Feb 27, 2019, Dublin People: Parents demand autism school http://www.dublinpeople.com/news/northsidewest/articles/2019/02/27/4169888-parents-demand-autism-school/ A GROUP of parents with autistic children who are campaigning for an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Specific school in Dublin 15 say the results of a recent survey backs their cause. The group conducted the survey of primary and secondary school principals in the area and found 68 percent of them believed they had students who would be better placed in an ASD school. The survey of all primary and secondary schools in Dublin West carried out last December found that 103 out of 177 (59 percent) of children in ASD classes never access mainstream education. The Autism School Dublin 15 Committee, made up of parents and experts in autism, say providing autistic children with mainstream education was one of the core aims of ASD classes when they were first established. The committee is now calling for an autism specific school to cater for preschool, primary and secondary school age children in the Dublin West area. Senior educational psychologist, Dr Helen Connaughton, says The majority of children with moderate to severe autism are non-verbal and spokesperson for the committee, Síle Parsons, says mainstream education simply can’t cater for many of them…. “The children with more complex needs are being forced into an educational environment that is not able to cope with their needs and as such - as was confirmed in our survey - up to 20 students are on continually reduced hours with others being excluded from the school altogether.” Parsons also points out that there also isn’t enough classes to cater for the number of children with ASD….
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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.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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