(UK) Parents 'knew quite early on that he was autistic'; fear for him in mainstream school

May 29, 2024, Edinburgh Live: Edinburgh parents of autistic boy fear son 'won't cope' in mainstream school

An Edinburgh mum says she is terrified her autistic son 'won't cope' while attending mainstream school.

Lisa Evans, 32, should be excited for her four-year-old son, Richard, to reach the milestone of starting primary school in August, however, she has already deferred his entry for a year over fears he "isn't ready".

Richard is autistic and was diagnosed in June 2023, meaning it is difficult for him to cope and understand certain environments. At moments, it is hard for him to socialise with new people and be in specific situations, causing "stress and worry" for his parents, Lisa and Andrew.

Lisa fears that her son may not be able to cope in a mainstream school and believes that there isn't enough support for parents of children with additional support needs. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, she said it can be "isolating" and that her family worry about the financial impacts of it at all as well.

The City of Edinburgh Council have since said that they are "fully committed" in ensuring parents of children with additional support needs receive the " best possible" support.

Lisa, who works as a nurse for the NHS, said: "My wee boy is four and he got a diagnosis last year but we knew quite early on that he was autistic but none of the professionals said it out loud to us for quite some time.

"My husband and I knew deep down that it was the case and it sent us to a place of feeling lonely. Although we have loads of friends and family around us, nobody understands the journey that we are embarking on as a family and as parents and it can be really isolating.