Our son, who is just ten years old, presents with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile of Autism. He has been unable to access an appropriate education under the local authority since he was six years old. This is not just an issue confined to him but represents the plight of many children across the UK who face similar barriers in accessing their basic human right to education. When he attended a mainstream school, he experienced significant trauma and anxiety, making it impossible for him to continue in that environment. 

This petition has been prompted due to East Riding of Yorkshire local authority removing our son’s  EOTISC provision  without consulting with him , us (parents), or any professionals involved  in his education or health plan (EHCP). A setting has been ordered even though our son  cannot reliably leave home due to PDA. 

Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) like our son are being denied their basic human rights due to unlawful, harmful, and distressing decisions made by local authorities. It is distressing for families to witness their children suffering from unmet needs, trauma, anxiety, autistic burnout, or PDA-related distress, all of which prevent them from attending school. These children encounter a system that is ill-equipped and often resistant to adaptations necessary for their success and wellbeing.

Many children cannot — not will not — attend school. Instead of receiving the support they are legally entitled to, families are too often pressured, blamed, ignored or threatened. This undermines children’s rights to education, dignity, safety and reasonable adjustments under UK law and international human rights treaties.

Our own ten year-old son has spent months  and years without a well rounded education because of a lack of recognition of the PDA profile of Autism. The impact on our family has been profound, and we know our experience is far from unique.

We call on local and national government to meet their legal duties under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the Equality Act 2010, the Children and Families Act 2014, and the Human Rights Act 1998.

We petition the local authority and  UK Government  to: 

Provide lawful, timely, tailored education for children who cannot attend school due to their SEND or SEMH needs.

Recognise autonomy as essential and  a necessary reasonable adjustment for PDA children, and ensure they are meaningfully involved in decisions. 

Establish safeguarding procedures so families can challenge unsafe, unlawful or harmful local authority decisions including potential for social, emotional and mental health deterioration through neglect or harm.

Require specialist training for all staff on PDA, autistic burnout, neuropsychiatric conditions, trauma, and lawful SEND practice.

Update child protection training to include accurate and current information on PDA and other emerging or under-recognised neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric  profiles.

Ensure full transparency in SEND panel decision-making; families should not need Subject Access Requests to access essential  and basic documents such as meeting minutes pertaining to their child.

Include independent lived-experience advocates in the shaping of SEND policy and practice.

Adopt a strengths-based approach that recognises the abilities, talents and potential of neurodivergent children, such as the ability to focus deeply in areas of interest.

Create an independent national oversight body to monitor SEND compliance, investigate unlawful practices and enforce accountability before parents are driven to  make official complaints and access the  Local Government Ombudsmen (LGO).

Guarantee access to timely, trauma-informed mental health support for children harmed by school distress, inappropriate placements or failures in SEND provision.

Require full transparency over all local authority SEND spending — including costs associated with tribunals, legal teams, and alternative provision with high absence rates — and redirect funding toward effective, lawful, child-centred support.

Every child has the right to safety, dignity, inclusion,  education and the right to be involved and participate in decisions that affect them.  We urge the UK Government and all local authorities to act now — no child should be left without the provision and protection they are legally entitled to.

Please sign this petition to stand with us in protecting the rights and future of children with SEND. Together, we can make a difference.

Thank you, 

Emma and Paul - parents to J