Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to take less time. I sincerely thank and commend Deputy Michael McCarthy on the Bill he has presented before the House. The Bill will mean so much to many families, mine included, living with conditions on the autistic spectrum. It sends a very powerful message that the House is dedicating a Friday sitting to this issue, where speakers from all parties and none have taken a common approach to it. I agree with Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan that we should try to keep politics out of this and look at what we can do together with regard to the structures and reforms required.

As other speakers have stated, the range of needs of people on the autistic spectrum are vast, complex and changing. No two people on the autistic spectrum have identical sets of needs, which is what makes it so difficult for bureaucracies to deal with the challenge. One of the biggest problems about which my sibling who lives with Asperger's syndrome has spoken about, to me and publicly, is ignorance. He speaks about how somebody speaks to him, to use his words, "like a normal human being", until they find out he has a special needs and all of a sudden, again to use his words, they speak to him "as though he is E.T.". This is the type of ignorance we need to break down. This individual, like so many on the autistic spectrum, is superbly intelligent and able, but looks at the world in a different way and processes things in a different way but has a major contribution to make to society.

The issue is not exclusively about funding. Funding is obviously an issue and there is a need to provide supports, but when my relative was born with a condition on the autistic spectrum and when I established an autism support group in my county, the country had more money than sense. In fairness to previous Governments, money was provided and a great deal of money was invested in disability services, but all too often the money did not go where it needed to because there was no strategy specific to autism, and I presume this is why Deputy McCarthy has brought the Bill to the House. Money was being thrown around like confetti but we were not examining where the money was going. I welcome the idea of a strategy.

Deputy Ó Caoláin stated that an adult with autism begins as a child with autism and early intervention is key. We need to examine a range of issues and data collection is very important. I am pleased to hear the issue of autism was discussed at the informal Ministers' meeting at EU level, because we need to examine it. There is no reason we cannot collect data on autism in the next census. It should have been done in the previous census but deadlines were missed. We should set it as a priority for the next census. We cannot provide resources or put structures in place until we identify and quantify the needs.

I very much welcome the fact that the Minister for Education and Skills has asked the NCSE to conduct a review of special needs education policy. I believe this is the first time the policy will be reviewed since 1993. It is long overdue. I hope when the NCSE reports we can have a debate on its recommendations in the House.

We have a significant problem with diagnosis and assessment. We hear the word "cap" very often when farming is being discussed, but another cap causing problems at present is the cap on the number of National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, psychological assessments for which a school can apply. This means a teacher must choose one student over another who they feel have special needs to apply for a diagnosis. It is placing school principals in impossible situations and it needs to be addressed.

Deputy Dowds summed up perfectly the issue of SNAs. We keep speaking about how we divide the pie and how much of the pie is distributed, but we need a new pie. The criteria for special needs assistants are care based and this is very important, but many people with conditions on the autistic spectrum do not have care-based needs. They need a teaching assistant. They need someone to be able to sit there and help them organise their day, write down their homework and keep focused. This is what they need. They do not need assistance going to the bathroom. The criteria for and job description of an SNA, which includes photocopying and tidying the classroom, are out of date, out of sync with best international practice and need to be revised.

The HSE and other public bodies need to provide more training for staff, including nurses, doctors and clinicians, with regard to autism and how to interact with people to whom they provide home help who have autism. The domiciliary care allowance is very difficult to apply for when one has a hidden disability. We must examine the application process. I commend the Minister for Social Protection on the review group she has put in place, and the fact she has involved groups such as the Special Needs Parents Association.

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children was established before a number of other organisations and, therefore, the Ombudsman for Children has no remit to examine issues relating to the National Council for Special Education. The legislation needs to be updated.

We must examine the issue of ABA and I feel quite strongly about this. My party and the other party in government have very strong views on ABA. I do not wish to speak for anyone else, but other parties in opposition also have very strong views on ABA. However, it seems that whoever is appointed the Minister for Education and Skills, regardless of party affiliation and what Government he or she is in, he or she goes into the Department and comes out with a different view on ABA. This simply cannot be the case. We cannot know ABA works one day and then become the Minister and all of a sudden have a problem with ABA. We must have a serious conversation about ABA and the contribution it has to play. It is not for everybody but it does have a role.

With regard to the transition at the age of 18 from educational services to other services, I welcome the Minister's comments on funding and the HSE service plan. This is vital. It is also vital that we start the transition and planning process at a much earlier age and do not wait until the clock is running down and there is a small window of time before an individual needs to leave a service. We should consider this one, two or three years in advance.

The issue of school exams is not an easy one to solve.

Many children, particularly on the high-functioning end - for want of a better phrase - of the autistic spectrum are extremely intelligent. They are so intelligent that they may sit a history examination with five questions on the paper. The first question, for 50 marks, might be about the causes of the Second World War. They know everything about the war so they spend the whole time writing about it and can only get 50 marks. Our exam system is extremely rigid for some of these gifted and intelligent children and young adults, so we need to re-examine that matter.

I also wish to raise the issue of parental support. Both through my autism charity in Wicklow and in my role as a Deputy many parents have told me that they have been given the diagnosis and the label, and off they go. There is a need to break down the social isolation that families, including siblings, of people on the autistic spectrum live with. While it is a broader area, a strategy is required to examine it.

I commend Deputy McCarthy and thank the Minister for his proactive and constructive response to the debate today.

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