Mum forced to teach autistic son at home after council denies specialist space
Sharanjeet Rodrigues's son Xavier is autistic and has ADHD
TL;DR
- A Leicestershire mum is homeschooling her autistic son, Xavier, because he was denied a place at a specialist school.
- Xavier suffers from severe emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) due to his AuDHD diagnosis.
- Local authority delays and bureaucratic issues are preventing children with SEND from accessing necessary educational provision.
- A charity warns that vulnerable children are being driven out of school and denied access to specialist resources.
- Families are often forced to go to tribunals, facing long backlogs, while their children's mental health deteriorates.
- Inspectors have identified a shortfall in specialist education provision in Leicester, with delays in EHCPs and children facing educational limbo.
- Despite government pledges to reform the SEND system, similar cases of children being denied appropriate education are occurring.
- The mum is incurring private tutoring costs and experiencing significant personal stress due to the situation.