Top marks to Mia Duffy as she disproves the doubters

CONGRATULATIONS to Mia Duffy, daughter of ex-Boyzoner Keith and his wife Lisa, on her graduation from secondary school. Unlike most school-leavers who hit that milestone last week, Mia’s education has not been plain sailing. She has autism and for many years, after her diagnosis, no one knew if she could ever cope with mainstream school.

Thanks to special classes and therapies and indeed her father’s tireless work raising autism awareness, Mia learned to speak when she was seven years old and eventually she made the transition into regular school.

As a little girl, she attended an ABA school in Kilbarrack where she had one-to-one special teaching. By the time she was a teenager, she was a fully fledged student in Loreto College, Swords. Mia proved the doubters wrong. With the help of her devoted teachers and parents, and her own determination, she overcame the obstacles to stand along with her contemporaries, on the threshold of adulthood, with a decent education and every hope of chasing her dreams.

She is an inspiration to youngsters with autism and other difficulties. Her success is also a silent reproach to any Government that drags its feet about cutting the waiting lists for supports for children with special needs and denies them a decent start in life.