Dr. Louise Higgins:

Yes, absolutely. That was the other point about schools. Educational psychologists are in schools through the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. It provides supports to schools. Regarding the EPSEN Act and the review, there is no doubt, if that is to be implemented or realised, additional resources will be required to support inclusion. Adam Harris has spoken very well about the point that it is not just about entry to a building but also about what happens within that building and having a level of support. It needs to be clear that there is no one size fits all because we look at autism as a spectrum and the diversity within that. It is about supports being individualised and flexible to support people when and as they need. That presents challenges, as a range of supports needs to be considered. Certainly, accessing clinicians and drawing on clinicians will be important in those settings.

Regarding special schools, as was said, there has been a lot of back and forth about who is supporting and how they are supporting. The challenge for many clinicians working in PDS is the idea of being split into so many pieces. There is the assessment of needs, AON, piece, the special school piece and all the other pieces they have to do. The assessment and need report explained this very clearly by stating that for years, services have been underfunded for the most vulnerable in our population but also expecting that therapists can perform the miracle of the loaves and fishes in terms of the increase in demands and reduced capacity. That certainly needs to be examined. It is not to pit areas against areas but rather looking at protected resources for areas.