time permitted. Luke has always loved foreign languages and has taught himself a decent amount of Russian, Mandarin, Norwegian, French, and Latin. He also explored Old Norse and Mongolian.
Luke immersed himself in Spanish, joining the afterschool Multi-Cultural Club and earning A+s in Spanish 1 and (currently) Spanish 2. Luke didn't just learn the language; he studied the linguistics and origins of the words he was learning, often informing his teacher of "neat" linguistic facts.
In the middle of March, an innocuous gold paper showed up from the depths of Luke's backpack. "Mother, will you please sign this?," he asked. As I looked it over, I saw it was a permission slip, from the school, to attend a weeklong trip to Puerto Rico in 2025, with his classmates. I was immediately shocked because Luke has never shown an interest in a single field trip, in his entire academic career. And not only did he want to attend he wanted to go so he could learn about this culture he had grown enthralled with.
My heart sank because I was sure the school wouldn't support Luke attending. I will not bore you with the negotiations and many discussions we had, and as any parent with a differently-abled child knows, the amount of advocating that went into making sure that he could go. For a myriad of reasons our costs will be higher than those of his classmates - mainly because we needed to pay for a separate room. The kids "bunk up", 4 kids to a room, 2 kids to a bed. For most kids, this is no big deal, but for someone who prefers not to be touched even by those closest to him, it would have been a dealbreaker.
We have until November 1, 2024 to pay for the trip in full. If we can make this happen for Luke, he will be the first autistic student to attend this trip, which has been part of the Spanish curriculum for many years. Luke has always been a trailblazer, paving his own way and constantly surprising those who underestimate him and his abilities. I have no doubt he will get to Puerto Rico in his lifetime, but I would love for it to be now when he feels included by his classmates, he is in love with the culture, and, in his own words "I am looking forward to learning new things and leaving my comfort zone while traveling to Puerto Rico with my high school".
Organizer

Hester Heath
Organizer
Keene, NH