Comment - Ruled Out? - Autism and the School System

With the launch of Ambitious About Autism’s Ruled Out campaign came the shocking news that four in ten children with autism have been subject to illegal temporary exclusions from their schools. These exclusions on an informal basis – asking parents to pick children up early from school or indeed asking them not to attend at all – amount to shocking discrimination against children with a condition that affects one in 100 children in the UK. Where these children should be supported and encouraged, it is clear that many of them are falling through the gaps and being left behind.

Hop Skip and Jump are here to help these families and their children and would like to welcome anyone who feels they have been unfairly treated by their local schools to our centres. We understand autism and the effects it can have on family and social life. We are passionate in saying that at our centres no condition is too complex or any behaviour too extreme. We welcome everyone to Hop Skip and Jump and are able to offer programmes for your child if they have been excluded from school until a more permanent solution can be arranged, allowing you to stay in work and your child to maintain a structured education.

Chris had been excluded from mainstream schools because of his violent behaviour. At Hop Skip and Jump Chris’ mother found ‘understanding and hope’. Instead of focusing on autism as a problem to be rid of, Hop Skip and Jump provided concrete solutions to ensure that Chris and his family were cared for.

If you are one of the four in ten families like Chris’s that feel that their children have been unfairly treated as a result of their autism, then why not give Hop Skip and Jump a call today and see what we can do for you?