John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 394: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills when a child (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for an dyslexia assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19108/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I can inform the Deputy that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Where a NEPS psychologist is not assigned to a school, authorities therein may access psychological assessments through SCPA. Under this scheme schools can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly.

It should also be noted that in common with many other psychological services, NEPS encourages a staged assessment process, whereby each school takes responsibility for a pupil's initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention. Only if there is a failure to make reasonable progress in spite of the school's best efforts, will a child be referred for individual psychological assessment.

It is the responsibility of the school Principal in the first instance to identify and prioritise pupils for assessment under the process described above. I would suggest that the parents of the child in question should discuss the matter with the school Principal who will advise them as to the appropriateness of a referral in this instance and the process for accessing same.

Should school authorities have specific difficulties with regard any of the foregoing I would suggest that they contact the relevant local NEPS Office (in this instance NEPS Castlebar Office, Tel: 094- 9028310) to discuss the matter.