Vol. 467 No. 1
228 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Education the facilities, if any, that are available in south County Tipperary for children suffering from Dyslexia; the proposals, if any, she has to improve these facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12613/96]
The educational needs of children with specific learning disability — Dyslexia — are generally capable of being met within the ordinary school system with the assistance, where appropriate, of a remedial teacher. Fully qualified primary school teachers are trained to deal with a variety of reading problems, including those which are accompanied by perceptual difficulties. In addition, the special training programme for remedial teachers includes a module on specific learning disability. Where more serious cases of difficulty arise, provision is made in one of four special schools dedicated to this area. Three of these schools are located in Dublin and one in Cork.
At present, 53 primary schools in the south Tipperary area have a remedial teacher service. This represents 58 per cent of all primary schools and 77 per cent of pupils in the area. The White Paper on Education sets out a range of measures aimed at ensuring early detection and intervention where children with special educational needs are concerned. The fundamental objective is to ensure, to the maximum possible extent, that children with disabilities will have access to suitably resourced education services in their own area. To this end, the White Paper provides for a continuum of provision ranging from specialised back-up services for children attending ordinary schools, to the provision of special facilities dedicated to children with more serious needs. The needs of children with specific learning disability will be addressed within the comprehensive range of measures set out in the White Paper.
