A mum has told MPs that mainstream schools are failing girls with autism.
Cath Mackinlay, from Surrey, described the schools as “ill-educated, ill trained and ill-equipped” to spot high-functioning autism in girls.
Damning verdict on mainstream schools: Cath Mackinlay, with daughter Georgia
Mainstream schools blame parents
Mackinlay was talking to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA). She said that mainstream schools often blame parents for the child’s problems.
Mackinlay said Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) staff can make the same mistake.
She said there was a “culture of parental blame”. She argued this could result in “unwarranted child protection referrals”. Authorities could remove children from families as a result.
Mackinlay’s eight-year-old daughter Georgia has autism, OCD, pathological demand avoidance, sensory processing disorder, speech and language difficulties and dyspraxia.
She said the failure of councils to diagnose children and assess their needs often ends in disputes. These would end up at a Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST).
It also resulted in children “spending long periods outside of education”.
Disputes end in tribunals
Mackinlay has struggled to get both an autism diagnosis and suitable education for her daughter. She said this meant Georgia had not been in full-time education for more than three years.
Mackinlay said: “On a national scale, I believe that many children with an ASC (autism spectrum condition) are being forced into elective home education due to the difficulty in negotiating the existing process.”
Girls are an “at risk” group because their needs are more likely to be missed for “many years”, said Mackinlay.
No way of enforcing decisions
Even when parents win tribunals there is no way of enforcing decisions.
So central government must challenge councils that fail autistic children, Mackinlay argues.
The Department for Education, NHS England and the Local Government Association (LGA) all declined to comment.
However, the LGA referred to concerns raised previously by councillor Richard Watts, chair of their Children and Young People Board.
Watts has warned that Government is not giving councils enough money to meet the requirements of children with “high needs”.
For Mackinlay’s full submission click here.
Related:
Published: 14 May 2017
