Autistic children victims of postcode lottery claim

Families are being forced to pay up to 25,000 a year for specialist programmes because many local authorities refuse to finance them.

Earlier this week, the parents of an autistic child in West Lothian successfully sued their local council for refusing to fund the world-renowned treatment known as ABA - applied behaviour analysis. The legal challenge centred on their six-year-old son, who had benefited under the ABA system.

Figures suggest that more than 100 local education authorities in England and Wales recognise ABA, and are prepared to provide it free of charge. But in Scotland, only five out of 32 councils - Midlothian, Clackmannanshire, Highland, West Lothian and Dumfries and Galloway, fund the programme.

Donna Grieve, a mother-of-two from Edinburgh, is among dozens of families throughout Scotland who feel let down by their local council. She said: "It is disgusting that we have to pay for it ourselves. We’re having to use our savings for our son’s education and we have virtually nothing left.

"We feel as if we’re being penalised because of where we live. If we lived in a different area this would be paid for by the council."

Mrs Grieve, whose four-year-old son, Andrew, is autistic, pays about 12,000-a-year for the ABA programme.

She added: "In the short-term ABA can seem expensive because of the high degree of one-to-one teaching, but it works and the benefits are huge. It is an investment which will pay for itself 100 times over. Everyone should have the chance to get the best for their child - wherever you live."

ABA is a home-based method of intensive behaviour therapy, which was developed by Professor Ivar Lovaas in the 1960s.

Children receive up to 40 hours a week of one-to-one teaching for up to five years.

All skills are broken down into small tasks, which are achievable, and the teaching is very structured and accompanied by lots of praise and rewards. Experts believe it can dramatically improve an autistic child’s development.

Caryn Mello-Kennedy, an expert in developmental psychology, in Edinburgh, said Scottish children would continue to lose out unless funding was made available. She added: "ABA is a very effective method for children with autism. But in Scotland there’s a postcode lottery as to whether you get the funding. We are playing catch-up, and Scottish children are losing out."

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council said they provided a range of services for children with special needs, but there were no plans to fund ABA at this stage.

In England and Wales, parents have the right to appeal to a special tribunal if they are refused funding - a mechanism which is not available in Scotland.

Paul Conrathe, a leading education lawyer who has dealt with more than 200 cases relating to ABA and council provision in England, described Scotland’s appeal system as ‘primitive’.