How the rise of autism and ADHD fractured Australia’s schools

Alicia Cook and her son Emerson, who has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. Photograph: Sarah Rhodes/The Guardian

Every morning before school, Emerson Cook would ask his mum to check the weather. If it was raining she knew her then five-year-old would be anxious.

“He was always worried about rain,” Alicia Cook says. “And if the weather forecast was rain, I would be anxious too …