Another parent has joined the call for more support for autistic children and better training about autism for mainstream school teachers. Carol Keable sends son Lewis, 13, to a special needs school but hopes to move him into a mainstream high school. Norfolk’s ability to cope with autistic children was called into question today after another parent claimed the county’s education system had let her down. Carol Keable said she and husband Duncan had felt totally isolated after their son was diagnosed when he was six. Although Lewis is at last enjoying life at a special school in north Norfolk, it was not until the Keables had spent years teaching him at home that a suitable place became available.
Evening News, Norwich, April 19, 2006

The Disability Rights Commission has said it is satisfied that a Scottish Council did not behave improperly by allowing an autistic boy to be taught in a cupboard for seven months. The watchdog began investigating Dumfries and Galloway Council last week after the boy’s mother made a complaint. The Council said that the boy, aged ten, could not be accommodated in existing facilities and although it had purchased a new £50,000 portable classroom, special safety furniture had not been installed. The boy would be taught there after the Easter break. A spokeswoman for the DRC said the commission was satisfied that the council was doing everything it could.
Children Now, April 19, 2006

Andrew Shipley, secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers has written to Isle of Man Education Minister, David Anderson, and Education Director, John Cain asking for a comprehensive review of provision for pupils with social, emotional and behaviour difficulties. An ATL survey found that 99 per cent. of teachers in England have had dealings with a disruptive pupil, which Mr Shipley believes is representative, if not indicative, of the way things are going in Manx schools. He said: ‘There is a need to ensure that disruptive behaviour does not detract from what goes on in lessons and teachers need to feel supported by senior members of staff – that when help is needed it will be there.’
Manx Independent, April 21, 2006

Second-level schools will be met with an avalanche of students with special needs in coming years and they won’t have the resources to deal with them, the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) warned yesterday. A policy of integrating students with special needs into mainstream primary schools was introduced in 1997 and these students are now reaching post-primary schools. However, the union’s new assistant general secretary said post-primary schools were already struggling to provide support to current students. The National Educational Psychological Service only had 122 educational psychologists for the entire state. Students faced long delays in getting assessed by a psychologist and without this assessment, extra resources could not be granted.
Irish Times, Dublin, April 21, 2006

Irish Education Minister, Mary Hanafin, has warned that she will introduce regulations, if she has to, to make all schools take their fair share of children with special needs and learning difficulties. She told managers and principals of Catholic secondary schools she would not tolerate the exclusion of such children and non-national children from any schools. Ms Hanafin, who was speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools (AMCSS), said exclusion was not happening in fee-paying schools alone. ‘I know it is happening in other schools. In a place where you have two or three schools side by side, one school could have a majority of special needs and non-national children which is not fair. It is important to have schools which are inclusive and resources will be there to support schools which want to support these children.’ The President of the (AMCSS), Paul Meaney, said the ideal Catholic school was one which was representative of the whole community and provided opportunities for students of all means and backgrounds. But he emphasised society would have to provide the tools and the resources to effectively cater for students with special needs. ‘Supports required include significant improvements in the teaching and other support services given to schools, a huge improvement in the National Educational Psychology Service, the provision for quality in-service staff and new partnerships with professionals in the health service,’ he said.
Irish Examiner, Cork, April 28, 2006