A Laois mother has made a desperate plea for help as her son faces the prospect of being unable to secure a school place in September.
Audrey Norton, from Portlaoise, took to social media earlier this week where she outlined the situation regarding her son Dara who has autism.
The five-year-old, who is currently attending an early intervention class in Naíscoil Kantara at Scoil Mhuire Fatima in Timahoe, needs to move on to primary school in September.
Applications for this opened last October but, as we now head for March, Audrey, who is a teacher herself, has been unable to secure a place for Dara to meet his needs.
Speaking to LaoisToday, Audrey explained how it has been a constant struggle to get Dara the resources that he needs.
She said: “When Dara was in playschool, I could see the difficulties that were there.
“But to get him into an early intervention class, you have to get him officially assessed.
“I linked in with the public health nurse and got Dara approved for the ‘assessment of need’. By law, that is supposed to be completed within six months once the process begins.
“But with Dara, the six months came and went. There was no sign of any assessment happening.
“So the next step that you have to do, is to put in a complaint. There were 240 children ahead of Dara on the complaints list at that time.
“So now when I say I hounded those people involved in the complaint side, I was a thorn in their side.
“Eventually, after a barrage of phone calls, Dara finally got assessed and a diagnosis.”
With a diagnosis, Dara was now eligible for a place in an early intervention unit – but being eligible for a spot does not mean you are guaranteed in one.
Audrey said: “While this was all going on, I had contacted Michael McEvoy, the principal in Timahoe NS, about trying to get a place for Dara.
“But because he hadn’t received an official diagnosis at this point, Michael could not offer him a place.
“By the time he was, I went back to Michael but the places had been allocated and there was no room left. He told me to throw in his name and if anything came up, he could enroll then.
“In the meantime, we had to get him into primary school with an autism class attached to the mainstream school.
“So we managed to get him a place out in Raheen, in Tobar an Léinn.
“Now, he would have been only just four and he would have been in with kids up to third class.
“We met them and they were lovely but I remember coming out of Raheen and crying all the way home to think my child can’t be with his peer group.
“But we really didn’t have a choice. The playschool he was in just didn’t have the experience and weren’t equipped to look after his needs.
“So we really needed to get him into an autism class where his needs could be catered for.”
But then in June 2023, Dara and his family finally got a break.
Audrey said: “We got a phone call from Michael and he said that a place had become available.
“If I had been near him, I would have wrapped my arms around him. We were so happy that we grabbed that with both hands.
“With the way Dara’s birthday fell, he was eligible for two years in Timahoe.
“He has made fantastic strides over there but if he can’t continue, he will regress completely.
“He has come on leaps and bounds in Timahoe and the difference that they’ve made to his life and to our lives is fantastic.
“He’s had such wonderful experiences out there that he would not have otherwise had. But if he has no school place, all that is gone.
“And even on a practical level, who will look after him? If I have to give up my job, all of the other services Dara gets will go too.
“Occupational therapy, tutoring – all of that is paid for privately.”
For children like Dara who cannot find a place in an autism class in their locality, the Department of Education arranges buses to transport them to schools outside the county.
As it stands, there are children from counties outside of Laois being bussed into the county for education as they can’t get a place in their own county.
It creates the bizarre situation where you also have Laois children going on buses to counties like Kildare or Tipperary as they can’t get a place in Laois.
This is something that Audrey strongly disagrees with and does not want for Dara.
She said: “I am in total disagreement with this policy. A lot of these children have mobility and sensory issues – so expecting them to travel long distances to get to school has a massive impact on their day before it even starts.
“I am not putting my son on the bus and sending him out of the county – it’s not going to happen.
“The Department have a problem here because they failed to plan. They have the numbers of the children receiving early intervention so they know what is coming.
“Dara deserves to go on the same path as his brother and his sister. We only live around the corner from Holy Family.
“There are a high number of children requiring access and in Laois, there is simply not enough places available to meet the demand.”
Sinn Fein Senator Maria McCormack put a call out on social media for families of children who had not got a school place to contact her.
Audrey reached out to Senator McCormack and she invited her to the Dail where she observed a debate on special education.
At this, Sinn Fein tabled a motion calling for the government to guarantee school places for all children with additional needs, but the motion was rejected without clear commitments.
Senator McCormack said: ““The situation facing these families is heartbreaking. No parent should have to fight for the right to an education for their child, yet that is the reality families in Laois and across the country face.
“The government has failed to act, leaving children with additional needs without a suitable school place, and parents feeling helpless.”
Following the debate, Senator McCormack introduced Audrey to the Minister for Education, Helen McEntee.
Audrey said: “There were several other parents there but they had left before the debate was over so there was myself, my friend Elaine McCormack and there was a dad from Waterford.
“We were just heading out to the gallery and Minister McEntee was there as in fairness to her, she had come to talk to us.
“So I got to speak to her, I told her in depth about our situation and she didn’t rush us.
“I got to tell her about our home life, our situation, Dara, how everything has been a constant fight and a battle.
“She really listened and she took on board all we said, she took all our details and she said she’d be in touch.
“She did say she’d be in touch within a few days, now to this point I haven’t heard from her.
“She said she is a mother too so I really hope that she lives up to her word because time is running out to find a solution for Dara and all of the other children across the country who find themselves in a similar situation.”
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