SECONDARY schools are ill-equipped to deal with the large increase in the number of children defined as autistic, a new survey reveals.

Three-quarters of the schools surveyed by the National Autistic Society (NAS) were dissatisfied with the extent of their teachers’ training in autism. Concern was most acute in secondaries.

Even in schools with pupils identified as autistic, only one in five had any teachers trained to deal with the disorder.

The society’s survey, which covered 373 schools in five English and Welsh councils, found autism was much more prevalent than previous estimates suggested. Sufferers have difficulties forming relationships and problems with communication and imagination.

Teachers reported that one in every 86 children they taught had special educational needs related to an autism spectrum disorder - that is, they either had the disorder listed on their statement or were receiving school-based help for it.

A recent report by the Medical Research Council estimated that one in 166 of children under eight suffered from autism.

The rate was more than three times higher in primary (one in 80) than in secondary schools (one in 268), the survey found. And two out of three teachers think there are more children with autism spectrum disorders now than five years ago.

The NAS does not know whether the sharp increase reflects a genuine rise in incidence of the disorder or simply higher levels of awareness and better diagnosis at primary level. Only more awareness and better training in secondary schools will resolve the question, it says.

It asks: “How many of the children currently being excluded from mainstream secondary schools might be found on assessment to have an autism spectrum disorder?”

The society calls for urgent government action to fund training and to pay for more qualified specialists such as speech therapists and educational psychologists. All schools should ensure that at least a proportion of their staff have at least a full day’s training in autism, it says.

The survey found that 44 per cent of schools with children identified as autistic said significant numbers of them were not getting the support they needed. More than half reported delays with diagnosis or statementing. Nearly one in three had no speech and language therapy.

The 26 special schools in the survey had a high concentration of autistic children. One in three in special schools had educational needs related to autism. The NAS suggests one reason for this may be that mainstream schools could not manage the children’s behaviour.

This problem will get worse as the large number of autistic children identified in primary schools moves into secondaries, the NAS warns.

“Autism in schools - crisis or challenge?” is available from the National Autistic Society, tel 0207 903 3581 or from the society’s website at www.nas.org.uk