Pupil has just one wish for 2021: to go back to school
A PUPIL at St Senan’s NS in Enniscorthy has written about how much he misses being in school.
Pierce Buckley (11) from
Clonroche wrote a note
Called My Hopes for 2021, which includes improving his rapid prompting method (RPM) and playing in the school playground. His younger brother Cormac (8) is also missing school.
Pierce wrote the words he associates with 2021 are mask, wash hands and school.
His mother Teresa said:
‘ This my eldest son’s hopes for the new year. This proves how important their education is for them. I actually have two kids with autism, both attending St Senan’s NS in Enniscorthy. Yes both are missing being in school from educational point of view. As you can see: Pierce wrote that through RPM (rapid prompting method) which he learnt in school. Also his brother Cormac uses the same educational tool as well. This is the importance of them being in school.’
Teresa said parents do their best but they are not qualified to teach children with additional needs and its impossible for children who are non verbal to sit at a laptop using Zoom.
‘It’s not applicable to kids who are non verbal. My eldest son is non verbal and second son is semi verbal. Remote learning is not suitable for children with additional needs. There has not been a case of Covid-19 in the unit since September and if anything the boys are extremely well, normally they would be sick with flu and bugs at this time of the year and it’s down to the restriction measures put in place since they went back to school.’