Empowering parents to get the education their autistic children need and deserve

Background The only autism-specific education advocacy service in the country offering free advice on education law, rights and entitlements via telephone, email, information resources, workshops and web chats. Rationale... [ view full abstract ]

Background
The only autism-specific education advocacy service in the country offering free advice on education law, rights and entitlements via telephone, email, information resources, workshops and web chats.

Rationale
Getting the right education is vital to the future well-being and success of autistic children. Achieving this can be a struggle:
75% of parents say it was not easy to get the educational support their child needed.
Autism makes up the majority of appeals to educational tribunals across the country.

Aims
Empower parents with information and support on education law
Encourage parents to work with schools and authorities and prevent the need for tribunal appeals
Enable parents to advocate for their children
Identify educational issues to feed into organisation’s campaigning and policy work

Main points
Specialist volunteer advisers explain education law and help parents compose correspondence and prepare for meetings, including appeals.
Alliances with law firms provide pro-bono representation at educational tribunals for families in most need.
Autism knowledge and empathy can help identify areas that have not been properly investigated - ending in better support.
92% parents said they know more about their child's rights than before
86% felt more confident about discussing their child's rights with professionals
Only 4% of parents who receive education advice ask for help with tribunal appeals

Conclusion
The service has empowered 28,500 parents to get the education their child need and deserve and aims to effectuate positive change in the lives of all 140,000 school-aged autistic children in the country.