Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Teachers in special classes, who are familiar with a range of approaches, can tailor these to the needs of the individual child. Where a child has been diagnosed as needing ABA we have brought in consultants from Norway and the US, and as Deputies will see, we also have staff in our Department because we support the use of ABA and training is provided for teachers in its use. My Department has recruited a behavioural specialist support team, led by a person with a PhD in ABA. This will offer programmes in ABA for teachers. However, based on research, advice and best practice, my Department does not accept that ABA should be the only intervention used.

Both the findings of the task force on autism and international best practice support the view that a range of approaches should be used, rather than just one. Autism societies in other countries also caution against relying on just one approach. This is substantiated by the US National Research Council report and the Northern Ireland task force on autism. By enabling children in special classes to have access to a range of methods including, but not limited to, ABA, the Government is doing what we are advised is in the best interests of children.

I welcome the opportunity provided by this debate to put on the record some of the expert advice and research that has informed the Department's view that a range of interventions should be available to children with autism in all settings, rather than just one. My Department's policy reflects that there is no consensus among autism professionals on one approach being more effective for all children. The fact that experts on all sides can cite peer-reviewed research to support different positions underlines the lack of consensus. If something has been scientifically proven, it has been established beyond doubt, beyond dispute, the subject of consensus views. This is not the case regarding ABA.

It has been claimed that the task force on autism found ABA to be superior to other interventions. This is not the case. The task force on autism undertook a review of international research literature on autistic spectrum disorders. With reference to studies on the ABA method of intensive intervention with young children with autism, which it said "continue to be the subject of peer review controversy", it advised that "such discussions contribute to the closer scrutiny of all approaches and remind us once again that there is no one intervention accepted by all parents and professionals above all others". The task force stated that it supported a "reflective practitioner model of teaching where the system has the capacity to be flexible and teachers think, plan and then react from a diverse knowledge base".

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