The reasons behind the growing absences of autistic children from school

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

Meanwhile, one in six autistic young people (16 percent) who participated in the survey said that they had not gone to school since the beginning of the term.

The survey, by the charity Ambitious About Autism, comes as the government is expected to publish plans to reform the special educational needs and disability system in the coming weeks.

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

Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of Ambitious About Autism, said: “School absences for autistic young people can take many different forms – being in class but not being involved.

“He is sent home because his autistic traits are misunderstood. He is not allowed to attend a school that suits his needs.”

Ms Lasota added that the government’s Send reforms should ensure that mainstream schools are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to support autistic students.

The government will publish its plans to reform the delivery system in its overdue Schools White Paper.

It has already announced it will spend £200 million training all teachers on supporting children in Send and will fund £3 billion to create around 50,000 new school places for Send children.

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

The survey found that a third (33 percent) of respondents said they had missed between one and five days of school since the start of the academic year.

Six in 10 (62%) respondents who had no absences since the beginning of the year cited mental health as the reason. Just under a third (31 per cent) mentioned their physical health and a fifth (20 per cent) said it was due to unsuitable school places.

In the Department for Education’s latest figures for the 2024-25 autumn and spring terms, nearly three in 10 students with autistic spectrum disorders (29 per cent) were persistently absent; This means they miss 10 percent or more of their classes.

Ambitious About Autism surveyed 961 autistic young people aged 5 to 16 and their families, and encourages them to share their stories about the impact of absence on them.

For example, Sarah’s 13-year-old son, Sam, is homeschooled after having difficulty transitioning to secondary school.

Sarah said: “He didn’t want to be here anymore, let alone go to school. “The old Sam is completely gone now – he rarely leaves the house.

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

“What Sam needed at school was to make life better for everyone.

“There needed to be less focus on rigid rules for minor issues that trigger anxiety in autistic youth and less focus on rigid school uniform policies that trigger sensory needs.

“It needed a quiet door to enter the school and a space to reset with consistent staffing.”