A girl of eight who has an IQ of 130 has been expelled from three schools for attacking members of staff – yet her parents says she is perfectly well behaved at home.
The Daily Mail reports that Charlotte Tait from Yorkshire has slapped, bitten and pulled the hair of her teachers because she feels 'she is not being listened to'.
Incidents put on the record by her schools include: 'Charlotte began to use objects to hit all three members of staff. These included a water bottle, door stop, book bag, staff badges, her jumper and presents' and 'Charlotte was requested not to use these items to hit staff. When she continued to use these items to hit staff, they were removed from her and placed outside the door.'
She is now being educated at home via an online learning resource.
Her mum and dad, Arthur and Maxine, say their daughter has Asperger's syndrome and that she behaves badly because she finds it hard to communicate. However, they say they have been told they must wait a year for tests to see if the form of autism is indeed at the root of her problem.
Her dad says that Charlotte's condition is now tearing the family apart.
"Our lives have become absolute hell. We have fallen apart as a family," he said. "I am 100 per cent sure that Charlotte has Asperger syndrome and is simply not being listened to."
Arthur says he has carried out a 'huge amount of research' into the condition – mainly late at night when he is unable to sleep 'due to the stress that the Charlotte's schools has caused us'.
He says that his daughter is entirely different at home, where she lives with her two brothers, Cory, seven, and Ceri, six.
"She's not as aggressive at home," he said. "It's because she's listened to and understood."
But the concerned dad added that the situation was making the family 'prisoners' in their own homes and was 'very difficult for Cory and Ceri'.
"They can't have friends round because we can't trust that Charlotte won't get angry," he explained.
Having been expelled from three primary schools in North Yorkshire after teachers complained about her violent behaviour, Charlotte has been unsuccessful in securing another school place near the family home.
She has now been offered a place a special school in Cumbria, where she would have to stay during the week - something her mum says would have a devastating effect on the family.
"Charlotte has had no proper education for the last year," Maxine Tait said. "We are having to send her away to the other side of the country just so she can be taught. It's literally going to tear our family apart."
"We didn't choose for her to have what we think is Asperger syndrome, but we are doing what we can to tackle Charlotte's behaviour, with the very little help we have had," she added.
Simon Fox, chief officer of Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said it was currently examining the circumstances around Charlotte's case but could not discuss the details.