About one in 20 schoolchildren are being diagnosed with autism, a threefold increase in less than a decade, Department of Education figures show.
The growing incidence is placing strain on the education system as authorities scramble to find appropriate school places for children with additional needs.
Dozens of parents protested earlier this month outside the department as part of a sleep-out to draw attention to shortages of school places for children with special needs.
Official records show the department has moved from using an estimated autism prevalence rate of 1.5-1.6 per cent among schoolchildren several years ago to 5 per cent.
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It says this means at least 400 new special classes and 200 new special school places will be required every year for the next three years to keep pace with demand. The need for special education places at second level is also projected to increase significantly.
Special schools support students with more complex special educational needs in cases where a full time mainstream placement is unsuitable.
Most experts put the rise in autism prevalence rates down to increased awareness, better diagnosis and widening of assessment boundaries for autism.
[ Autism: why are so many children being diagnosed?Opens in new window ]
A government report in 2018 on autism prevalence also noted that in many countries, including the Republic, a diagnosis of autism gives children greater access to a special school or special class.
“This benefit makes clinicians more likely to diagnose a child with autism, even those who are on the borderline of the clinical criteria,” the report noted.
Last year, in the region of 8,000 children were enrolled in special schools and a further 20,000 pupils in special classes in mainstream schools.
The department says the significant rise in projected demand for school places reflects the increase in autism diagnoses and the rising number of children referred for special classes or school placements.
“There remains a high demand for special class and school places,” according to department briefing notes prepared for Minister for Education Helen McEntee.
“Since 2020, over 1,700 new special classes have been sanctioned and 11 special schools have been established. For this school year, 409 classes, mainly autism classes, were established nationwide. Four special schools in counties Meath, Wexford, Kildare and Limerick also opened.”
The department projects that about four special classes, typically with six students per class, will be needed in every second-level school to keep pace with demand. However, records show there are challenges in providing these places.
“There are a number of challenges in maintaining the accelerated delivery of additional specialist provision – particularly in relation to capital funding to refurbish existing school accommodation and provide additional accommodation as well as in relation to teacher supply to fill positions in new special classes and special schools,” records say.
Erica Boyce, one of the parents who protested outside the department earlier this month, said many parents do not have access to an appropriate school place that meets their children’s assessed needs.
Her son, five-year-old Marley needs a special class placement but has been rejected by 10 schools to date.
“We’ve to fight for our children. We’ve no choice,” she said. “The Minister needs to listen to what we have to say. We’re begging for them to have appropriate school places.”
Health services, too, are under acute pressure with thousands of children with disabilities waiting for an “initial contact” from child disability services. Many have been waiting years to access vital therapeutic services.
Department records say the National Council for Special Education is looking to introduce special classes to large primary schools that do not have any help to ensure an “even spread” across the system. The council is meeting weekly with the department to plan for “sufficient provision” in the coming year, the records say.
