A COUPLE who moved to Wrexham almost two months ago say they are still waiting for the council to provide full- time education for their severely autistic daughter.
Dr Roderick Thompson and wife Alison moved to Windermere Terrace, Acton, from Prestatyn on May 1 with their children Bethany, eight, Cameron, 11, and Emma, 10, who is autistic.
While two of their children were given places in mainstream schools almost straight away, Emma has yet to secure a full-time place.
From this week she will receive two two-and-a-half-hour sessions a week at St Christopher’s School, Wrexham.
Dr Thompson said: “If I had purposefully kept a child out of school for this long I’d probably be looking at time behind bars.
“Because of Emma’s condition, when she learns things she needs repetition and she needs a routine so it’s important she can go to school every day.
“Emma’s condition is so severe we don’t even know if she’ll ever be able to talk, but we really want to give her the best we can.”
Dr Thompson, who works for web marketing company Whitebox, on Wrexham Enterprise Park, while Alison is a recruiter for Avon, said: “We are lucky we have flexible working hours so we can look after Emma while she’s not in school, but we need a break as well and Emma needs an education.
“It doesn’t seem fair that if she was an able-bodied child she would have a place but, because she is disabled, she is missing out.”
Graham Edwards, head of education inclusion at Wrexham County Borough Council, said: “The council has been in contact with the girl’s family and we are working together to ensure she receives the proper support.
“St Christopher’s School wants to ensure all her specialist educational needs are met and the authority is working with the school to make this happen.”
