***July 9, 2019, BBC: Autism: Mandatory training for all NI teachers 'premature' https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-48912287 The Department of Education (DE) is not yet in a position to introduce mandatory autism training for teachers. Autism NI has called for the move due to the significant increase in autistic pupils in Northern Ireland's schools. DE said making the training mandatory would be "premature". … However, the chief executive of Autism NI, Kerry Boyd, said mandatory training would benefit both teachers and pupils. "It's something that the teachers are saying needs to be done, and our parents are saying it," she said. "We hope that it'll provide a culture of change within schools and within society for better autism awareness. "More and more of our children are being diagnosed and this is something that needs to be done to ensure they get the best educational outcomes." Department of Health figures have shown that the proportion of school-age children with autism has almost trebled in a decade…..
