Vol. 471 No. 4
209 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education the support, if any, her Department is prepared to give to children suffering from dyslexia; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that remedial teachers are not trained to deal with this problem in national schools; and if she will make sufficient funding available to provide proper facilities and concessions for these pupils. [21084/96]
The educational needs of pupils with specific learning disabilities, dyslexia, are generally capable of being met within the ordinary school system, with the assistance, where appropriate, of a remedial teacher and, in the case of post primary pupils, guidance counsellors and subject teachers.
When 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.
In the current school year, I have established a pilot support unit for children with specific learning disabilities in a primary school in north County Dublin. I will be keeping the operation of this pilot unit under close review.
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.
My intention for the present is to continue to concentrate available resources on the development of school based strategies for children with specific learning disability.
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.
