Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for their presentations. I have a few questions.

I have a knot in my stomach when I talk about this subject because my daughter who has just turned 17 years has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in the past nine months. I admit that the diagnosis saved her life. I did not think I would get her out of secondary school alive because of the experiences she was having, through no fault of mine or the school. We did not know with what we were dealing at the time. We thought there were mental health issues. I brought her everywhere from the age of 12 or 13 years, but her mental health got worse. Since her diagnosis, her life has turned around, although, obviously, we still have struggles. That is where the training comes in.

I have heard the delegates talk about the training of teachers. Even though my daughter is 17 years old, I am still learning how to respond to the different quirks in her personality and what triggers or does not trigger her. I am still learning about what to do when there is too much pressure. As a result of my daughter's diagnosis, I can respond to her in a way that alleviates massive amounts of pressure. When we did not have the diagnosis, I did not know with what I was dealing. If a parent does not know how to respond or how to begin to understand patterns or triggers, it is very difficult for a teacher in a special class or special school to do so. Obviously, my daughter's teachers were dealing with a lot of children and had to understand various patterns, personalities and triggers. I understand how difficult it is.

I cannot, therefore, imagine putting a teacher into a special class or whatever we are going to call units, although that is definitely not the word we use, who did not want to teach in that particular environment. It is not a bad reflection on the teacher, who perhaps does not feel that their skills or interests lie in special education. This is not positive for the child, teacher, school or the parents. As I learn, and as I look back on my daughter's life, I cannot believe I did not realise that was what it was. The first person I called was Adam.

There is also the matter of training. I am thinking of myself as a mother and what I needed to help my daughter on her journey. Kids are in school for a long time during the day and to be face to face with someone who does not have that understanding, awareness or training has a detrimental affect, which comes from the school setting and which I experienced with my daughter. It takes a lot for me to admit that I was having a negative effect on her but that was the reality. I would like to hear more from the witnesses about their thoughts on types of training. What is the uptake for training at the Middletown Centre of Autism? What about teachers accessing training as a requirement prior to entering the classroom, rather than when they take it up? Anyone of the witnesses can answer these questions.

Sensory rooms are an expensive, and welcome, feature in schools, however there is no funding to hire the occupational therapists to train the teachers on how to use them. How important is it to introduce and implement that?

The location of schools is important, and ensuring that children have access locally. Some children spend a long time on buses. I have recently been supporting a mother whose child is ten years old. He was expelled last October while he was in CAMHS, with no diagnosis. He was granted a place in a school but then there was a problem of securing an escort on the bus. We are now going into July. That child has had no schooling for a couple of months, and then attended school sporadically when the parent could make the long journey themselves to get the child to school. This will have a massive impact on the child's reintegration back in September. What supports are needed for schools to have open communication with Bus Éireann and ensure that the Department ensures that escorts are available? Witnesses might speak to some of the practicalities on that.

My next question is for Ms Dempsey. Have parents discussed, or do they have a position on, policies of restraint and isolation rooms? One mother is raising the use of isolation rooms with me at the moment. It has been argued in the past that isolation rooms should not be in use. I was contacted by a parent on the northside of Dublin about her child, aged seven years, who has no diagnosis. He was restrained by four teachers in school. She knew that if they backed off that he would calm down and that the practice of restraining the child was making the situation worse. I do not seek to blame the teachers here. I cannot imagine what that environment must be like if one is concerned or worried that the child might run out of school but I wonder what impact this has on the child. How do parents feel about these policies? How do they feel about expulsion while children are linked in with different services, and are then expelled. Are there options or avenues that are, or should be, taken first before a child is expelled from school?