The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has warned all councils in England of their legal duties over children who are out of education. It follows a case where Leeds City Council left a young girl without proper education for nine...

Researchers are trialling party drug ketamine as a treatment for Rett syndrome. Led by the US Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT), the study will look at the drug’s safety and effectiveness. Medics currently use it mainly as an anaesthetic. Rett...

A mother says her autistic son is being held in hospital-like conditions in supported living. The mother, who cannot be identified, says the institutional-type arrangements amount to “psychological torture”. She said when her son visits her, home-support staff will take...

A learning disabilities expert will lead a new probe into the death of an autistic teenager. Fiona Ritchie will head the inquiry into the death of 18-year-old Oliver McGowan. The young man suffered an allergic reaction to antipsychotic medication while...

Teenagers with autism are being targeted by gangs running county lines drugs operations. That’s the view of youth worker Paul McKenzie, who has encountered “countless” examples of special needs teens recruited by older dealers. McKenzie says autistic youngsters’ desire for...

New research indicates that transgender and non-binary individuals are much more likely to have autism or display autistic traits than the wider population. The finding has important implications for gender confirmation treatments. Lead author Dr Steven Stagg, of Anglia Ruskin University,...

A campaigning mum fighting to reduce restraint in special schools is preparing for a court battle. The move follows a meeting with education officials that ended in stalemate. Beth Morrison wants a new law that would stop teachers restraining pupils...

Health secretary Matt Hancock has announced plans to strengthen training for care workers supporting people with autism and learning disabilities. Hancock says the Care Certificate covering autism and learning disabilities needs “specialist content”. The Care Certificate lays out the standards,...

The mum of an eight-year-old boy with autism says an administrative blunder has cost her son his school place. Michelle Rountree, from Belfast, says son Presley has no placement lined up after leaving Oakwood School and Assessment Centre this summer.  Rountree...

Autism may arise from a genetic defect during ‘scaffolding’ of the developing brain, according to new research. The discovery highlights the molecular details of a key process in brain development. It also adds to the scientific understanding of the biological...