Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy is referring to the forthcoming maternity leave of a speech and language therapist who provides services to children in the speech and language disorder, SSLD, class in Mucklagh national school, County Offaly.

As the Deputy may be aware, an arrangement currently exists between the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Education and Science to provide school-based speech and language therapy to children via attendance at a specific speech and language disorder class. These classes are based in mainstream schools and usually have a pupil to teacher ratio of 7:1. Speech and language therapy is provided by arrangement with the Health Service Executive and the therapy delivery is integrated with the educational provision. There are currently 54 specific speech and language disorder classes in the country.

Currently the only model of intensive speech and language therapy provision available to children with specific speech language impairment, SSLI, is through attendance at a specific speech and language disorder class.

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