Vol. 489 No. 1
86 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Science the proposals, if any, he has for the earliest possible identification of Asperger's syndrome; the proposals, if any, he has to provide for students with Asperger's syndrome in first, second and third level education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7519/98]
The identification of children with Asperger's syndrome and other forms of autism is the responsibility of the health authorities and the necessary assessments would normally be carried out by the child psychiatric services within the health boards.
Where children present with special needs in the classroom, the class teacher can highlight the problem so that the necessary remedial action can be taken. The advice and guidance of the Department's inspectorate is available to schools in any such situations.
My Department is currently pursuing a proposal put forward by ASPIRE, the Aperger's Syndrome Association of Ireland Ltd., for a pilot project for children with Asperger's Syndrome to be established in a primary school. Issues such as teacher training and psychological and speech therapy services are being considered as part of this proposal. The main objective of this project is to carry out an evaluation of the support services required for students with Asperger's syndrome.
I am hopeful that this project will proceed as speedily as possible and that the experience gained will provide a valuable input to the development of future services in this area. My Department currently allocates additional teaching resources to cater for the needs of individual students with Asperger's syndrome. The precise nature and level of support is determined by the individual needs involved.
