Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 11 Apr 2000

Vol. 517 No. 6

Written Answers. - Special Educational Needs.

Michael Noonan

Ceist:

422 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will fund a group project to assist autistic children along the lines of a pilot group funded by his predecesor in Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10718/00]

Miniter for Education and cience (Dr. Woods):

The CABAS project in Cork is a pilot programme which is delivering an applied behavioural analysis approach to the education of children with autism. The project is catering for 12 children with autism. The project was established in 1999 and will operate for a five-year test period, following which the effectiveness of the approach as a means of catering for children with autism will be assessed. The question of funding further such projects will be considered in the light of the outcome of the evaluation of the CABAS project.

In November 1998 my Department announced its formal recognition of the distinct educational needs of children with autism. Arising from this development, special dedicated provision is now made available for such children at a pupil teacher ratio of 6:1. Each special class also has the support of a child care assistant. To date, more than 50 special classes have been established to provide dedicated educational support for children with autism and my Department is currently pursuing the establishment of additional special classes in a number of locations throughout the country.

In some cases, parents of children with special needs, including children with autism, may wish their children to attend school on a fully inte grated basis. Arising from a Government decision of October 1998 all such children now have an entitlement to an automatic response to their needs. The response may take the form of extra teacher support or child care support, or both, depending on the needs of the individual child. Already as a result of this decision, the number of resource teachers in the primary system has increased from 104 to 329 and the number of child care assistants has grown from 295 to 937.

In the particular case of children with autism, there is also a need for additional support services such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. These services are provided by the relevant health authorities and my Department works closely with these authorities to ensure that the necessary supports are made available.

I will be keeping my Department's response to the needs of children with autism under ongoing review to ensure that adequate support services are made available to the children in question.