De Burca Condemns Ruling on Arklow Autism Case

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De Burca Condemns Ruling on Arklow Autism Case

Friday, March 23 2007

Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca, who was at the Four Courts today supporting Arklow's Barnacoyle parents had the following to say ; “The anger and disappointment of parents today when they heard the Judge’s ruling was palpable. Parents of children with autism now feel very desperate as the State is refusing to provide suitable educational services for their children.”

Cllr de Burca says that the o Cuanachain parents, who are the parents of a 6 year old boy with autistic spectrum disorder, have put up with a 68 day hearing in the High Court in an effort to get suitable education for their son. “When one thinks of the amount of money that the State has spent on this case – one of the longest running case of its kind with legal costs estimated at over €5million- one can only imagine how that money could have been spent in improving services for children with autism” she says.

According to de Burca, Sean’s parents were looking for the State to provide their son with 30 hours a week Applied Behavioural Analysis instruction. “ABA is internationally recognised as an extremely progressive method of teaching children and adults with autism and is based on an individual’s specific need” she says. “Since the Barnacoyle School in Newcastle opened in February 2004 using the ABA approach, 40% of children enrolled there have moved onto mainstream education, one child no longer presents with the characteristics of autism. And yet the State is refusing to provide this kind of instruction for children with autism”.

“It is interesting to note that during the case, the Department of Educations Schools Inspector described the provision of education for children with autism in Ireland as 'an appalling state of affairs” says de Burca. “ It was also acknowledged that 70% of teachers working with children with autism have no autism specific training”.

“Sean’s story is echoed by the parents of his classmates who all describe the nightmare of having little or no services for their children when diagnosed with autism and the remarkable progress their children are making since commencing their ABA programme” says de Burca. “The Department of Education funds an ABA school which provides a service to the children of the Minister Hanafin’s constituency but spent 68 days in the high court denying it from a child in Co Wicklow. There are 12 ABA schools around the country. The parents were seeking equality of treatment for Seán o Cuanachain from the State and requested that 30hrs ABA education be provided for Sean. Today was a very bad day for all parents who have children with autism. The Green Party is calling on the Government to reverse years of neglect of services for children with autism and to recognise and fund ABA schools and other appropriate educational models for children and young people with autism around the country.

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