The parents of an eight-year-old girl whose IQ means she is of superior intelligence, have spoken of their despair after their daughter was expelled from three schools because of her violent behaviour.
Charlotte Tait with her dad, Arthur, and mum, Maxine
Charlotte Tait has an IQ of 130 but she has been known to slap, bite and pull the hair of her teachers after quickly losing her temper when she feels she is not being listened to.
Her parents Arthur and Maxine Tait believe that their daughter is a sufferer of Asperger syndrome – a type of autism that means sufferers have difficulty communicating.
However, despite Charlotte repeatedly lashing out at her teachers, the family has been told they must wait a year for a vital autism assessment.
Mr Tait, 53, said: ‘Our lives have become absolute hell. We have fallen apart as a family.
‘I am 100 per cent sure that Charlotte has Asperger syndrome and is simply not being listened to.
‘I have done a huge amount of research into the condition during the nights where I have been unable to sleep due to the stress that the Charlotte’s schools has caused us.’
But Charlotte, who has two brothers, Cory, 7, and Ceri, 6, does not behave in entirely the same way at home.
‘She’s not as aggressive at home,’ said Mr Tait. ‘It’s because she’s listened to and understood.
‘But it’s making our whole family prisoners in our own homes. It’s very difficult for Cory and Ceri.
‘They can’t have friends round because we can’t trust that Charlotte won’t get angry.’
Charlotte has been excluded from Rillington, Settrington and Malton primary schools in North Yorkshire, after complaints made by teachers regarding her violent behaviour.
Mr and Mrs Tait are now unable to secure Charlotte in a school near to their home in Malton, North Yorkshire, and are home-educating her through an online educational programme.
They have been successful in obtaining her a place at Appletree School, a special school in Cumbria, where she would have to stay during the week, because there was nowhere suitable for a girl with such behavioural problems in North Yorkshire.
Mrs Tait, 43, said: ‘Charlotte has had no proper education for the last year.
‘We are having to send her away to the other side of the country just so she can be taught.
‘It’s literally going to tear our family apart.
‘We love all of our children the same and we try and treat them all the same so all we want to do is look after our daughter.
‘We didn’t choose for her to have what we think is Asperger syndrome, but we are doing what we can to tackle Charlotte’s behaviour, with the very little help we have had.’
Charlotte is currently 16th on a list awaiting an autism diagnostic assessment, which meant she would have to wait around a year to be seen.
According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations, such tests should take place within three months.
Until she has a firm diagnosis, the couple will not be able to see their daughter be offered the training and support they feel she desperately needs.
Last November, Patrick Crowley, chief executive of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, apologised on behalf of Scarborough Hospital for the ‘highly unsatisfactory’ delay in carrying out an assessment, saying demand was increasing.
Mr and Mrs Tait have been unemployed for more than a year now, after they were forced to give up their soft play business in Pickering.
Mr Tait said: ‘We were called so many times to go and pick up Charlotte from school that we were struggling to run a business at the same time.
‘Just before she was excluded from the last school, we were taking her to school and waiting in the car for around 15 minutes until they told us to take her home again.
‘They just didn’t know how to look after her. It’s not the teachers’ fault, it’s because Charlotte hasn’t had a proper diagnosis and the staff are not trained to deal with her behaviour efficiently.’
Simon Fox, chief officer of Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which has taken over responsibilities for planning and buying in health services from NHS North Yorkshire and York, said it was currently examining the circumstances around Charlotte’s case but could not discuss details in public.
He said: ‘The issue around long waits for autism assessment is already one of the areas that we are working hard to improve.
‘We are currently working with Scarborough Hospital to identify through service redesign.
‘In addition, the CCG is pursuing alternative providers to address the needs of those families who have been waiting for more than six months.
‘Once this has been agreed then affected families will be contacted to advise on revised waiting times for assessment.’
North Yorkshire County Council said additional support for children with special educational needs and disabilities was provided through the authority’s Specialist Support Service.
A spokeswoman said: ‘In addition to this, the county has a number of special schools and commissions five primary schools as enhanced mainstream schools for children with communication and interaction needs.
‘Communication and interaction includes speech, language and communication and/or needs relating to autism including Asperger syndrome.’
Extract from school incident report:
‘Charlotte began to use objects to hit all three members of staff. These included a water bottle, door stop, book bag, staff badges, her jumper and presents.
‘Charlotte was requested not to use these items to hit staff. When she continued to use these items to hit staff, they were removed from her and placed outside the door.
‘When Charlotte attempted to grab a chair, she was prevented from lifting it. Charlotte kicked and punched ****,**** and ***** and several of these attempts landed.’