Autistic boy suicidal over school

The bright, loving little boy who adores science, nature and meteorology, says he cannot cope with the school life forced on him by bureaucrats.

Joshua, of Glenleigh Park Road, is autistic. He is frantic to learn and needs specially trained teachers, according to a medical assessment at Eversfield Hospital, Eastbourne.

There is a vacancy for him at Lindfield Special School, Hampden Park. But East Sussex County Council says he must stay in mainstream Bexhill High School where he says classmates mock him, noise and hubbub drives him crazy and teachers treat his attempts to understand them as indolence.

This week a horrified head teacher Mike Conn promised to review Joshua's educational needs.

Joshua said: "I'm frightened of going to school. It is hard to mix with the other children. They fight and sometimes hit me."

His parents, Chris and Cheryl Carey, say Joshua repeatedly tells them: "What is the point of going on? Nobody understands me. I don't want to live anymore."

The chilling words from such a young child will shock many, but Joshua is not alone in his despair. His anguished mother, a committee member of the Sussex Autistic Society, says she knows of at least five other autistic children who want to end it all because they are not getting the help they need.

The National Autistic Society says children with a death wish are commonplace. Some have attempted suicide.

Joshua is desperate to learn. His hearing is so acute that a chair scraping, collective voices, or even pages turned en masse make him clutch his ears in pain.

Cheryl has kept Joshua home from school since Christmas and could face court action for doing so.

"School's a nightmare for Joshua. He has no friends. Shouts of encouragement in sports puzzle him and make him stop what he is doing. He doesn't understand the children, nor they him.

"He is intelligent and friendly, but nobody knows how to take him. He takes everything literally and needs a school that can deal with autistic children."

Mike Conn said: "This is horrific. I am passionate about my pupils' well-being, won't tolerate bullying and can't bear the thought of any child suffering. I'll look very carefully at this case with Mrs Carey and see how we can review Joshua's special education needs."

Bexhill MP Greg Barker has taken up Joshua's cause and is fighting to get education standards for autistic children raised through Parliament.

Jenny Bahtia, of the National Autistic Society, said: "The problem is lack of Government funding. We need more schools for autistic children. GPs need training to make early diagnosis of autism. Undiagnosed children are in mainstream schools.

"Teachers should be trained to spot autism and handle it.."