THE mother of two autistic children has finally won her battle for them both to be educated at a school which specifically caters for their needs.

Mum Tracy Cherrih fought a four-year legal dispute with Cheshire County Council to win her daughter Hannah the right to specialist treatment at the pioneering Higashi School in Boston.

Last summer, Hannah returned from Boston and was placed at Wargrave House School, Newton-le-Willows, the only school in the area which caters specifically for the needs of autistic children.

Tracy, aged 34, then vowed to fight on to enable Hannah's six-year-old brother Adam, who attends an assessment school, to go to school with his big sister.

Now, Adam too has been accepted at Wargrave House and is waiting for a starting date.

Tracy, of Gregory Close, Old Hall, said: "Adam's present school is great, but it doesn't have the expertise to deal with his behavioural problems.

"For every child like Adam, there are 10 other children who can't get places. I feel sorry for their parents but they have to fight for it and never give up. I made it clear early on that I wouldn't settle for anything else."

A spokesman for the Warrington branch of the Aspergers Autistic Society said that, with only two other centres in Southport and Congleton, parents of autistic children faced an acute shortage of places in the Warrington area.

"There is a crying need for a school for autistic children here," he said. "Parents are facing waiting lists of about two years. There are about 120 schools in Warrington, and most have one or two autistic children receiving special needs support.

"But my own view is that the autistic child needs a school that is geared to their needs. I'm really glad that Mrs Cherrih has got both her children into Wargrave," he said.

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