Why don't you understand?

By bobb |

A new report on educating autistic children finds schools unable to cope and parents frustrated. ...

Teachers' tolerance levels were never very high where John Davis was concerned. The boy, who has autism and dyspraxia, was noisier than many other children with his condition and would become frustrated easily, especially in a confined space. ...

Does rain cause autism?

By bobb |

Uncertainty over what causes the syndrome has become a trigger for wild speculation, says Mark Henderson

Autism is a highly heritable disorder, which is strongly influenced by genes. But it is not a genetic condition in the same way as Huntington's disease or cystic fibrosis, in which mutated DNA is the one and only cause. It is influenced by environmental factors, but what they are we do not yet know.

the Bercow Review: NAS response

By bobb |

The Bercow review, published today, has confirmed what many parents of children with autism have been telling us: provision for children with speech, language and communication needs is inadequate and must improve.

We strongly welcome Bercow's crucial emphasis on early identification and intervention and support his call for an assessment process and better speech and language services. It is also imperative that parents get the right support to understand both the needs of their child and what help is available to them.

Warnock U-turn on special schools

By bobb |

Baroness admits to 'disastrous legacy' of problem children in mainstream teaching. Liz Lightfoot reports

Baroness Warnock, the educationalist whose report led to the drive to include children with special needs in mainstream classes, admitted yesterday that the policy had failed and left "a disastrous legacy".

She is urging the Government to carry out a "radical review" of the closure of special schools, which she said were better able to provide a reassuring and personal environment for emotionally vulnerable pupils than large mainstream classes.

"Governments must come to recognise that, even if inclusion is an ideal for society in general, it may not always be an ideal for schools," she said. "I think it has gone too far. It was a sort of bright idea of the 1970s but by now it has become a kind of mantra and it really isn't working."

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