Sir, – In her piece on special classes in our educational system, Joanne Banks promotes the argument that the place of special classes in our schools should be questioned in terms of comparative social and academic outcomes and that they do not provide the same quality and equal access to education within communities (“Special classes not best for students with disabilities”, Opinion & Analysis, July 1st).
Research into special education inclusion is much more contested than Dr Banks states, with Canada and Italy, among many others, currently attempting to revise their “whole inclusion” approaches in education. In fact, recently published research on Irish special needs autism spectrum disorder pupils entering secondary school settings reports higher dropout rates specifically due to the stressful and confusing secondary ecosystem of multiple teachers and classes along with experiencing social ostracisation by their neurotypical peers.
The “stigma” that Dr Banks describes is certainly not due to special needs pupils being “placed” into special classes.
It has been reported that such social exclusion emanates from certain special needs pupils being forced into mainstream environments that overwhelm them from the outset. In this sense, Dr Banks is correct when she states that the Irish secondary level “one size fits all” curriculum does not work.
As a father of a pre-verbal autistic six-year-old boy, I quit my job in the Middle East and returned to Ireland specifically to get him into special classes here.
Since being accepted last September, we have seen the incredible benefits of a dedicated and focused special class environment for our son. Indeed, we now appreciate how lucky we are to have such allocations in Irish mainstream schools.
The very point of special classes is to facilitate, equally and adequately, those who cannot be facilitated equally and adequately elsewhere. – Yours, etc,
WILLIAM SILKE,
Athenry,
Co Galway.