‘Suspended every week’: School nightmare for student with autism

A violent confrontation sparked by his routine changing without noticed when he was just seven years old started a “nightmare” cycle for Jake Smith.

Jake Smith’s first suspension was in Year One, which was the first of so many he would end up missing six months of school in Year 7.

Diagnosed just before his seventh birthday with Autism Spectrum Disorder and intellectual impairment, Jake, whose name has been changed to protect him, would eventually be excluded from school in that year for a violent confrontation sparked by his routine changing without notice.

His mother, Charlotte, whose name has also been changed, describes that event as a “nightmare”, which followed the “horrendous” experience of primary school during which he was “suspended every week”.

Ms Smith said the incident began when all three of his usual male teacher aides were away, and a new female teacher aide was assigned to him who lost sight of him while escorting him to class.

Charlotte and Jake have struggled with the school system since Year 1. Picture: Evan Morgan

It led to a confrontation between Jake and other children that escalated into a lockdown of the school, Jake running to a neighbouring construction site where he armed himself with a bar, and the police being called.

Jake was expelled from the school, although that was overturned on appeal after Education Queensland determined “procedures weren’t followed” that were meant to be in place to assist Jake, Ms Smith said.

But the school refused to re-enrol him.

After changing schools last year, Jake has just completed four terms with no suspensions after his new school hired a male teacher aide specifically for him with knowledge on helping children like him, and who tutored him after school so he could catch up on the six months of lessons he’d missed.

Ms Smith said she backed the kind of review advocates were calling for to look at the lack of supports and understanding in schools for students like her son that she believes led to so many of his behavioural problems.

Jake has completed four terms with no suspensions since changing schools. Picture: Evan Morgan

She hoped it would come up with solutions to stop other families going through the same thing.

“It’s sad there are so many families in the same circumstances,” she said, pointing to the fact not all families had the support and resources hers did.

“Every child deserves an education and every parent deserves to go to work and earn a living.”

She said there were a lot of teachers who tried, and she didn’t envy their difficult jobs.

“But there’s some who are very old school and just label them as brats and you definitely know the school’s the problem when you have a near-perfect child at home – he doesn’t have meltdowns at home, he does his chores, he’s a fabulous kid at home.

“Some teachers have the gift, some don’t.”