My fight to get a place in school for autistic son
» Mum’s five-month » Long commute or campaign for Rory, 5 pre-fab place rejected
A MOTHER is locked in an “almighty fight” as her autistic son hasn’t got a space in their county’s only special school that can cater for him.
Roisin Powell, from Cahir, Co Tipperary, has been trying to get a primary school space for five-year-old Rory for the past six months, but she is no closer to getting it sorted.
Her youngest son was diagnosed with “moderate to severe” autism, meaning an autism spectrum disorder unit in a mainstream school would be unsuitable.
Roisin explained: “We are being told that provisions are being put in for next year, but we need them this year, that’s no good to me.”
The mother-of-two, who also has an eight-year-old son, said the solutions now being put to her are “extremely frustrating” and none of them are suitable.
These include having her son home schooled by a tutor, or having him attend school in a different county, which would include very long commutes.
Roisin said: “How could they think it’s OK to employ one person for one child instead of setting up a classroom for six children? It just didn’t make any sense to me.”
She added the main reason her son needs to go to school is to further his socialising skills, so being completely isolated from other children is out of the question.
Rory has been attending an ASD preschool for two-and-a-half years and his mother said she has seen a massive improvement in his socialising skills.
She added: “I don’t think we could achieve what he would achieve in a classroom.
“He is challenged in school and that’s where we see his progression.
“When he comes home he needs downtime.
“I didn’t want to blur the boundaries for him. So I very much shut down that idea. It’s not OK.
“My husband also works from home so it wouldn’t be ideal.”
Roisin added another option was to send her son to another school in a neighbouring Limerick or Kilkenny.
She said: “Limerick may only be an hour away, but they [the bus driver] would be picking up other children on the way so Rory could be at a minimum on a bus every morning and evening for two hours.
“And he doesn’t travel well. Even half an hour down the road makes him stressed, so that’s not in his best interest.”
Roisin said there are many other parents scrambling to get their autistic children a spot in a Tipperary school.
Another option suggested was for a new unit in a prefab.
She added: “The prefab would be put on a school ground so they could use the facilities for toilets and stuff but they didn’t say any schools in particular, they were just throwing out options. And I was thinking, is this what I’m fighting for? For my child to be in a prefab with no resources to just try and get through the day so he can be in an education setting?
“They have so many children on their books without a place for this September and they can’t magic it this year.
“We have been told not to worry, not to stress, that he will be fine and he will get placed but each time it has not happened, it hasn’t come through, they’ve let us down.”
The Department of Education has said it and the National Council For Special Education are working with schools to ensure there are places across the country.
In a statement, a spokesman told the Irish Mirror: “At local level, the NCSE is currently reviewing the overall demand for such provision in the area alongside the availability of space in local schools.
“The NCSE and the department continue to engage on a regular basis in relation to the provision of additional special education placements.
“The local NCSE special educational needs organisers (SENO) remains in contact with the principals of the local schools and with the parents of children in the area.
“Parents will be duly notified as new special class or school placements become available and are sanctioned for the 2024/2025 school year within the area.”
Provisions are in place for next year but we need them now ROISIN POWELL CAHIR, CO TIPPERARY, YESTERDAY