Hanafin marks 300% increase in the number of autism specific classes available in schools throughout the country 

The Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin T.D. has outlined the progress that has been made by the National Council for Special Education in working with schools to provide educational services for children with Autism throughout the country, based in their local community.

Minister Hanafin said “throughout the country we now have some 277 classes for children with ASD up from 90 such classes in 2000 - 145 of these classes are attached to mainstream primary schools.  I want to pay tribute to the Principals, Boards of Management and the parents involved in each of these communities for having the foresight to set up classes for children with autism. 75 new classes have been set up in the past year alone and I know that the National Council for Special Education continues to work with schools and parents in seeking to ensure that services are available locally for children."

Minister Hanafin went on to point out that each of these classes have a maximum of only six children, with a specially trained teacher and a minimum two Special Needs Assistants. The Minister paid tribute to the professional judgement being exercised by Special Educational Needs organisers who allocate additional Special Needs Assistants to autism-specific classes where the individual needs of children mean that they need more intensive support.

“We now have more than 17,000 people working in schools on a daily basis with children who have special educational needs.  This includes some 8,450 resource and learning support teachers helping children in primary and post primary schools. In addition to this there are 8,800 Special Needs Assistants helping children during the school day, compared with just 300 less than ten years ago. The Government also funds 23 early intervention classes for younger children with autism and we are working hard to expand the network of early intervention places” said the Minister. 

Providing an appropriate education for children with autism, “through the primary and post primary school network, whether through placement in mainstream classes, in special classes or in special schools is our priority,” continued Minister Hanafin. The preferred multi-skills approach in providing education of children with autism is where teachers may draw down from a range of autism specific interventions including Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH), ABA (Applied Behavioural Analysis) and, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). “All of these are available through the network of classes that are currently available for children with autism” said Minister Hanafin.

The Minister went on to say the Government believes that as each child with autism is unique and that they should have access to a range of different approaches to meet their individual needs. “Having services available in the local school where children can go with their siblings is important for the development of children with special educational needs, such as autism, and for the integration of children of all abilities in our schools to the benefit of all.”