Vol. 518 No. 6
554 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15 with autism will be given the educational care and attention he needs; the long-term educational planning programme which his Department has for children with autism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12435/00]
The child in question is enrolled in the special class dedicated to children with autism at St. Peter's Boys national school, Greenhills, Dublin 12. This class can cater for a maximum of six children and has the services of a teacher and a special needs assistant.
In November 1998, the Government announced its formal recognition of the distinct educational needs of certain 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 special needs 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 autism, may wish their children to attend school on a fully integrated basis. Arising from a Government decision of October 1998 all such children within the primary system now have an entitlement to an automatic response to their needs. The response may take the form of extra teacher or extra 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 on an outreach basis through the relevant health authorities. My Department works in close co-operation with the health authorities in arranging to have these services put in place.
