Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This matter relates to the provision of a special needs assistant for a particular child who shall re-enter mainstream school in September. His parents are about to appeal the decision on the grounds that they do not believe the criteria of the Department of Education and Skills was met. The reality is that he requires, particularly in his formative years, a lot of help and attention which can only be provided by a special needs assistant in the classroom. He has been granted four and half hours of resource help but it is insufficient for his needs. If he does not get the support, he will fail to reach his potential and he may end up becoming dependent on State supports rather than the independent young man who his parents believe he can become once he receives support at this critical time.

He currently behind his peer group in terms of his educational competence and that is further supplemented by his particular self-care needs. He is a nine year old boy but as he has grown, he has become more aware of the level at which his classmates are compared with himself and he has become frustrated as a result. In the absence of SNA support in the classroom, he is likely to fall further behind as he becomes more frustrated, a view supported by a professional opinion.

The discharge report dated March of this year from the speech and language therapy class he attended for two years highlights that he continues to have severe difficulties with receptive and expressive language skills. In the notes, it is stated that he will continue to need support in the school given his dual diagnosis of developmental co-ordination disorder and specific language impairment, as well as his difficulties with working memory and processing speed, as assessed by a psychologist. The report also stated that not only will he find it hard to access the curriculum because of this, but that it would support any application made for additional help.

Recently, the boy has been referred to the primary care clinical psychology services under the Disability Act 2005 and the child development team for an autism spectrum disorder assessment. He is waiting for the team to carry out a multidisciplinary assessment which has led to a delay in getting an updated professional report to identify his needs. I mention the delay in carrying out an assessment because the NCSE mentioned that it wanted a more recent report than the 2013 report that it has on file.

The 2013 report stated that he should have access to a special needs assistant. Despite interventions by various teams on a one-to-one basis, he is still in serious need of a classroom assistant. Classroom assistance is not just relevant to his receptive and expressive language skills but to his self-care needs. I will not go into the detail here but they are very important. The information that the NCSE has, coupled with the result of an assessment that I hope will soon take place, underlines and illustrates the breadth and gravity of the additional supports that he needs. It especially highlights the full-time classroom support that he needs. His needs would be above those of other children of the same age who do not share his diagnosis.

Under the current rules to qualify for a special needs assistant, a child generally must be on the more extreme side in terms of needs and are require assistance with feeding, going to the toilet or lifting. This particular child meets a lot of those criteria and the 2013 report stated that he would need a special needs assistant. He was two years away from the mainstream education to which he will return in September. That addressed some of his needs but not all of them. The report states that he has severe difficulties, in particular with language skills. He has had some one-to-one sessions about self-care but they have not been successful in terms of long-term practical application. Therefore, he still needs the care and assistance in the classroom that a full-time SNA would provide.

The boy has been given four and half hours of resource teaching but it is only a drop in the ocean in terms of meeting his needs in the classroom. I do not usually raise individual cases in the Seanad but his parents approached me. I have dealt with them for a long time and know them very well. This issue is of grave concern to them. His mother is frantic with worry that a lack of a special needs assistant will stunt his development completely and he will be left behind in terms of educational and self-care issues. He has not reached the same standard as other children his own age who are becoming aware that he has particular needs and they are starting to point them out which has made him feel self-conscious. It is not just his educational development but his personal development that is being affected and that is why I raise this issue today.