A school set up by parents for autistic children in Galway city was more appropriate to the needs of an autistic boy than one offered by the State, an educational psychologist told the High Court yesterday. Mr Alan Reid said Colum McNabb (4) was making good progress in the Abalta school at Knocknacarra in Galway city.
The school provides education for six autistic children according to the method of Applied Behaviour Analysis, which involves one-to-one tuition. It was set up by their parents who provided two-thirds of the funding for it.
Mr Reid disagreed with Mr Paul O'Higgins SC, for the Minister for Education and Science, that the Fairlands school in Galway, which is operated by the Brothers of Charity, also offered education appropriate to Colum's needs.
Mr O'Higgins said he would be contending that Fairlands was appropriate and it was better for autistic children to be integrated with children who were not autistic.
Mr Reid said he was not criticising Fairlands but his main concern in relation to Colum was that the education was not autism-specific and the teachers were not qualified to provide such education.
Colum, through his mother, Ms Nichola McNabb, Moycullen, Galway, is suing the Minister for Education and the State. The State denies the McNabbs' claim that the education it has provided to Colum has fallen "woefully short" of his needs.