Teachers and parents must work together to see school through the eyes of children with autism, says charity
Whilst many parents are heaving a collective sigh of relief at the prospect of the start of a new school term, parents of autistic pupils – and many of the pupils themselves – are likely to be experiencing stress and anxiety.

As the recently published Not Included, Not Engaged, Not Involved report (by Scottish Autism, Children in Scotland and the National Autistic Society Scotland) showed, concerning numbers of pupils and their parents are coping with challenges in their education settings.

However, the transition from a holiday period to return to school can be fraught for those children who are otherwise well supported and coping with the school environment. The impact on pupil, parent and teacher stress at this time is something that can be predicted. The impact of change of routine, reduced predictability and heightened social expectations for autistic people are well-documented.

Autistic people can experience delayed processing so it may take some time to react to a change of structure or routine. This can result in parents having to cope with a child who is experiencing heightened anxiety at a time when formal and family support is likely to be less available.

Read the full report here.