For many young people, school can be a difficult place. And for some, it can be just about impossible. Negative experiences in school can have harmful long-term effects on pupils with autism spectrum conditions.

Official figures show that children, are increasingly being suspended or expelled from school because of “behavioural problems” – many of which include children on the autism spectrum. Some regions in the UK have experienced a 100% increase in these types of exclusions since 2011.

CARLY CASSELLA

Putting yourself in another person's shoes is never easy, and for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the practice is thought to be especially challenging.

Karl Knights

Thirty years on, the ‘autistic savant’ portrayed by Dustin Hoffman still represents most people’s idea of autism

Lucy Townsend

Saga Noren from the Scandinavian TV crime drama The Bridge has become an unlikely hero. Widely diagnosed by viewers as being on the autistic spectrum, she is lauded not just because she is a leading character with the condition, but - more unusually - because she is a woman with it.

By Robert Moran

Anne Hegerty, the stoic Governess on Seven quiz show The Chase, has earned praise from viewers for speaking openly about her Asperger's condition on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

Hegerty, 60, is currently appearing in the UK version of the reality hit, being filmed in Springwood National Park on the NSW north coast.

After admitting she was struggling in the season's first episode, Hegerty opened up to her castmates about her experience with Asperger's, which she was diagnosed with at age 45.

University of Surrey

Stress related to social stigma may be the reason why autistic people experience more mental health problems than the general population, dispelling past theories that the condition itself is the origin of such distress.

In the first study of its kind, published in the Journal of Society and Mental Health, researchers from the University of Surrey and University College London examined how stress related to social stigma, such as discrimination and rejection, impacts on the mental health of autistic people.

Captain Quirk

Prepare yourselves. This article’s a big one.

Three years ago, back when Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook page “only” had 7,000 followers [all links open in new windows, by the way], I ran an autism survey. It was a laborious but rewarding task, and I was surprised it got as many as 477 responses.

Nick Hodge, Sheffield Hallam University

Autistic children are increasingly being suspended or expelled from school, because of “behavioural problems” official figures show. Some regions in the UK have seen a 100% increase in these types of exclusions since 2011.

Hannah Devlin

Number of girls and women with the condition in UK may be vastly underestimated, leading neuroscientist says

Hundreds of thousands of girls and women with autism are going undiagnosed due to it being viewed as a “male condition”, according to one of the UK’s leading neuroscientists.