Jan 25, 2019, Dublin Live: Celbridge mum makes emotional plea to find school place for son with autism https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/celbridge-school-place-pupil-autism-15728948 A Celbridge mum has made a desperate plea to education officials to find a school place for her son who has autism. Benjamin Tynan, 12, is a sixth class pupil and attends a specialised unit at his local school, Scoil na Mainistreach. He is due to start secondary school in September but there are no places available in any of the local schools due to a lack of resources…. She said: "The local feeder school only have two places for five children and to be fair they had to do a lottery system because they couldn't choose, which is fair enough. "But Benjamin wasn't one of the children to be pick. Due to his autism, Benjamin is not able to attend mainstream classes. … "He has no academic problems or learning problems but emotionally, he suffers dreadful anxiety. "He has to be in a unit. We've tried mainstream twice and it was an absolute disaster. … The worried mum, who also has a son sitting his Leaving Cert and a daughter sitting her Junior Cert this year, has been unable to find a school with a suitable ASD unit anywhere near the locality. "Autism is rampant and schools just do not want to open ASD units," she said. … "Section 8 of the Act, which commenced on the 3rd of December 2018, provides the Minister with a power, after a process of consultation with the NCSE, the board of management and the patron of the school, to compel a school to make additional provision for the education of children with special educational needs."
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.