Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Autism was first recognised as a specific special educational need in Ireland in 1998. Since then, we have worked hard to put in place a proper continuum of services for children with autism from age two and a half upwards. This has not been easy, given the historical lack of appropriate services for such children. However, considerable progress has been made. To prioritise early intervention, we have put in place a system of home tuition for children of preschool age with autism.

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