The reasons behind the growing absences of autistic children from school

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The government is expected to publish its plans to reform the special educational needs and disabilities system in the coming weeks

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A third of autistic young people have missed at least two weeks of school since September, a survey has found.

Meanwhile, one in six (16 per cent) autistic young people surveyed said they had not been to school at all since the start of term.

The poll by charity Ambitious About Autism comes as the government is expected to publish its plans to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system in the coming weeks.

More than one in 10 (12 per cent) respondents said they had missed between 11 and 20 days of school since September 2025, while 7 per cent said they had missed between 21 and 40 days in that time.

Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of Ambitious About Autism, said: “For autistic young people school absence can take many different forms. It’s being in class but not included.

“It’s being sent home because autistic traits are misunderstood. It’s being denied a school that’s right for your needs.”

The government’s Send reforms must ensure mainstream schools are equipped with the knowledge and the confidence to support autistic pupils, Ms Lasota added.

The government will publish plans to reform the Send system in its delayed Schools White Paper.

It has already announced it will spend £200 million to give all teachers training in supporting children with Send, and £3 billion funding will go towards creating about 50,000 new school places for Send children.

Some of that £3 billion will go towards creating places for children with Send in mainstream schools, with schools able to use the funding to add things like breakout rooms for children with autism or ADHD who may feel overstimulated in the classroom.

The survey found one in three (33 per cent) of respondents said they had missed between one and five days of school since the start of the academic year.

About six in 10 (62 per cent) respondents, who had been absent at all since the year started, cited mental health as a reason. Just under a third (31 per cent) cited physical health, and one in five (20 per cent) said it was because their school place was not suitable.

In the latest Department for Education figures for the 2024-25 autumn and spring terms, nearly three in 10 (29 per cent) pupils with autistic spectrum disorder were persistently absent – meaning they were missing 10 per cent or more of their sessions.

Ambitious About Autism surveyed 961 autistic young people aged between five and 16 and their families, and is encouraging them to share their stories of the impact of absence on them.

For example, Sarah’s son, Sam, 13, has been educated at home after struggling with his transition to secondary school.

Sarah said: “He no longer wanted to be here, let alone go to school. The old Sam is now completely gone; he rarely leaves the house.

“If I wasn’t self-employed, I would have had to quit my job to support him.

“What Sam needed at school would make life better for everybody.

“He needed less focus on strict rules for minor issues which trigger anxiety in autistic young people and less focus on rigid school uniform policies which trigger sensory needs.

“He needed a quiet door to enter school and a space to reset with consistent staff.”

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