Can my employer deny me leave for 2 days to attend to the care of my autistic child?

I asked for 2 days off emergently to care for him during a last moment transition to a new school. I informed the employer as soon as we made the decision which was literally 4 days before he was to start at a special ed school. He is impulsive, and was anxious and depressed about having to go to a different school. I informed my employer about the circumstances and they now deny I did. On the first business day back to work, after taking what was deemed 'unauthorized leave', I was sent to labor relations where on the record I told the labor relations officer that I took the leave off to care for my autistic son. He ignored this and issued me a Settlement Agreement in lieu of receiving a notice of discipline and to avoid suspension. This agreement was subsequently used to terminate my employment of over 30 years with a spotless record. I was not informed about the FMLA and at the time did not know about it. I was fired for violating my agreement when I asked for 2 hours off to attend my childs IEP meeting.