Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have experience with children with significant degrees of autism in my constituency having extended absences. One of the key aspects is providing wider levels of support to allow those children, in some cases, to integrate partially in school through an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit, more of which have been rolled out. For children who can engage at that level, they are a fantastic development.

There are other children, however, whose degree of autism is so profound that even in the context of that separated ASD unit, their needs are not met. My area recently established a new special school for children with autism, the first to have been founded in the country in 15 years. It is running very successfully, with 24 kids with profound autistic needs being educated together. It is about providing the relevant and necessary supports for the children who need them.

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