North has more autism education support

CHILDREN WITH autism in Northern Ireland are much more likely to be in receipt of specialist education compared with the Republic, it emerged yesterday.

At a special cross-Border conference at Croke Park yesterday attended by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin and her counterpart in Northern Ireland, Caitríona Ruane, delegates heard that about 3,200 children with autism receive educational support in schools in the North.

This compares with just over 4,000 children in schools in the Republic, according to Government officials, even though the population south of the Border is several times greater.

Ms Ruane said the number of children with autism in receipt of special education provision has increased from just over 1,600 to 3,200 in the space of four years.

"Whether this rapid increase is a result of an increase in the prevalence of autism, or whether it is that we are getting better at recognising the symptoms and diagnosing the condition, I do not know," she said.

"One thing we are clear about is that any intervention is centred on the needs of the individual child after considering a range of possible treatments."

There are 2,100 children in 285 special autism classes across the State, with about 2,000 more in mainstream education, according to the Department of Education.

Ms Hanafin acknowledged that not enough was done to meet the needs of children with autism in the past, but she emphasised that significant progress had been made over the past decade.

In the past year alone, she said, 100 autism-specific classes had been opened.

On the issue of funding for units which provide Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA), Ms Hanafin said discussions were ongoing over establishing units on a permanent basis.

Responding to calls by the Green Party at the weekend for all children who need ABA to be provided with it, Ms Hanafin said this form of educational approach formed part of the Government's policy on providing autism-specific education. - (Additional reporting by PA)