Kerry Hodge said her son, Felix, has a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder, which means he is verbal, he can go to the toilet himself, and he can do some tasks.
But because of his high skill level, he only receives Ministry of Education funding for one hour of teacher aide support per day at Warrington School.
The school itself provides one other hour per day from its own budgets.
''He's a very smart and very happy kid, but he can be quite energetic and hard to keep on task.
''Sometimes he just gets overstimulated - it's like watching a jug boil.
''Little things can trigger that, like wind, seagulls, and clapping which you can imagine happens a lot in a classroom.''
Miss Hodge said the two hours per day of one-to-one support at school meant Felix was able to complete work in the school environment.
He was on a par with his peers academically, and reading-wise he was ahead a few years.
She said the school and the local community were doing everything they could to make school inclusive for him.
''I can't stress enough how grateful I am to Warrington School, its teachers, pupils and community for its continuing support and passion in helping Felix reach his full potential.''
However, the big issue was Felix's behaviour when the one-to-one teacher aide time was over for the day.
She said he had a history of running from the classroom and he had no concept of danger.
The school has erected special stop signs at the gate to prevent him running on to the road, and other pupils try to keep an eye out for him.
He also loses focus and wants to ''ninja'' alone in front of a mirror, she said.
''He's very into his reflection and his shadow ... he stands in front of the mirror kicking, jumping, flicking and making ninja noises.
''It's like a calming behaviour for him.
''It's fine in small doses, but he can become very reliant on that and would spend hours doing it, which isn't learning.''
She said if he spent too long on the activity, he would become aggressive when someone tried to stop him.
As a result, she had reduced Felix's school hours to three half days and two full days a week, which was going well.
However, there had been pressure from the education system to see him at school fulltime and reaching standards, which meant he had to be pushed - all without extra teacher aide support. Ultimately, that was making him withdraw.
She believed with more teacher aide support, he would grow up to be a productive member of society.
Miss Hodge has a bachelor of applied science (psychology) degree and 12 years' experience working with children and adults with various levels of intellectual and physical disabilities.
''Every child in New Zealand is entitled to an education, and I think these kids [children with autism] should be included because we expect them to be included in communities as adults, and if they're not included in classrooms as children, then the other children won't get to experience the differences.
''So when they get older, they will form their judgements.
''I've seen a lot of the kids that have failed in the school system, end up in the mental health system, and I just think prevention is way better than a cure.
''Early intervention is definitely the key to stopping a huge amount of issues.
''I feel that high-functioning children on the autism spectrum, like my son, are being underfunded by the Ministry of Education.''
Warrington School board of trustees chairwoman Sharon Brogan agreed.
''There's no doubt that he would benefit from more time with a teacher aide.
''He needs somebody with him during the learning hours of every school day, otherwise there is no way to keep him focused on his learning.
''Felix is a delightful wee boy. We would just like to be able to help him with his future.''
Ministry of Education enablement and support sector head Kim Shannon said the ministry would continue to work with Warrington School and the Hodge family, to ensure Felix got the best opportunity to succeed in school.
''Every child is different and the support they might need differs too. This is why funding is not tied to specific conditions or diagnoses, but assessed individually for each child.''
Those requiring a high level of support could get funding through the ongoing resourcing scheme which provides teacher aide resourcing, specialist teacher provision and access to specialist services.
For other pupils, there was a less intensive level of support.
Funding for additional learning support had increased about 29% in the past five years, to about $600 million, she said.
