This area is a place for you to ask questions about autism and your child. You can also answer questions posed by other members of the community.

To ask a question, please email elena@talkaboutautism.org.uk. The questions can be as general or specific as you like. They can be questions that you might have wished had been answered when you started on your journey or they can be questions that need answering now. All questions will be approved before they are published.

If you see a question that you think you can answer, click 'Submit an Answer' underneath the question when viewing it. Again, these will be approved before they are published.

Q&A

Bullying - school is ignoring my son's situation.

My son is being bullied at school, on one occasion it was so bad he ended up in hospital. The school refuses to address the issue – they have told me it is due to his poor social skills. I feel that no-one is listening to me or my son and I don’t know what the next step should be. Please help!

Behaviour - teacher treats my child's behaviour as 'naughty'.

My son is 7 years old and has a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome. He attends a mainstream school. His class teacher treats him as a naughty child as he makes a lot of noises and flaps in class which she says distracts the other children. I feel he has no control over these noises but his teacher says this is him being defiant. I do not want to jeopardise my relationship with the school but I need to address this issue. How should I approach this?

Transition - where can I get support?

My child is just going into the Transition stage and I'm not at all confident firstly about the information I will get or whether the right provision will be suggested and then put into place. I don’t know where to go for support.

Childcare - where to access?

We struggle for afterschool activities for my son as although there is an excellent range of activities available, accessing appropriate childcare has proved very difficult and expensive and LA transport is completely inflexible. What should I do?

Local Authority - how to engage with them?

I feel as a parent that my view counts for nothing. What can I do to engage positively with the local authority and get them to embrace parent participation?

Diagnosis - where to find support?

My son has just been diagnosed with autism, I can’t find any support in our area on what to do and where to go?

What is the correct channel if I have a complaint about my child's education?

I want to make a complaint because my local authority have failed to change my child's statement as ordered by the Tribunal, but I don't know where to start.

Challenging behaviour - where to start?

My child's challenging behaviour is getting too much for me. I want to try and tackle it but I'm not sure where to start.

Where can I find a list of schools in my area?

I am starting to look for a school place for my child. Does anyone know where I can find a list of suitable schools in my area?

What does a statement of special needs look like?

I am just beginning the assessment process for my middle child, and would be really interested in any examples of statements. It would be useful to see what sort of information is included and find out a bit more about how they are structured. Does anyone know where I can find some examples or information - ideally ones relevant to ASD?

Q&A

Community