Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi
As a parent who has struggled to do the best for my autistic son, I find it annoying, to say the least, that the NAS continually ask me for donations. I signed on to this site in order to get assistance, I thought this charity was for us. I have gained most advice from the forums after I found the website in my son's teen years. I thank you profusely for those that have given advice through that channel.
However, your last email, asking for a donation to help with an exclusion from school made my ears steam. Basically, my son was excluded from 6th form. He was asked to leave because his results were not likely to be very high. This was soon after taking him on, knowing his academic capabilities very well as they had taught him all through secondary. Through various meetings it became clear that some staff were being pushed to reject him and some didn't think he ought to be in 6th form in the first place. (He had got GCSE As in sciences and maths) and he was often left with nothing to do. It was suggested to him that he could just go home. His general behaviour was calm and polite. I found out that others were 'set to fail' as I later learned this awful and illegal behaviour was called, and despite a battle with the senior staff, he left the school. I found and read papers from the county council rules about inclusion and such that what had happened was very wrong. We have no money for lawyers etc, but I stamped about and caused a local stir, leaving it with the school governors. I was very upset at how vindictive and uncaring (so-called educated) human beings can be to innocent children, and how other staff are kept quiet.
Now this phenomenon has occurred in the very target-led London schools (not just for autistic students) and has been bought to the attention of journalists. I heard Radio 4 and TV news mention similar happenings, and how dreadful it all was. Well, it is nothing new. We can't be the only family in the provinces to have been put through this? I know we are not, but many were silenced because of embarrassment. Why was it not known to be going on years ago? Why is it necessary to ask for donations for lawsuits from followers of this website; surely rules and procedures for schools are laid out in official documents already? Anyone can have access to them. Is it right to sue schools.?
Dear Hubbub,
Thank you for posting on our community and sharing your feedback about our recent appeal in relation to the schools exclusions legal case the National Autistic Society is involved with.
As a charity we only intervene in legal cases when we believe that there is a gap in the law. This is what has happened in this particular case where a loophole in the law puts autistic children at particular risk of being excluded from school. Our aim in this case is to challenge that part of the law, which allows schools to exclude pupils if they have a ‘tendency to physical abuse’, even if this behaviour is linked to their disability, whereas in all other aspects of children’s education, the school has to take account of their disability. We have been calling on the Government to close the loophole for quite a few years, and this case gives us the opportunity to push this change forward. If successful, the Government may need to amend the rules, which would change the law for children across England, not just the people bringing the case.
We were are very sorry to hear of your son's experience while he was attending sixth form. We can appreciate that this must have been a very difficult time for yourself and your son. You may like to contact our Transition Support team who offer information and advice on the transition to adulthood. This includes young people preparing to leave school as well as further and higher education. If you follow this link, it explains more about what the team does and also the different ways you can contact them should you wish: https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/transition-support.aspx
We were also very sorry that you were upset by our email about the cash appeal in relation to this legal case. We always try to contact our supporters with information that they want to receive. If you don’t want to receive this type of communication in future, please contact our Supporter Care team, who will update your record. You can contact the team either by telephone on 0800 800 1050, or email on supportercare@nas.org.uk.
Thank you again for you input on our community, and sharing your thoughts with us.
Kind regards,
Ayshe Mod