Is the Department of Education failing children with autism?
YES:
The Department of Education and Science has made significant efforts to make up the deficits in the education of students with autistic spectrum conditions. Many primary school-aged children have benefited substantially and are well served by their special and mainstream teachers, with much goodwill at school level. Some preschool children have received excellent intervention through the department's support of classrooms based on the principles of applied behaviour analysis (ABA) and through other autism-specific programmes. Teachers are afforded opportunities for education on autism and educational support techniques. Some research projects have been funded.
The department, nonetheless, continues to fail these children in numerous ways. At preschool level, the department primarily offers part-time home tuition with a primary teacher, few of whom are available or have relevant training, and who must be sourced by the already overwhelmed parents themselves. Much valuable time is lost and family stress increased during this search and the quality of the subsequent intervention is unpredictable.
Both the initiation and the extent of provision is based on age, in spite of the autism task force's recommendation of intervention "from point of diagnosis", and international literature which consistently recommends intensive early behavioural intervention as the most effective preschool approach.
The money spent in the courts fighting parental choice and professional recommendations could easily have funded a large number of specialist places, from preschool through early primary. The task force report supports full-time ABA education, recognising that ABA incorporates a multitude of scientifically validated strategies, while acknowledging that this level of intensity is not required by all children with autism. A cap has recently been set on the number of places in ABA classes which denies choice and defies recommendations from professionals. Availability of any intervention or class type should be based on assessed need and parental choice.
The department highlights as positive its 10,000 special needs assistants. While such assistants can be a great source of support to teachers and students, they are not trained educators or autism specialists but are often given major teaching responsibilities. A high number of paraprofessionals does not necessarily improve the quality of provision, and, in fact, can reduce the time students receive from teachers. Inclusion is not a place, but rather a process to be carefully crafted and evaluated.
The Minister states that children in autism spectrum disorder classes have fully qualified teachers. Qualifications are limited to primary mainstream training which does not prepare one for the complex and unique challenges of autism. Teachers have "access to additional training in autism-specific approaches". This should be mandatory to meet the department's goal of being "suitably qualified in a variety of approaches". As the Minister stated, there is "a very real risk . . . if teachers are not skilled . .."
The department must recognise that while one might learn approaches like TEACCH (a programme developed in the 1970s) in a one-week course, and PECS (a behavioural strategy) in a workshop, learning about the various conditions on the autistic spectrum and learning to implement ABA requires a substantial investment of time and ongoing supervision and training. Investing in courses on autism has been a great step forward; there is now scope for in-depth training and supervision to ensure expertise in various teaching strategies.
The department is failing many students with Asperger's syndrome by having few resources beyond untrained special needs assistants and time-limited remedial academic sessions. Few teachers address the core deficits such as social communication, thinking and behavioural oddities, as mainstream and remedial teachers aren't typically versed in these matters.
The department is failing in the difficult area of developing secondary school resources for students across the autistic spectrum. The task force recommended "that there be a flexible continuum of educational options for pupils with autism spectrum disorders at second level". Parents find they must source a school, and are often the impetus behind developing programmes along with supportive principals and school staff.
The Minister stated that schools "have received specific advice on how to meet the particular challenges of including children with special needs at post-primary level". Much more than advice is needed. The department is also failing these students in the transition period out of secondary; once again a task falling to parents.
The department and the HSE are failing children with autism by not providing sufficient collateral therapies where they are most needed and most easily delivered, ie in schools.
The department has come a long way, and has a long way to go. I sincerely wish it the best in these demanding endeavours.
Dr Rita Honan is course director of the postgraduate diploma in applied behaviour analysis in TCD and was a member of the 2001 ministerial task force on autism
