If your child has autism, you might be trying to decide whether it is better to send them to a good school or to home-school them. This can be an extremely challenging and difficult decision to make as a parent, with many factors to consider when it comes to the education of your child. Although home-schooling can be beneficial for some children with autism, there are a wide range of benefits that come with sending your child to a good school. 

We want to share with you some of the advantages of placing your autistic child in a good school versus teaching them from home. First Bridge is an Ofsted-registered early intervention and ABA therapy centre based in West London – specialising in working with children with autism spectrum disorders and development delays. If you’d like further information on the autism therapy services, please visit our website. 

Interact with other children and develop social skills 

One of the advantages of sending your child to a school is that it allows them to interact with other children and develop their social skills. Interacting with other children is essential for your autistic child’s growth and development, and schools provide your child with the opportunity to do this. It gives them access to other children of their age, that they can interact and develop friendships with. 

This lets your child develop their social skills, learn how to form friendships, and allows them to feel included. Home-schooling can be quite isolating for many autistic children and make them feel lonely, and in a school, they will be surrounded by other children of similar ages and needs that they can socialise and make friends with. 

Provides structure and routine

Attending a school will provide structure and routine, which can be particularly helpful for children with autism. Many children with autism find that routine can be very beneficial and bring comfort and stability. It can help to ease their anxiety and provide them with consistency, which is vital. A school environment gives your child that framework and schedule, with set times for being at school, lessons, lunch times, and set home times. 

Participate in extra curricular activities and develop interests

School will also provide your child with the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities and develop other interests they may enjoy. Your child can take part in sports activities and groups, go to art clubs, embrace drama clubs and performances, and find what they love and thrive doing. This can be particularly helpful in developing your autistic child’s interests and helping them discover what they enjoy and might want to do more of in later life.

When you home school your child, they don’t get the opportunity to take part in extracurricular activities like these with other students and means they might not get to try out new things that they will enjoy. A school environment lets your child learn these new hobbies and skills and participate in activities that they can embrace.

Takes pressure away from the parent or carer

Sending your child to a good school also helps to take the stress and pressure of educating your child away from you and gives you the break you need, whether that be to go to work, do household tasks or go shopping. Home schooling your child can become very overwhelming and emotionally draining, and taking on the role of being their teacher as well as their parent can be challenging. 

Home schooling your child can also financially be difficult, as you need to be able to supply the necessary tools independently – which includes internet access, teaching resources, learning materials, the cost of exams and much more. By sending your child to a school you won’t have to worry about financial issues and can trust that your child is getting the education that they need in a professional, structured environment. 

ABA-led Therapy

Here at First Bridge, we specialise in providing children with ABA therapy – Applied Behaviour Analysis therapy – which is an evidence-based form of therapy, that has been derived through decades of scientific research. ABA therapy sessions here at First Bridge are delivered by our expert ABA therapists and designed and overseen by our Board-Certified Behaviour Analysts (BCBA), all of whom will make your child feel welcome, relaxed and at ease during their therapy sessions. 

All of our therapy sessions are completely tailored and personalised to the needs of your child, and work with your child to help them with their social, communication, learning and behavioural skills. We have a number of therapy services to choose from here at First Bridge, including our Enrich 2 x 2 hour weekly sessions and our 12-week Grow course depending on what you feel would suit your child best.

Interested in learning more about autism therapy for your child?

We offer children between infancy and nine years old a variety of ABA therapy services, all from our specialist therapy centre based in West London. We work with children with autism spectrum disorder, social communication disorders, speech and language delays, and developmental delays to provide them with highly personalised and tailored therapy to suit their individual needs.

To learn more about autism therapy in London at First Bridge, reach out to our team by calling +44 (0) 20 3301 3985, or by sending us an email to admissions@firstbridgecentre.com and a member of our team will be more than happy to help. We will be able to discuss your child’s needs with you and devise a therapy plan that will work for you and your child. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding our therapy services, we are always more than happy to help and to answer any questions that you might have.