Son refuses to attend school

Does he have any friends still that go to the same school

Is there a subject he's keen on

Can u explain his behaviour a bit more. Does he hide, does he avoid getting out of bed all day?

Having been through similar I would cover yourself by phoning up educational welfare at the council and tell them he's undergoing assessment for autism.

If there's anything at all he's interested in then get him doing that at home.

if there's any other children you know locally who go to home education groups m, you could join up with them temporarily as they might be more accepting.

Does he like any type of martial arts. could you join a group doing that kind of thing in the evenings.

sorry this is happening to you or anyone else.  it's very difficult

I would say from our experience don't let him get into the habit of staying indoors and get him out doing something to ware him out so he sleeps at night.

So maybe he does not have Autism. It sounds like he may be bullied and is avoiding the perpetrators. This is common amongst bullied kids. Have you asked him if he is avoiding the cowardly bullies? Ask his friends too.

Hi, mainstream school can be v difficult for autistic children + also they're going thru puberty.  I agree with the previous poster in that the school may not be meeting your son's needs.  There are lots of posts you can refer to relating to problems at school so have a look if you haven't already.  Do you think the school understand about how autism affects your son, do they have any good quality training in autism?

Sometimes this behaviour suggests that the school is not suitable for someone with autism. He may really struggle to communicate what the problem is, due to his autism, but there may be something substantial behind his reluctance.