My DD has ASD and ADHD. For the last 12 months she has had very low attendance. She's been very unwell due to autistic burnout.
Support from CAMHS is practically non existent.
There is a worldwide shortage of ADHD medication that has been going on for approximately 6 months now. It's a health crisis that seems to be going totally unnoticed.
She should be in a specialist setting. There aren't any places.
She now has an EHCP. It took a year to obtain when the maximum legal time is 20 weeks. The help it offers might have worked a year ago. It's too little too late now and so far I don't see much evidence of the school properly following the EHCP anyway.
My child isn't academic. GCSEs are too difficult for her. The old system of O'levels and CSEs catered for non academic children. When she had 100% attendance she still couldn't do the work herself. She has short term memory issues. Years of failing tests and not understanding the work have contributed to her mental health issues. The education system is failing non academic children.
Schools are too big and too regimented. My Secondary School was a 4 form intake. DD's is 8 forms on a school site that can't really fit all the children in. It's too crowded, too noisy, there's no room in the playground, the queues for food at lunchtime or to even use the toilet are too long. DD gave up eating, drinking or using the toilet at school.
After struggling last year she started this current school year trying to be really determined. Within 20 minutes she was given a detention for something very minor. A missing piece of stationary. The teacher chose to humiliate her in front of the class. The SENCO removed the detention, which should never have been given, but the damage to her confidence was done and it actually triggered a mental health crisis. She hasn't been able to go back to that class since.
Our neuro diverse children are being let down terribly.