Heartbreaking moment a mum realised her autistic son, 7, had no friends and was left out of playdate with his class
A MUM has recalled the moment she realised her autistic son had been excluded from a picnic with the rest of his school friends.
Former newsreader Tania Tirraoro, from Surrey, arrived at the local leisure centre with her seven-year-old son to find the rest of his class were having a picnic and he had not been invited.
Tania's son had only recently been diagnosed with ADHD and autism, prior to which the mum believes parents and teachers thought he was just a naughty child.
Speaking to the , she said: "There on the grass, picnicking, were the only friends he’d managed to make, along with their mums. He – and I – had been excluded. I felt gutted for my son.
“We had only just got his NHS diagnoses but no support. I asked him: ‘Shall we go over and say ‘hello'? and he quietly responded: ‘No, it’s OK, Mum.’ In that moment I decided I would fight for my son’s inclusion in society with everything I had.”
Now, Tania is one of the UK's Special Educational Needs and Disability campaigners, with her website, having 50,000 followers on social media and 200,000 visits per month.
Tania wants to highlight the lack of support for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) children, explaining "attitudes need to change".
“The problem lies both with culture and financial pressure. Attitudes need to change. Too many teachers and local authorities see parents as trying to ‘take’ something ‘extra’ or ‘game the system’, rather than just get what their disabled children are entitled to."
Tania adds that the cuts to services are leaving many SEND children without the support they need.
Yesterday, the government were accused of failing SEND children that calls for change in the system.
The Commons Education Select Committee report said reforms introduced in 2014 had been poorly implemented and kids had been left without the support they need.
"Despite the good intentions of the reforms, many children with special educational needs and disabilities are being let down day after day," said the committee chair Robert Halfon.
"Many parents face a titanic struggle just to try and ensure their child gets access to the right support.
"Families are often forced to wade through a treacle of bureaucracy, in a system which breeds conflict and despair as parents try to navigate a postcode lottery of provision.
"A lack of accountability plagues the system as local authorities, social care and health providers too frequently seek to pass the buck rather than take responsibility for providing support.
"Children and parents should not have to struggle in this way – they should be supported. There needs to be a radical change to inspection, support for parents, and clear consequences for failure to ensure the 2014 Act delivers as the Government intended."
The government has announced an extra £700m funding for kids with SEND over the next year, but Tania says it's "not enough" and won't "address the other major problems" explaining that councils need to be educating staff and teachers, too.
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