Autistic boy's parents spend £60 a day on taxis

The parents of an autistic four-year-old lad are spending £60 a time connected taxis to get him to his peculiar school, aft their exertion for specializer transport was rejected.

Ellie and Matthew's lad Frank was fixed a spot astatine a schoolhouse astir six miles from their home.

Matthew said: "We consciousness similar we've yet got him into the close schoolhouse for him to truly prosper, and conscionable similar that it's been ripped distant from him."

Birmingham City Council said four-year-olds starting schoolhouse were not eligible for specializer transport until the word aft their 5th birthday.

Merstone School successful Solihull was the lone mounting that could conscionable the needs outlined successful Frank's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Ellie and Matthew, who cannot drive, were near with nary enactment but to escort Frank to and from schoolhouse successful a taxi, with 4 regular journeys from their Acock's Green location costing astatine slightest £60, oregon £300 per week.

Birmingham City Council has offered the household a idiosyncratic transport fund of £340 per year.

Matthew said helium and Ellie were "getting nary slumber whatsoever," adding: "We can't prolong £1,000 a month."

He said that "the majority" of Frank's classmates were capable to instrumentality a minibus to schoolhouse due to the fact that they fell nether Solihull Council's transport policy, which covers each reception people pupils, careless of their age.

The household said they would person to see taking their lad retired of schoolhouse until adjacent September, unless their entreaty against the deficiency of transport proviso was upheld.

Matthew said: "If Frank was a neurotypical child, his schoolhouse would beryllium a 15-minute locomotion away, if that. We don't get that option. It's disgusting that the assembly is punishing the astir susceptible children due to the fact that of their mismanagement."

In Birmingham, four-year-olds are considered pre-schoolers, adjacent if they are starting reception class.

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “Pre-school transport is thing that section authorities person nary compulsory work to supply and is typically a reduced connection erstwhile compared to 5-15 compulsory schoolhouse aged transport."

The Labour-run authorization added: "It is astatine the discretion of idiosyncratic councils and would usually beryllium successful the signifier of idiosyncratic transport budgets, arsenic it is amended that a genitor tin beryllium supported to travel a kid of specified a young property wherever possible.”

Several different parents person told the BBC their four-year-olds with peculiar acquisition needs and disabilities person been denied transport.

Laura Crick said: "My lad has precocious started a peculiar school, we person been refused transport due to the fact that helium is four. I person a girl successful mainstream schoolhouse whose start/finish clip is the same. I person nary mode of getting them some to schoolhouse and working."

Last week, parents of sixth signifier students with SEND told the BBC they had besides lost their home-to-school transport, arsenic portion of fund cuts for 16-19 twelvemonth olds.

A elder acquisition person told the BBC up to 50% of sixth signifier students with peculiar acquisition needs successful Birmingham were not successful afloat clip acquisition due to the fact that of cuts to the home-to-school transport service.