Special-needs education covers a wide range of disabilities, including mild learning disabilities, moderate learning disabilities, severe/ profound learning disabilities, hearing or visual impairments, physical disabilities, emotional disturbance, dyslexia and autism.
In 1990, it became EU policy that special-needs children should be integrated into mainstream schools. However, very little was done here to support the policy in schools. Frustrated parents began to take legal action. As a result, the Government announced a initiative in 1998 which gave special-needs children automatic entitlement to appropriate levels of teaching and childcare. The Department also formally recognised autism as a separate special-needs category.
At primary level, special-needs children are educated in three ways: in the State's 100 special schools, dealing with a variety of disabilities; in special classes in national schools; and in integrated classes.
The State's primary system boasts some 13,200 national schools, for which there are now almost 1,500 learning-support teachers, 560 resource teachers for special-needs children in integrated settings and more than 1,500 special-needs assistants. These numbers, the Department says, are increasing as needs are identified. Already, there are 70 classes for autism in special and mainstream primary schools. The Department employs 40 visiting teachers for Traveller children and 42 visiting teachers for pupils who are visually or hearing impaired or have Down's Syndrome.
Most recently, task forces on dyslexia and autism have been established. Minister Michael Woods has also announced a pre-school education service for all children with autism, starting at age three, and an extension of the school year through July for autistic children.
Many parents of autistic children remain unimpressed, fearing that the autism task force will favour the widespread use of TEACCH rather than ABA methodology.
