My dd12 had symptoms that she never had before at the same age (6). Due to her bd, she was in 1st grade at that time but had the same issue with repetition and material that was totally inappropriate in terms of level. I don't think that an inappropriate educational match can cause autism, but I do think that it can cause significant stress especially in a child that age who has limited ability to cope with a large portion of the day being so stifling.
My dd's symptoms were more obviously stress related (crying at her desk -- she's usually very private and would never cry at school, shaking, working extremely slowly and missing all of her recesses to complete work, number reversals in writing, etc.). The teacher was telling other parents who came in to volunteer to ignore dd's crying b/c she was a baby and coddled. We, too, removed her although I wish that I had done so sooner than I did.
