Melanie Sykes is mum to Roman, 13, and Valentino, 11, whom she had with her ex-husband Daniel Caltagirone.
Valentino was diagnosed with autism in 2006 when he was just two years old and had been attending a mainstream primary school where he thrived.
However, last September Valentino started secondary school at an academy in London, and as problems started to arise, was asked to leave.
Melanie has revealed that she has met many other “desperate parents” who are in a similar position to her, and worry that not being able to find a suitable secondary school for her son may affect him later in life.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mel revealed: “We are doing everything we can but there are so many obstacles.
“Valentino could be independent, self-sufficient and a very valuable member of society, but he may lose the ability to live that life and slip through the net.”
Mel and Daniel believe the decision made by the school to ask Valentino to leave, was made because of league table pressure.
Daniel admitted: “They are driven by exam grades. What is becoming clear is that we are not the only ones in this situation.
"We have met a lot of parents whose children have special educational needs who have been told, ‘We have pressure from inspectors to meet academic standards, so your son or daughter does not fit in here’.”
The parents have been visiting schools across London over the past few weeks, but have yet to secure a place for their son.
Explaining that they don’t want to send Valentino to a specialist school with only autistic children, Mel revealed that they are unsure what their 11 year old’s “gifts are, but he definitely straddles the autistic world and the mainstream world”.
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For more information on autism, please see The National Autistic Society.
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