I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention and I could not agree more. We all know of examples of good practice and how frustrating it is when they are not spread right across the country. The spreading of such good practice must indeed be an outcome, as I hope it will be, of the Bill.
Parents face various issues in finding the right school, such as whether it should be a special school or a mainstream school, and the fight to get a statement. The situation is incredibly fraught for parents, and even within a given mainstream setting there will be teachers who, as yet, have not had that training. There are children with autism who, by the age of eight or nine, are perhaps struggling with the academic side but particularly with social skills. It has to be recognised that such children will often need a modified application of the national curriculum. They might not be able to cope with whole-class lessons; they need a quieter environment. There is so much to be appreciated.
Moving on to transition—
Autism Bill
Proceeding contribution from
Annette Brooke
(Liberal Democrat)
in the House of Commons on Friday, 27 February 2009.
It occurred during Debate on bills on Autism Bill.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
488 c501 
Session
2008-09
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
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Timestamp
2024-04-21 09:52:48 +0100
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