Kathy Sinnott has just discovered her 23-year-old son, Jamie, is left-handed.
She never knew this before because he was unable to use his hands in a meaningful way. But, following last October's High Court judgment, Jamie has been receiving special education at home and has started to use his hands. He now plays ball with his brothers. "He favours his left hand," she said yesterday.
He now responds to verbal commands when he is being dressed and co-operates with the process. Before, it was a daily struggle to get him dressed.
Above all, he is happier, she said. "For years he hardly ever smiled. If he smiled we discussed it in the family for months. Now he smiles every schoolday. We look back at the videos we made and we're astounded at the progress."
The battle for Jamie's right to an education is clearly a family enterprise. Her two youngest children, Emma and Anne, were in court with her yesterday. Her second child, Brigid, is studying for a qualification to teach autistic children.
What about the future for Jamie? "The future . . . I leave that one to God."
There is uncertainty because, according to yesterday's Supreme Court judgment, the funding for this kind of education for Jamie runs out in two years' time. Mr Justice Barr had given an order for funding for 2-1/2 years, until the State had a system for educating people like him in place in Cork, with a review date to examine the situation in 2003. This was set aside by the Supreme Court.
"The plan was to return to the High Court, and Judge Barr would see where we were," Ms Sinnott said. "Now my plan is to establish by 2003 that Jamie's education will continue.
"Before, when his education stopped, he regressed. I've promised myself and my family and all those other disabled kids that I will never allow Jamie to regress again."
Asked what she would do to ensure this, she just said: "Whatever it takes.
"The State has made a lot of promises. It was said in court that the Minister would use his discretion to ensure Jamie had life skills. Why should he, when Jamie did not get an education when he had a constitutional right to it? But I'm holding him to that promise. Let them prove they can be trusted."
She is ruling nothing out, including taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights. But she is conscious of the delay in getting cases heard there, which can be for years.
"This case was about more than disability," Kathy Sinnott told The Irish Times. "It was about our relation to the State. And we found it was not based on need. It was based on the State's willingness to spend money."