Half of all children with autism wait over a year for appropriate educational support, and more than a quarter have to wait two years to get the help they need. These are the findings of a new report published by The National Autistic Society (NAS) to tie in with the launch of the charity’s Great Expectations campaign on SEN.
The survey, of over 1,000 parents of children with autism and young people with autism themselves, found that only 52 per cent of parents feel that their child is making good educational progress, while 30 per cent believe that their child is not in an adequate educational placement. Of the young people with autism surveyed, 43 per cent feel that teachers do not have enough knowledge about autism and do not adequately understand the condition.
The education system can work against parents rather than working with them, the report argues, and families often have to fight the system to make it work for their children. 70 per cent of parents state that it has not been easy to get the educational support their child needs, while 47 per cent say their child’s SEN were not picked up in a timely way. For 18 per cent of parents legal action was necessary to get the right support for their children.
“It is completely unacceptable that so many parents are still fighting a daily battle for their fundamental right to get an education for their child”, says NAS Chief Executive Mark Lever. “The Government rightly recognises that action is needed, and that they need to reform a system which continues to let many children with autism down.”
The NAS campaign argues that children with autism have a right to expect to get the support they need quickly and easily, to have teachers who understand how to support them and that autism specialists should be available to help teachers. Similarly, it claims that parents should have much greater involvement in decisions about their child with autism, and straight forward and robust means of challenging the system when it fails them. Local authorities should also be tasked with ensuring that they have a thorough understanding of the needs of children with autism in their area and that provision is planned accordingly.
The report can be downloaded at:
www.autism.org.uk/greatexpectations
