(New Zealand) Pre-school special needs kids on waiting lists

Sept 5, 2017, Radio New Zealand: Special education wait times 'appalling' http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/338692/special-education-wait-times-appalling Some under-five-year-olds with disabilities and behaviour problems are waiting up to a year to get help - and, in Wellington and Porirua, average waiting times are double the average for the rest of the country, Education Ministry figures show. The kindergarten association covering the 85 kindergartens in the bottom of the North Island, Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens, said the delays were unacceptable and children were suffering. The ministry's figures showed children in the Wellington region were waiting an average of seven days for an initial assessment, but their first appointment with the early intervention service was taking an average of 139 days, compared to an average of 68 in most other parts of the country. … Children needed help for behaviour problems caused by traumatic experiences such as domestic violence and from developmental delays and speech problems.... For 2016 to 2017, 14,442 children received an early intervention service. As of 28 August 2017, there were 2648 children on the waiting list. The number of days a child was on the waiting list varied considerably from zero to more than 300 days, Ms Casey said.