Asperger's Syndrome affects 36 out of every 10,000 people

Five-year-old Michael Simons, from Chatham in Kent, has an aggressive form of Asperger's syndrome.

Symptoms of the syndrome, which is a form of autism, include difficulty with communicating and social relationships.

Medway Council said they were assessing his needs but his mother Andrea Hellings says she needs help now.

If they are not going to have him in school all the time, at least help me educate him at home Andrea Hellings, Michael's mother

Medical experts say Asperger's syndrome affects 36 in every 10,000 people.

Ms Hellings admits it has made Michael hard to control, and his behaviour is why education authorities have limited the amount of time he can spend at school.

But she believes he should be found a full-time place at a mainstream school to help his development and help her cope.

She said: "If they are not going to have him in school all the time, at least help me educate him at home, at least provide me with something that can help."

Special educational needs

Ms Hellings, who has another older son, has been told it will take six months for the formal assessment of Michael's educational needs and that he cannot be sent to school full-time until then.

She said: "Nobody tells you what help you can get anywhere - not the medical people, not the education people, not the social services people.

"Everybody just says, 'Yes, you qualify in our department' or 'No, you don't qualify, phone such and such'."

Medway Council said it was carrying out a statutory assessment of Michael's needs.

But it added that no mainstream school could refuse to take a child on account of their special educational needs, provided there was a vacancy.