Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

There is much research and a lot is going on around the world on autism.

Members might be interested to know that the task force on autism in Northern Ireland in 2001 also consulted widely with professionals, reviewed a wide range of literature on autism and invited experts on autism to address the group. It found "preference for no single approach but concludes that single methods by themselves may not address effectively the triad of impairments associated with ASD". It concluded that "the interventions should be child-centred rather than method-centred and should address the observed and unique needs of the child and any variation in these which occurs over time and across settings and situations". A recent UK study by Magiati, Charman and Howlin concluded as follows: "Our data support the growing consensus that no one intervention for children with ASD is universally superior to all others."

We are following best international practice which shows that all internationally recognised methods should be available to children within the education facilities we provide throughout the country because we recognise that all children are different, including children with autism. All children deserve access to a fully qualified teacher, including children with autism. That is what we aim to provide around the country. The Deputies will be interested in the Middletown Centre for Autism, which is organised on a cross-border, North-South basis aimed at promoting excellence in the field of autism. A head of research, chief executive and board were appointed there.

I hope the material I have quoted has illustrated that there is not consensus that ABA is a superior method or that it should be the only method. That is why the idea of solely having ABA exclusive schools is not part of our policy.

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