Mr. David Duffy:

The TUI would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to make this submission on the topic of services and supports for autistic people. Data show us that disadvantaged schools enroll by far the most significant proportion of students with special educational needs.

In terms of options for schooling, it is important that all options are available to a student with special educational needs, SEN. Therefore, both mainstream and special school options should be available and the deciding factor should be what is in the best long-term interest of the child.

The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act requires serious investment and a number of groups have questioned whether it is still possible to implement. More than 15 years ago, the TUI emphasised that schools were not sufficiently resourced to implement some elements of the EPSEN Act, in particular designing and delivering individual education plans for students with SEN. Since then it has become clear the medicalised model envisaged in EPSEN is no longer possible due to an unwillingness of the Department of Education over many years to facilitate ongoing resourcing and legislative arrangements. In the absence of adequate resourcing, many of the needs of students with SEN are falling on parents. Schools will need continuing professional development, CPD, teaching hours, time for administration and the restoration of pastoral supports. The student profile or plan recording system needs to be redefined entirely. Furthermore, schools, students and families will need to be able to access out-of-school supports such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, child and adolescent mental health services etc., in a timely fashion. We are all aware of long waiting lists for access to vital supports, such as operational therapists, speech and language therapists etc. The backlogs are not in any way the fault of the staff in those services who are trying valiantly to cope with unmanageable caseloads. However, the waiting lists present significant difficulties for schools and families who are trying to support students with autism.

It is vital that students with autism continue to be able to access supports when moving into and through higher and further education. College guidance and disability offices need to be adequately resourced to achieve this. The disability access route to education scheme also needs to continue and, if possible, expand.

Education settings require support from relevant agencies with expertise in these areas if the school is adequately to support students with autism. Those supports to students are frequently lacking. Cuts to pastoral supports in schools, such as guidance and middle management, have also made it difficult for schools to support students in these difficult situations. Numbers of posts of responsibility have also not kept pace with ongoing rises in student numbers. Schools most urgently need time, resources and CPD to support students with autism. Restoration of the special needs allowance would encourage more teachers to seek this important qualification. Schools need time to do department-level planning as well as student-level planning. Some schools do not even have an assigned special educational needs organiser, SENO. The lack of integrated inclusive supports on site in schools, such as nurses, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists etc., makes truly inclusive education a dream rather than a reality. A pilot programme, the school inclusion model, is available in some schools. The TUI is cautiously optimistic about the prospects of such a programme and looks forward to the forthcoming research report on the pilot scheme.

It is vital all public buildings be made autism sensitive. All new buildings should have the facility to incorporate safe spaces as well as room for special classes as required. Many older buildings will require significant retrofitting.

The TUI would like to make the following recommendations to the committee. Students with autism should be able to attend school with their siblings and neighbours without travelling long distances. It is essential that vital support structures within schools are restored. It is essential that students with SEN are able to access further education and training opportunities. There needs to be investment in students with autism before, during and after their post-primary education. Better forward planning is required for students due to move into post-primary education while they are still in primary school. Hours allocated to SEN need to be used solely for SEN work, such as planning, direct student support, family liaison etc. The Teacher Conciliation Council, TCC, has for some time been addressing the issue of a specific time allocation to schools for department-level planning. A recommendation from the TCC soon would be helpful. Follow-on programmes are required at senior cycle for students who pursued level 1 and level 2 learning programmes at junior cycle. Resources for schools will need to be provided to enable this.

An extensive school building and refitting programme is needed urgently. Significant investment is needed in out-of-school supports. Investment is also needed in the health system to enable assessments of need, which are, after all, a legal right. The National Education Psychological Service must be involved in schools from the ground up. Every school should have an assigned SENO. It would be useful if all staff had the opportunity, if they so wished, to engage in CPD on supporting students with autism.

The DARE scheme needs to continue and, ideally, expand. The SEN allowance should be restored and the provision of special schools and special classes should continue until a viable and fully resourced alternative can be provided.

I thank the committee for listening to this opening statement. The TUI would be more than happy to answer any questions members may have. The TUI would also like to direct members to the more extensive written submission we made to the committee last month, which provides more detail on the matters outlined.