A leading autism charity has launched a new campaign inviting children and parents to share their stories explaining why they are absent from school.
The call comes as the Ambitious About Autism published figures showing that more than a third of pupils with autism have missed up to a month or more of school since the academic year started last September.
Its survey found that the biggest cause for non-attendance was mental health issues, cited by 62% of respondents, followed by concerns about physical health. A fifth said they were not in school because their school places for not suited to their needs.
Almost half of parents said they were made to feel to blame by the government for their children’s absence.
The charity’s campaign, Absence Notes, asks young people to say why they don’t go to school and the impact this has had on them, and to sign an ‘absence note’ to the government.
One student, Erin, now 20, is currently in her final year of school after missing much of her secondary education.
She said: “For years my autism went undiagnosed and I struggled with severe mental health problems. My teachers did their best but couldn’t work out why I was having such a hard time.
“If my needs had been identified and I had received an autism diagnosis and proper support early on, I wouldn’t have struggled so badly with my mental health, ended up in psychiatric care, and missed out on learning.”
Experiences of lost learning should be a stark warning to decision-makers
One parent, Sarah, took her 13-year-old autistic son out of school and is educating him at home, after problems with transition.
She said: “He no longer wanted to be here, let alone go to school. The old Sam is now completely gone; he rarely leaves the house. If I wasn’t self-employed, I would have had to quit my job to support him.
“What Sam needed at school would make life better for everybody. He needed less focus on strict rules for minor issues which trigger anxiety in autistic young people and less focus on rigid school uniform policies which trigger sensory needs.
“He needed a quiet door to enter school and a space to reset with consistent staff. It isn’t rocket science.”
Misunderstanding autistic traits
The campaign comes as the SEND sector awaits the publication of the government’s White Paper, which is due to be published this month. One of the proposals is believed to be an expansion of special hubs and provision in mainstream schools.
Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of Ambitious about Autism, said: “For autistic young people school absence can take many different forms. It’s being in class but not included.
“It’s being sent home because autistic traits are misunderstood. It’s being denied a school that’s right for your needs.
“As the future of the SEND system is being decided, our campaign is giving a voice to those directly affected by these decisions, namely autistic young people and their families. Their experiences of lost learning should be a stark warning to decision-makers.”
Lasota added that there was a risk that another generation of children would miss out on achieving their potential.
“We must ensure mainstream schools have the knowledge and confidence to support autistic pupils and these young people remain able to access specialist support when they need it,” she said.
