Mum’s battle to get autistic son in school
■ Crack forensic work helped solve Nora’s murder 42 yrs on ■ Scientists can now better analyse clues like cloth fibres
A MOTHER is locked in an “almighty fight” as her autistic son hasn’t secured a space in the only special school that can cater for him in their county.
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-yearold 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.”
She added the main reason her son needs to go to school is to further his socialising skills, so being isolated from other children is out of the question.
Rory has been attending an ASD preschool for twoand-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.
Boundaries
“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.”
The Department of Education said it and the National Council For Special Education (NCSE) are working with schools to ensure there are places across the country.
In a statement, they said: “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) remain 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.”
MORE cold cases killers like Noel Long could be put behind bars thanks to the advancements in technology, a top boffin has said.
Dr. Dyan Daly, who is The Director of Physical Analysis at Forensic Science Ireland, revealed the ability to “discriminate colours in fibres” helped nail the brute in 2023 - 42 years after he murdered mum-ofthree Nora Sheehan.
His trial last year heard that fibres recovered from her clothing along with nail scrapings matched those taken from a carpet inside a car that was associated with Long who was eventually jailed for life.
Speaking exclusively to The Star, Dr. Daly said: “The ability to discriminate colours in fibres is definitely something that helped solve the Noel Long case very recently.”
She added: “Cold cases are being helped through the assistance of modern technology and Noel Long is an example of that.”
The scientist said the advancements “give much more information about evidence in every case” which allows the courts and juries to decide if a person is guilty.
Dr Daly also said forensic science was key in securing a conviction against a man named Gavin Ryan for shooting Clifford Power in Waterford in 2019.
Attack
The victim went into cardiac arrest following the gun attack and a surgeon who operated on him said he would have died had it not been for the immediate medical care he recieved.
Dr Daly said her role in that particular case was to show using forensic science that
Ryan pulled the trigger.
She explained CCTV showed a man wearing a Hugo Boss tracksuit top entering a shop and purchasing a bottle of orange juice, a yoghurt, and pack of cigarettes using a €50 note.
The victim was then shot at close range by a man wearing a Hugo Boss tracksuit top.
Two bullet casings were found at the scene.
Following the shooting, a dog walker noticed two men throwing something into a waste ground - which was later found to be a Hugo Boss tracksuit top after a search by gardai.
Firearm residue was then found on the Hugo Boss top. The firearm residue also matched with the residue from the spent bullet casings at the scene of the shooting.