Autistic Children’s Experiences of School

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 4 December 2018.

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Photo of Richard Lyle Richard Lyle Scottish National Party

I thank Daniel Johnson for securing this members’ business debate on such an important issue.

Tonight, I want to tell my constituent Kieran’s personal story. I have only four minutes to do so. Kieran attended mainstream primary in North Lanarkshire from primary 1 to P3. It was evident even then that he had social and emotional difficulties, and at times he struggled with slightly challenging behaviour in school, although none of it was noteworthy or enough to prompt real investigation. His parents thought that if investigations were required, teachers would highlight that, because they are the professionals.

In primary 3, Kieran’s mother made the decision to move him to a smaller primary school which she had researched and found had a supportive ethos. The family moved only a couple of miles, but that move put them in South Lanarkshire. My constituency is made up of areas of North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.

His parents were very unhappy that Kieran’s behaviour was being put down to trouble making, bad temper and so on, when he was actually struggling to cope with sensory, social and emotional issues, and was generally a kind and sensitive boy.

On moving schools, they were linked up with educational psychology in South Lanarkshire and, from there, to many agencies within the national health service, to pursue a diagnosis of autism. Kieran did not have formal support in school. However, due to the skills and experience of the individual teachers and a lot of luck, he was fairly settled until primary 6. By that time he had been through the assessment process for autism, but it was felt that he did not meet all the criteria. That is another failing, and Kieran is just one such case.

As the move to further independence in education advanced, along with peer issues and a change of teacher in P7, Kieran began really to struggle. He had many absences, his mental health became very poor and anxiety about school became a daily struggle. That resulted in Kieran becoming suicidal, so a referral to child and adolescent mental health services was made. The family worked with CAMHS, which felt that Kieran met the criteria for an autism diagnosis. Kieran was eventually diagnosed in December 2017.

The family moved back to North Lanarkshire and Kieran was enrolled in his local secondary school. His parents had reservations about Kieran’s ability to cope in mainstream high school, given the impact that his last year of primary school had had on him. However, no alternatives were offered.

It became apparent that Kieran was not coping with high school. Alongside his autism diagnosis, he has hypermobility, which restricts his mobility and causes a lot of pain and fatigue. His parents approached the school to highlight their concerns. Guidance teachers observed how upset Kieran was, and his parents were assured that action would be taken.

By October, Kieran was so impacted by his daily adverse experiences at school that he again became mentally unwell. His mother had to take him to see their general practitioner. Kieran attended school sporadically until January, when the decision was made by the school and staff in North Lanarkshire to put in place a part-time timetable. However, lack of support for Kieran meant that he got only nine sessions before he became so unwell that he completely refused to attend.

Kieran is still out of school. He has mentally recovered and is keen to be educated. His mother has researched, contacted and visited many independent schools. He was offered a place at an independent school that specialises in boys with autism spectrum disorder. His mother applied via a placing request to North Lanarkshire Council. It refused the request. His mother has now contacted Govan Law Centre.

Quite honestly, local councils are failing Kieran and others like him. Having been a councillor, I know that a council can serve such people better. I press them to do so.

I would cover the report that Daniel Johnson spoke about, but I am running out of time.

We are all parents, grandparents, uncles or aunts—therefore, we as politicians must look into the subject and aid councils to do better. We cannot fail Kieran and others like him.