Schools aren’t designed for autistic children – these are the sensory challenges they face

In the academic year so far, the proportion of children who are “persistently absent” from schools in England – missing at least 10% of school sessions – stands at 19.5%. This is up from last year – and significantly higher than the 10.5% who were persistently absent before the pandemic.

The UK government’s “back to school” call in 2025 proposed a crackdown on “bad behaviour” to address this issue and get children back into classrooms. But a focus on bad behaviour may be missing the mark. Research suggests that in the majority of cases, school absence is underpinned by severe school distress and anxiety. Even more alarming is that many of these children are autistic.

Our schools and education system have not been designed for autistic children, who have neurological or thinking styles that diverge from what society sees as typical.

Up to 94% of autistic people have divergent sensory processing. This means that sensory information, such as loud sounds, bright lights and strong scents, can be distressing and overwhelming. In busy classrooms, dining halls and playgrounds, children are exposed to an onslaught of unpredictable and inescapable sensory information that becomes overwhelming across the day. This has been reported as a key reason autistic children experience distress and anxiety in school.

Here are the types of sensory information that autistic children tend to find more distressing, as well as some ways to support these challenges.

Sounds

Sudden and loud sounds, as well as environments with layers of different background noise, are commonly distressing for autistic people. Classrooms, dining halls and playgrounds have complex soundscapes with lots of chatter and noise from chairs and objects being moved about. There are also sudden sounds that can startle autistic children. These can include school bells, doors banging or teachers raising their voice or clapping to get the attention of pupils.

In research my colleagues and I carried out, autistic people, parents and teachers reported loud classrooms as the top contributor to school anxiety. But even in a quiet classroom, autistic children may struggle to filter out more subtle sounds, such as the buzzing from lights, clocks ticking, pens tapping and people whispering. These can also affect an autistic child’s ability to focus on their work.

Allowing children to listen to music with noise-cancelling headphones, use ear defenders or plugs, or sit somewhere quiet if the noise becomes overwhelming can help address these challenges.

Sights

Bright lighting, especially if it is artificial or fluorescent, can cause distress for autistic people. Classrooms and dining halls often have bright overhead lighting and children do not have the control to lower the lighting levels. Classroom walls are also often covered with busy display boards. This can cause distraction for all children, but especially autistic children.

This could be mitigated by allowing children to wear tinted glasses or to sit away from direct sunlight or bright overhead lighting.

Smells

Many autistic people can struggle with strong food smells, as well as cleaning products and perfumes. In schools, children can be exposed to food smells from canteens and packed lunches. There may also be a range of smells arising from peers and teachers, such as perfumes, coffee or body odour.

Having the option of a place to eat away from the canteen or large groups of other children could help autistic children cope with this.

Touch

Scratchy clothing fabrics and clothing labels are challenging for many autistic people. Mandatory school uniforms can cause distress for autistic children. They have limited choice in fabric and styles. Some elements of the uniform, such as blazers or school ties, may come with no choice at all.

Allowing some flexibility over clothing choices and cutting labels out of clothes could help here.

Making sensory-inclusive schools

Beyond individual support strategies, a range of steps can help make schools more sensory-inclusive. Providing flexible access to low-sensory spaces, such as rooms or dens, allows children to take breaks to recover from sensory information when they feel overwhelmed. In an ideal world, lighting and sound absorption would be improved, but at the very least sensory-inclusive design should be considered when new schools are being built.

There is also still widespread misunderstanding of autism and sensory challenges in schools. Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, declared in November 2025 that children wearing ear defenders in a classroom is “insane” and has “got to stop”. But these sensory aids are essential for some children to attend school. Implementing evidence-based training for school staff and pupils on neurodiversity and autism, as well as training on sensory-inclusive spaces, can increase understanding and acceptance.

Importantly, this issue spreads beyond our schools. Many spaces in our communities pose sensory challenges – creating barriers to vital services and affecting mental health. The sensory environment affects everyone, so by making spaces more sensory-inclusive for autistic people, we may also make spaces better for all.

Keren MacLennan has previously received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and Research England.