When inclusion is really exclusion: The tragic rise of the corridor kids
When being neurodiverse means a child might as well be a ghost
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The forgotten children in mainstream schools
By Amanda Wilkins
Last summer Lucy* invited three girls from her class to her 11th birthday party.
It was a small gathering and the school friends were the only guests. Lucy sat on the sofa, excitedly waiting for her friends to arrive for more than an hour before she finally realised that they were not going to come.
As the realisation suddenly dawned on her, she turned to her mother and asked: “Is no one coming to my birthday party?”.
It was in that moment that her mother’s heart broke into a thousand pieces.
Lucy is autistic and had never had a birthday party with children from her class before.
Like many autistic children, Lucy had attended a mainstream primary school. Friendships had always been a struggle and she had spent the previous seven years being left out of every social event; she was never invited to parties, playdates or sleepovers.
Her mother had always held Lucy’s birthday parties with close family members, fearing the disappointment her daughter would face if her classmates didn’t come. After trying desperately for years to make friends, Lucy believed that she had finally managed to forge genuine friendships with these girls. It was not the case. Her mother’s worst fears had come true and her daughter was devastated.