8year old recently diagnosed.... hates school

My son has been diagnosed with autism, he has always struggled with school and the reason he says is due to being away from me and home. The school have put someone on the gate to help welcome him in but I get the usual ‘he’s fine after a little while’. They are trying to help but it’s very frustrating going through all the emotions and anger at home and having that sinking feeling that he is just coping at school and not truly being understood.
I am in in East Sussex and was just wondering if there is any local people on here who can point me in right direction of support?

do people use visual cards, have you made these yourself or is there a recommended place to get these from?

looking forward to chatting to others who understand.

Thank you, Lisa

NAS71674 over 4 years ago

I really really hated school too. Show you have his back all the way and try to get the school to avoid putting him in situations he hates (maybe letting him skip things he doesn't want to attend or giving him a quite room he can go too when he wants too). It will just make him worse. As long as hes educated that's the main thing. Ask him if he actually wants to socialise or make friends. If not don't force it, if yes find out how you can support him on that too. I find that I get on much better with other autistic people so maybe your son will too if that's what he wants.
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Deleted User over 4 years ago

Hi Lisa,

We have an advice page here on the NAS site about school refusal that might be helpful to you - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/education/attendance-problems - that goes over strategies to try at home and at school to make your child feel more comfortable, advice on how to work with your child's school to better understand their autism, and more.

If you want to speak to someone directly about issues affecting your child's schooling, the NAS Education Rights Helpline can be found here - https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/education-advice-line - and offers general information about educational rights and entitlements, as well as advice on specific topics such as getting extra help in school, assessments, education plans and so on.

With regard to visual supports, you could have a look at our page here - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/communication/communication-tools/visual-supports - which goes over different types of visual support and has links to some you can either make at home, print off or purchase.

Hope this is of some help,
Ross - mod
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