David’s Education

David is a sweet 11 year old boy who is diagnosed with Autism. This year in September 2022 David would need to attend Secondary/High School. There are challenges that people with autism have that are more pronounced. The challenges with social interaction and communication, repetitive and restrictive patterns of behaviour and sensory processes and these challenges are big enough, but the biggest challenge that people with autism faces is getting timely intervention that will allow them to reach their full potential.

Initially David’s parents found a new school that has opened near their home that is specifically for children with Autism, they discussed his case and was told that there is a 99% chance that he will be enrolled into this school. Further down the line when they received the paperwork the school realised they had mistaken the child and once they knew David was a different boy they said he no longer had space at the school. The parents battled back and forth with the council to come to solutions that will benefit David in the long term, a solution where he can grow and develop. The parents fought for him to be home schooled and to get funded however it was something they were not willing to approve. They wanted him to remain in his current school despite the school saying that it will not benefit him.

It seems though parents should have to fight for the basic needs of their children, they should not have to fight for the appropriate school place for their children. They should not have to fight to make sure the school place is within their community. They should not have to fight to make sure their children are part of the school community. They should not fight to get the proper therapeutic interventions that children need, like occupational therapy and speech language. And they should not have to fight simply so that their child can reach their developmental milestones. Years of under investment and a lack of political will has led to abject failures of children disability services, and even when government legislates for timely interventions, like providing an assessment of needs within 6 months, government either disregard this law or blatantly try to sidestep this law. Parents do not want to fight anymore and should not want to fight anymore.

The family are now in communication with a lawyer that is willing to take up Davids case and appeal against this decision and to fight to get him a place in a school appropriate for him. The lawyers fees together with all the assessments needed to prove that David must attend one of these schools come up to a huge amount of £20,000.

Thank you for taking your time to read David’s story. Any help you can give to this beautiful family will be very much appreciated.

Thank you.