Recently the Department for Education launched a campaign to promote school attendance. The campaign, which aims to address the growing numbers of students persistently missing school has faced criticism for failing to address many of the reasons why some students are unable to attend school, including a lack of the right support and being unable to secure a place in a suitable school.

Many feel the campaign simplifies reasons for absenteeism and fails to acknowledge those who are struggling to get their educational needs met in a system that is not fit for purpose.  

We know only a quarter of autistic students said they were happy at school, three quarters of parents said their autistic child’s school place did not fully meet their needs and one in four parents said they waited over three years to get support for their autistic child.  

Our Young Ambassador Pavan has written a blog post revealing the  the complex reasons why some students are unable to attend school. 

Why absenteeism isn’t as simple as skiving or lazy students  

I’m Pavan a 19-year-old Young Ambassador for the National Autistic Society. I received my autism diagnosis during secondary school. I’m now at university after having faced on and off struggles throughout my education, including having to take several months out of school. 

Recently, the Department for Education launched a campaign to get students back into school and reduce absenteeism. This includes measures such as “tackling persistent absence”. However, it is important to acknowledge the detrimental effects this campaign will have on autistic students. 

Reasons why autistic students may struggle to go to school 

Burnout 

Autistic people can experience burnout while at school due to the pressures of workload, high expectations, and exams. Sometimes, burnout can also be caused by factors outside of school. Trying to push through and ignore the extreme exhaustion that comes with burnout can be completely counterproductive for autistic students. In my early secondary school years, I kept going to school and pushing even though I couldn’t take it anymore. I eventually reached a shutdown point where I was so ill and exhausted that I had to miss school for six months. Had the right support been in place earlier on, this could have been avoided. 

Bullying

It’s so important to acknowledge how vulnerable autistic students are to bullying at school. It is not always obvious when an autistic person is being bullied, autistic students might struggle to communicate with teachers and staff about being bullied or find it too difficult to report at all. Unaddressed bullying can mean that some autistic students stop going to school to escape the fear of it happening again. 

Hopelessness

Some autistic students may not get enough support at school and despite their best efforts to reach out may be consistently refused support and adjustments. Without their needs being met appropriately, autistic students may feel like school is not the right place for them. Reasonable adjustments like meeting autistic people’s sensory needs, making sure there are different ways for autistic people to communicate and improving understanding and awareness among staff and other pupils can help to make school feel like a safer more supportive environment.  

Mental health 

Autistic people are at an increased risk of developing mental health issues. Differences in the presentation of mental health issues and the way that autistic people communicate can mean that their difficulties are not always noticed. When I was experiencing my own personal struggles, I kept going to school even though I was feeling so low. Eventually everything got too much for me, my grades started to badly slip, and I was eventually hospitalised, missing several weeks of school. 

Why this matters 

It is vital that everyone understands that autistic students might be missing school because of unmet needs and a lack of support. Without the right adjustments and understanding, school can be completely intolerable for autistic people. It is my hope that the Government and education staff can begin to understand that behaviour is communication. Instead of blaming bad parenting, laziness or bad behaviour we should first ask how we can better support students to feel safe, happy and supported at school. When autistic students are supported and listened to, they can thrive at school.  

Resources 

More stories from autistic people who have experienced struggles with being able to go to school can be found under the #NotASchoolSkiver hashtag on X and Instagram. Credit to Emily Katy (X: @ItsEmilyKaty; Instagram: @itsemilykaty) for coming up with #NotASchoolSkiver and inspiring loads of autistic people to share their own experiences.