One in six autistic pupils in UK have not attended school at all since September

Nearly half (45%) of the parents and children who responded to the UK-wide survey said they felt blamed by the government for the school absences. Photograph: Joaquin Corbalan pastor/Alamy

One in six autistic pupils have not been to school at all since the start of this academic year, according to a new survey which found that mental health issues were often behind high levels of school absence.

Nearly half (45%) of the parents and children who responded to the UK-wide survey by the Ambitious About Autism charity said they felt “blamed” by the government for the absences.