Dr. Fidelma Brady:

I can only say what I hear from our parents. This is certainly an issue that has been expressed to me over and over again. I am like a broken record on this point. Children with Down's syndrome do not just have literacy and numeracy issues. Using standardised testing scores as a pillar and trying to tell us that this encompasses complex needs has caused much disquiet. Parents are reacting to this.

They are saying that if their mainstream school down the road is not going to be able to provide adequate support for their child, who will need help with literacy, numeracy, working on memory issues, their issues of concentration and maybe some physical disabilities and - as the Deputy pointed out - their visual and hearing problems, then they are not going to go down that road. That is sad in a world in which we have come a long way. I am not saying we have arrived; we have a long way to go but we still have come a long way. We run the risk of almost forgetting about that and about all the good work that has gone on in recent years. This is leaving us with very sad and worried parents, and that is why we are here.