The first major report into the education of students with autism in Ireland in almost 14 years has found that one in every 65 children has been diagnosed with the condition.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) found an increase on a previous study in 2013, which put the number of children with autism in Ireland at one in every 100.
The study revealed that 63% of the 13,873 students with autism in the school system in 2014 were in mainstream classes. A further 23% were in special classes and 14% were in 118 of Ireland’s special schools.
€300m a year spent on autism in Ireland
Education minister Richard Bruton said that Ireland was spending €300 million a year in providing additional resources to meet the needs of students with autism.
It appears that this is not enough. The report has found that inadequate availability of therapeutic, psychiatric and psychological services for children with autism in Ireland has had “potential negative implications” for their mental health and well-being. Schools, it said, needed to be supported adequately.
Call for more teacher training
The report’s authors called for more investment in teacher training after finding that the knowledge of school staff about autism required further improvement. A new implementation group has been set up by the Department of Education to consider the report’s recommendations.
Teresa Griffin, chief executive of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), called for a “flexible approach” in Ireland’s schools system to support “all” students’ needs.
She said: “We need a flexible and responsive educational system which can draw on, and use, a range of evidence-informed interventions in line with each individual student’s needs.”
Reluctance to include autism provision
The reluctance of some schools to include autism-specific provision is also likely to be addressed. The report recommends that the NCSE be given the power to insist that more schools open specialised provision where the need for one is established.
Other recommendations include the development of improved post-primary level support and a ‘safe, social summer day activity programme for all students with complex educational needs’. This would replace the current July provision scheme, which has raised concerns about the level of training of staff.
Published: 16 July 2016
