Supporting Your Autistic Child Moving from Primary to Secondary School

The move from primary to secondary is one of the biggest changes most autistic children will face, and most parents arrive at it carrying more worry than information. This session walks through five questions sitting underneath that worry and gives parents practical, achievable ways to answer them before September, during the first term, and through the autumn that follows. The aim is not a heroic plan, but a few small, steady moves that fit your family and your child.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, parents and carers will be able to:

• Recognise what their autistic child brings to secondary, alongside what they need, and how to communicate both to the new school
• Use the summer to shrink the unknown without tipping into anxious over-preparation
• Read the hidden curriculum of secondary, and help their child plan for the parts of the day that often catch autistic children out
• Identify and ask for the right support from the new school, including the named adult relationship that the evidence shows matters most
• Understand the “fine at school, falling apart at home” pattern, including masking, after-school decompression, and when to ask the school for more support