Until a few months ago, Nicolò was a symbol of hope. Thirteen years old, suffering from severe autism spectrum disorder, he had achieved goals once thought impossible thanks to eleven years of intensive therapy, family support, and a tailored educational program.
Enrolled in the second year of a music-focused middle school in the Salerno area, Nicolò had excellent grades, played the piano, played sports, and even received awards for his artistic work, bringing a message of inclusion from Salerno to Sanremo and Paris.
All of this came to an end on September 10, 2025. Upon returning to class, he was hit with a cold shower: his special education teacher, trained to his specific needs and who had been by his side for three years, was suddenly replaced.
The drama of detachment and regression
The decision, made without any prior notice to the family, has had devastating effects. The trauma of the change was compounded by a cruel detail: the previous teacher remained employed at the same school. Nicolò sees him every day, sometimes clinging desperately to his car.
The necessary empathy hasn't been established with the new teacher. For a boy with Nicolò's structure, the disruption of educational continuity and the loss of his point of reference have triggered severe emotional dysregulation. Experts treating him now describe a worrying active regression, accompanied by neurovegetative signs of profound distress. Months of frustration and disorientation in an environment suddenly perceived as hostile are undoing years of hard-won progress.
Inclusion Denied: "He Must Understand and Adapt"
Making the situation even more bitter is the attitude found within the school. The family's statement reveals an unacceptable mentality for 2026: the expectation that an autistic child, just because he or she can smile or performs well in school, "must understand and accept" change.
A complete reversal of the concept of inclusion: instead of adapting the environment to the student's vulnerabilities, the demand is that the student with disabilities absorb the bureaucratic burden. Meanwhile, the specialized school services have also been discontinued, leaving Nicolò isolated in a system that his family now describes as "rejecting."
The appeal to Ministers: "Help us get it flying again."
While the #iostoconnicolo solidarity network is mobilizing and the case has reached Parliament, the top priority is to halt the boy's clinical and emotional decline. Specialists are adamant: the only effective "therapy" at this time is a change of environment. A truly welcoming school is needed.
Hence, Annarita's desperate appeal to the Ministers of Education, Giuseppe Valditara, and Disability, Alessandra Locatelli, the Governor of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca, and all school administrators in the Salerno area: "We need a new school for Nicolò. My autistic child had begun to fly, then someone broke his wings. He's in pain, his condition has worsened. Help us find a good school that can help him heal his broken wings, bring light and justice."
Nicolò's battle isn't just about his future, it's about the entire educational community: the right of a vulnerable child not to see the miracle of his normality destroyed by bureaucracy.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
I like the story and the situation seems complex, but I don't know how the school could have changed support without warning; the boy reacts badly and the new teacher doesn't understand him. The family asks for help, but the institutions don't respond, and everything seems disorganized and bureaucratic.