A mother today hit out at delays in getting help for her son who has been missing half his lessons for six months.

Seven-year-old Richard Pattinson is unable to go to school full time because of his disruptive behaviour.

And for the last six months he has only gone to Windhill Primary in the mornings, which means he has now missed weeks' worth of lessons.

His mother Lesley Young says there have been too many delays on the part of Education Bradford in assessing Richard for a 'statement' which would entitle him to extra one-to-one support.

The youngster has been diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome and has some features of Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism.

At Windhill Primary he has disrupted classes and on occasions been violent.

Mrs Young said she had no complaint against the school.

"They know he's not just a naughty little boy. They have been fighting with us to try and get this sorted," she said.

"They could have excluded him permanently by now, but they know he's got problems and needs help.

"The system for getting a child support is far too lengthy, and each time we think we might be getting somewhere there seems to be another meeting for them to discuss what to do next."

She said it was not fair that he was only getting half an education.

"If I had decided to keep him off school, I would have been taken to court by now," she said.

A spokesman for the Depart-ment for Education and Skills (DfES) said: "The local authority does have a duty to provide full-time education in cases where a child is permanently excluded from school.

"All parties involved - the parents, child, school and local authority - have a duty and a responsibility to ensure the child is receiving adequate full-time education."

An Education Bradford spokes-man said Richard's case was brought to their attention in April.

He said: "We are working with the school, Richard's parents and other agencies to put together an education programme to meet his needs. This process has taken time because of the need to carry out various assessments.

"We want to ensure the provision he receives is appropriate and sustainable for full-time attendance."

Asked about Education Brad-ford's legal responsibility to provide full-time education, the spokesman added: "We are acting properly to make sure he gets proper full-time provision.

"Once the school gets back to us we will respond accordingly."