Child With Autism Denied Lunch Over Unpaid Bill - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Child With Autism Denied Lunch Over Unpaid Bill

Imagine getting a note from your child's teacher saying he or she wasn't given lunch because there was money due.

This happened to a family whose child is autistic.

The child is a student at Cliffwood Elementary School in Aberdeen Township, N.J., FOX's Dan Bowens reported.

Silvia and John Caravella's 5-year-old son, John Robert, is autistic and has trouble communicating.

But the message sent home by his teacher Tuesday made one thing very clear: The kindergartner didn't eat lunch because of a billing issue.

The message was sent through a special book the teacher uses to communicate with parents

John Robert is in a special needs class with six other autistic students. His parents admit they forgot to pay the lunch bill for the first few days of school. They don't think it's a good reason the child shouldn't have been fed.

Matawan-Aberdeen School District Superintendent David Healy told FOX, "This is not a practice of this district to deny any child of eating. It's an unfortunate oversight that has since been addressed. He goes on to offer his apologies to the parents."

The school does outline payment plans for students on its website, and it says that students owing money will receive reminders. It does not say anything about them not giving meals.

The Caravellas say they're now all paid up, and considering private school.