Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for Education and Skills for attending personally to take this Topical Issue. I was very disturbed to read in the media recently an amount of commentary that was largely headed "Diagnosis for Dollars". It referenced a practice in the United States of various professional diagnostics people being used to identify disorders or disabilities in children so that, consequently, the children would be labelled as having limited capacity. Equally, my heart went out to the parents of children with a range of behavioural disorders. These parents often have a difficult time in dealing with a child who may need care and attention that is more than the norm for other children of the same age. In this discussion, we should be careful not to add to the hurt of parents and those working in schools where particular children may be identified as being in need of additional help at various times in their school lives. The chief executive officer of the National Council for Special Education was reported as having commented that parents with more resources could seek a private diagnosis and thereby get access to resources over and above what they might otherwise be entitled to.

The disorders that are being cited are largely behavioural or neuro-behavioural disorders. The reality is that medical science is only gradually broadening our knowledge and understanding of these disorders, how they affect the life of the child and the family, how parents can help the child and how it may impact on the child's education, particularly in the early years.

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Early identification and mechanisms to assist the child may result in significantly better outcomes for him or her. Members may have heard a recent BBC Radio 4 broadcast by the well known British performer, comedian and impersonator, Rory Bremner, in which he discussed the extent to which the ADHD was misunderstood. If left undiagnosed, it can have very serious negative consequences for individuals. However, the use of modern therapies and the provision of structures to assist the child, whether at school or at home, can lead to very positive outcomes.

I ask the Minister to outline his proposals to respond to the review of special educational needs in order that the special educational needs of all children will be dealt with in the best way possible.

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