A LIMERICK mother who has had to educate her teenage autistic son at home yesterday settled her High Court action against the Department of Education. The Department of Education is to pay her £30,000 in acknowledgment of her work and its consequent benefit to her son.
The longest period spent by the 15 year old boy in formal education was two years, the court was told at an earlier hearing. It heard that his mother, Marie Ryan, from Limerick city, had tried to learn as best she could what she could do for a child with autism, and she spent an average of four to four and a half hours a day with her son.
Mrs Justice McGuinness was yesterday told by Mr Gerard Durcan SC for the Department of Education that the matter was settled and it would pay £30,000 in acknowledgment of Ms Ryan's work and its consequent benefit to her son.
The mother had sought an order directing the Minister for Education to provide free education appropriate to the needs of her son, Conor, who was diagnosed as having Aspergers Syndrome in 1986.
She also wanted a declaration that the Minister had deprived her son of his constitutional rights.
Mr Durcan said the matter had been settled and he read out the terms of the settlement in which the Minister for Education acknowledged the enormous commitment and dedication of Ms Ryan in her pursuit of appropriate education for her son.
The Minister also acknowledged that Ms Ryan had spent many years of hard and dedicated work in the education of Conor in her home and that Conor had benefited greatly from her work.
The Minister further acknowledged that Conor, as a child with special needs due to Aspergers Syndrome, had not had the benefit of a continuous school environment and that this had an adverse impact on him.
In these particular circumstances, the Minister, in acknowledgment of Ms Ryan's work and its consequent benefit to Conor, had agreed to pay £30,000 to Ms Ryan and her son and to pay the costs of the proceedings.
The agreement, said Mr Durcan, was in full and final settlement of all claims in respect of any loss or damage by Ms Ryan against the Minister.
Mrs Justice McGuinness, who approved the settlement, said she was very glad to see Ms Ryan's work acknowledged. She had been a most impressive witness and it was clear she was dedicated to her son.
Mr Paul Sreenan SC, for Conor, said he had attended a number of schools for periods, but, on the whole, had been educated by his mother.
Mr Sreenan said the situation had put a great strain on her. Conor was put into a special school but he seriously regressed. He was repeatedly bullied. He was unsupervised in the school grounds and started to cut his hands and injure himself.
From 1994 until the present, he was educated by his mother, who was of limited means. She had sought assistance from the State on occasions but it was not afforded.
In 1995, her solicitor engaged in correspondence with the Department of Education. The Department suggested a person to educate him at home. After attempts to contact the teacher, the mother was told the teacher was on maternity leave and would not be available until January, 1996.