Autism 19/2/08

INTO Press Release: Statement by John Carr, INTO General Secretary, on Teaching Provision for Autistic Children

19th February 2008
 
Teachers implementing the recommendations of the Autism Task Force.
 
The largest teacher union in the country, the INTO, dismissed as wrong claims that the union’s demand for fully qualified teachers in schools was in some way affecting education services for children with autism.
   
John Carr, General Secretary of the INTO, said that primary teachers are implementing the recommendation in the Autism Task Force Report that the Department of Education and Science make available a range of approaches to meet the needs of pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. “It is our view that in primary schools the best person to do this is a fully qualified and properly supported primary teacher. A top class education, that meets the needs of the child, in a social setting is the what parents want for their children. This is what primary teachers, in special schools, special classes and mainstream classes are providing all over the country. We make no apologies for seeking trained teachers on behalf of children.”
 
“In hundreds of primary schools all over the country, teachers are providing within the limits of the resources provided, quality education for children with autism in special classes and mainstream classes,” he said. “These teachers use a range of teaching methods suited to the needs of the pupils they teach. Professional decisions are made on the basis of each child’s needs.”
 
“What pupils urgently need is on-going access to various therapies including speech and language, occupational, behavioural and physiotherapy. These are not being provided by the Department of Health to many children,” he claimed.
 
He strongly criticised remarks by the Minister for Education and Science in relation to an unopened autistic unit in a school in north Dublin. “The fact of the matter is that government has not provided the required supports. The school highlighted this, not to apportion blame but to beg for resources for children with autism. If the Minister wants to blame anyone she should blame her cabinet colleagues, whose broken promises have failed children. Demanding that a school provide specialist services without the required supports is like asking an airport to operate without air traffic controllers or fire crews.”
 
The INTO is demanding the full range of educational and health supports to be provided for all children with special educational needs. “This should be done in the context of the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act and the Disability Act,” said Carr.

Ends.