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Mark Lever, chief executive of The National Autistic Society said;

“It strikes me as wholly unfair that parents of children with autism have to fight so hard to get the education that should be their child’s right.

Autism is much more common than most people think, affecting 1 in 100 children and without the right support it can have a profound and sometimes devastating effect. With more tribunal cases concerning autism than any other type of special educational need (SEN), it is absolutely crucial that parents of children with autism can have confidence in the new system.

The National Autistic Society has been lobbying hard to ensure that the changes to SEN tribunals do not increase the difficulties that families face. Overall, we believe the lack of information from the Government about the new process has been unacceptable and has resulted in misinformation, anxiety and stress for families, which could have been avoided.

We continue to raise our concerns in Parliament and with the Government and have ensured that our Tribunal Support Service team are fully trained before the changes come into effect on the 3rd November. The right support at the right time can make a huge difference to families living with autism.”

National Autistic Society (NAS) statistics from Make School Make Sense, Autism and education: the reality for families today, 2006.

    * 79% of parents of children with autism who appealed to the Tribunal in our survey won their case

    * Over 50% of children with autism are not in the kind of school their parents believe would best support them
    * 66% of parents said their choice of school was limited by a lack of appropriate placements for children with autism in their local area
    * Over 40% of children with autism have been bullied at school
    * When the NAS asked parents how they felt the SEN system could be improved, the majority wanted to improve teacher training
    * 72% of schools are dissatisfied with their teachers’ training in autism
    * Between 2006-2007 autism cases accounted for a quarter of all Tribunal appeals (p.7, Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal President’s Annual Report)