Mother staged school sit-in with autistic son, court told

The mother of a severely disabled and autistic man agreed in the High Court yesterday that she had "squatted" her son in a classroom with other disabled students even though the school did not want him there.

But Ms Kathryn Sinnott denied a suggestion by Mr James O'Reilly SC, for the Minister for Education and the State, that her action was unreasonable. All through her son Jamie's life, she was told that, when she just wanted to get him educated, she was being "unreasonable", she said.

She stressed she did not intend any personal criticism of teachers and others at facilities in Cork operated by the COPE Foundation. These people were very kind and wanted to do their best, she said.

Ms Sinnott, of Ballinhassig, Co Cork, was being cross-examined by Mr O'Reilly on the seventh day of the action by herself and Jamie (22) for a declaration that their constitutional rights have been breached through the State's failure to provide free primary education for Jamie, an order directing the State to provide such education now, and damages.

The defendants deny the claims. They plead that Jamie received education and deny they are obliged to provide free primary education for him now.

Yesterday, Ms Sinnott agreed with Mr O'Reilly that Jamie had made progress while attending facilities at COPE and other centres but, she said, there was often no educational element in the programmes offered to him.

He had benefitted from a conductive education programme which was run by COPE for six months and then discontinued. That programme was like the "Hilton" rather than the "shack" of a day-care facility. Ms Sinnott said Jamie was put sitting in a corner in day care, where he concentrated on his autistic behaviour, including pulling his hands to the point of getting sores and requiring hospital treatment. The nurse and the room were warm but, educationally and emotionally, it was a "shack" for Jamie.

She disagreed that Jamie is severely and profoundly mentally disabled with autistic features. Autism was his basic problem, she said. She did not know if his mental disability was a consequence of autism.

Jamie had attended the COPE-run St Paul's school in 1996 when he was 18 and did very well there. His teacher was excellent. He remained there till 1997 when the school wanted him to graduate because of his age.

Ms Sinnott said she was asked to put Jamie into an "adult health service" at COPE's Orchard facility. She agreed there was a period when she "squatted" Jamie in the class he had been in at St Paul's. She agreed there were already six disabled people in the class and the recommended ratio was one teacher to six.

She believed COPE could have operated more classes and said other parents supported that view. It was unfair to say that if one child got education, another child would have to be deprived.

People began saying in front of Jamie that he should not be there and she was upset at that, Ms Sinnott said. She had to give up and bring him home although she felt she was right. Jamie was later moved to the Orchard facility without her knowledge and he remained there. Mr O'Reilly she Ms Sinnott had been "confrontational". Ms Sinnott said she was put into the position of being so because she continued to look for education for her son.

Counsel suggested to Ms Sinnott that her son's needs were being met at the Orchard facility, where his teacher had a diploma in special needs education. Ms Sinnott said she had never been reassured when she visited. The hearing before Mr Justice Barr resumes on November 30th.