Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Those were very interesting and pertinent questions. I thank the witnesses for the frankness shown in their responses. It is much appreciated. The acknowledgment of the fact there is a reputational issue with behaviour analysis needs to be front and centre. Each of us has heard of very abusive situations where individuals' right to dignity has been fundamentally undermined. While that may be done by the behavioural analyst who is engaging with the individual in question, there is a systemic issue there and I want to focus on that.

The illustration given by Dr. Mulherns was very good. We heard the term “will and preference”. For an individual who is very unhappy in school and is expressing that unhappiness, albeit not in a conventional manner, that is an expression of his or her will and experience and a withdrawal of consent to be within that experience and to be forced to be in that experience. I agree, therefore, and I can see where there are tools and methods of engagement that assist that person in expressing and coping with an environment that is ultimately beneficial for the individual, in education or whatever. Where are we tackling the fact that children are being excluded in the class and also expelled in extraordinary circumstances? They are expelled because there is an intolerance or an inability to cope. I am not denying that there are resource issues - I am not blind to that or trying to whitewash it – but there is a systemic issue. I would advocate that we need a neuro-affirmative society. If we look at universality, universal design and inclusivity, we should not have people having to shop during one hour of the day but, rather, we should have shops where everyone has access all the time. A big multinational will be able to engage behavioural analysts to assist it in its marketing and strategy, social media and a whole heap of other areas. Are behavioural analysts engaged at Government level? Should they be engaged? How do we encourage that and ensure we have it? I want to hear how behaviour analysts would pitch being involved in that because if we are to move to a neuro-affirmative society, that is what we need. We need the knowledge here.