Jan 30, 2019, Irish Times: Taoiseach defends Simon Harris after autism Bill delay criticised by his FG predecessor https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/taoiseach-defends-simon-harris-after-autism-bill-delay-criticised-by-his-fg-predecessor-1.3775189 Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has defended Minister for Health Simon Harris after his predecessor at the Department of Health James Reilly criticised Mr Harris for leaving legislation on the national autism strategy “lying dormant” for 18 months. Dr Reilly introduced the Autism Spectrum Disorder Bill in the Upper House in 2017 which passed unanimously. He said last week that a year-and-a-half later “that Bill has not moved so much as an inch towards Dáil Éireann”. Mr Varadkar said the Department of Health was right to prioritise legislation to establish a tribunal to deal with the CervicalCheck controversy. He was responding in the Dáil on Tuesday to Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy, who referred to Dr Reilly’s criticism and said the inadequacy of autism services was “raised continually” with TDs in their constituency offices. … Ms Murphy also asked if the Bill would make any difference if it progressed through the Dáil “in isolation from the resources” necessary to properly provide for autism services. … Labour TD and Mr Varadkar’s constituency colleague Joan Burton highlighted the proposal for a special facility in Dublin West for children on the high end of the autism spectrum who cannot find places in autism spectrum classes because their needs are at a very high level. She asked if the Government had proposals to address the needs of these parents and children who required good educational services. The Taoiseach said the National Council for Special Education examined the issue and believed a school was warranted in the Dublin 15 area. “The exact form that should take is still a matter for discussion in terms of whether it should be autism-specific or for all children who have profound special needs and cannot be accommodated in the existing schools.”
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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.
Loss of Brain Trust features over 9,000 news stories published worldwide since January, 2017
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
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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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