Educational success is not all about results

I READ with interest the story about the fight by the Wallace family to protect special educational provision for their autistic son, Paddy Jack (News, March 3).

I have great sympathy for Tina and Paddy, as my own family has experienced similar difficulties. My grandson Ruaridh was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) several years ago.

It was recommended at the time that he should be educated in a mainstream school, but keeping him there has been a struggle.

I think that schools — and civic society in Northern Ireland in general — are fixated with results, from transfer test results through GCSE to A-levels and beyond.

But there are other ways of gauging success. Just getting through the school day and the discomfort that entails is an achievement for Ruaridh.

Making and keeping friends at school is a huge achievement for him, as for any child with ASD.

There are many issues that divide us in Northern Ireland. One aspiration, however, we have in common: a desire to provide the best education possible for our children.

To fulfil that aspiration, I believe we need to recalibrate our measurement of success in schools to take all of our children’s different needs into account and to develop a real understanding of those who experience difficulty and discomfort as a result of their disorder in school every day.

ROBIN BOYD Moira, Co Down