Seanad debates

Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Dyslexia Awareness Week: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Mary Seery KearneyMary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to be here today. It is really important that we highlight dyslexia and its impact on those affected. I had the experience of supporting someone doing a degree in UCD. While that person could not sit down and write an essay, he could walk the length of the room and dictate a 3,000 word essay and be able to picture it in his head and instruct me to go back to a particular point and type it. I was merely the scribe or the secretary throughout the process and it really brought home to me the fact that dyslexia is not about intelligence or ability. It is a learning difficulty that people experience but is not reflective of their life or of their capacity, capabilities or where they can assume themselves to be or aspire to be. It is really important that we have days like tomorrow and weeks like this during which we highlight the achievements of people with dyslexia and draw attention to the number of renowned people throughout the world who had dyslexia. Despite the dyslexia, their brilliance and innovation came to the fore and was experienced.

I welcome today's debate and I also welcome the incredible work that the Minister of State has done in her new role. We have seen an increase in special education places and classes for which the Minister of State must be congratulated. I have enormous confidence in the Minister of State's drive and determination to ensure that we provide wraparound services to children in school which will address some of the issues that were raised at the briefing today. Early identification will be facilitated by having those wraparound services. The concept that the Minister of State is bringing into being will bear fruit for the next generation.

I must mention Dublin 6W where there are huge gaps in the provision of services. I know the Minister of State is doing her best to intervene, to have a say and to increase the number of places in schools for children with special education needs. We cannot have a situation where service provision is a postcode lottery and access to supports depends on where one lives in the country. We cannot have resistance at school level for whatever reason, be it league tables or otherwise.We certainly cannot have that.

I think Covid amplified the digital technology divide. Many children were working from home where maybe three children were sharing a phone or device, as someone told me the other day. We need to move very decisively on things like that to ensure that no child is left behind when it comes to technology, particularly where there are areas like this.

I want to offer congratulations on the new course for SNAs that began last year. I know an SNA who is going through it at the moment. It is a phenomenal amount of work in terms of the quality of the input and the quality of the confidence in the SNAs going through it, realising everything they have done is really good and inspired by their own life experience and professionalism. They are getting that confidence and it is emboldening them in their roles, and getting new information and training. That has been really instrumental. I have one ask. How much of that can be off-set against Croke Park hours? From SNAs I have spoken to, it seems to be at the discretion of the principal of the school. We could do with uniformity on that because there is a lot of work to it but it is fantastic. Everyone I have spoken to, and one person in particular, really values the experience and the professionalism that has been honoured through the course. I thank the Minister of State for that. It is very good.

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