EDUCATION Minister Ruairi Quinn should have thought before his proposal for an effective 10% cut in educational provision for children for special needs put the heart cross-ways in parents all over the country.

TO THE passing eye, the IRD building in Kiltimagh is forgettable, but in reality it has a few stories to tell, of an eagerly anticipated future and of a dream that has been and gone.

PARENTS of children with autism whose school in north Dublin is being closed due to lack of public funding say they are having trouble finding them places elsewhere for next September.

STAFF at a dozen schools for pupils with autism are being offered training to become primary teachers as part of a deal that will see the schools funded by the state.

SERIOUS tensions have emerged between the board of management and parents at one of Dublin’s best- known ABA schools for children with autism, over the board’s decision to radically change how the children are taught.

HAVING been a parent of a child with severe learning disabilities through the 1980s, it was deeply depressing recently to witness similar scenes 20 years on with parents again taking to the streets to advocate on behalf of their children for essential services.

PARENTS of children with autism are being encouraged to join a postcard campaign to protest plans to transform the country’s 13 ABA schools for children with autism into special schools using a range of different teaching methods.

CALLS are being made for a full evaluation of the country’s 13 pilot ABA (Applied Behavioural Analysis) schools before the Department of Education considers shutting them down.

PARENTS of children with autism have joined academics and ABA professionals in warning that Department of Education proposals to transform autism education will “eradicate the teaching of ABA in this country” and adversely impact upon a child’s ability to reach its full potential.

THE Psychological Society of Ireland has said it is greatly concerned by Department of Education plans to transform the country’s 13 ABA schools for children with autism into special schools using a range of different teaching methods.

I WAS very disappointed at the tone of your report headlined ‘State bid to take over autism schools’ (July 7).

TUTORS and parents at some of the country’s 13 ABA schools for children with autism have raised concerns about Department of Education proposals to give them full special school status, describing it as “the death of ABA schooling in Ireland”.

TUTORS working at the country’s 13 applied behavioural analysis (ABA) schools will be allowed up to seven years to acquire formal teacher training as part of the Department of Education proposals to transform the schools’ structure.

THE Department of Education has written to the boards of management of 12 schools teaching children with autism offering to take over the long-term funding of their schools.

The Supreme Court has dismissed an action to compel the State to fund specialised education for a 10-year-old autistic boy.

An appeal brought on behalf of a young autistic boy against the High Court's refusal to compel the State to provide funding into the future for a specific form of education for him has commenced before the Supreme Court yesterday.

A WICKLOW family returns to the Four Courts this morning to appeal a 2007 decision against their claim for state support for specialist teaching for their autistic son.

PARENTS at a school for children with autism are in dispute with Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe over what they claim is the exclusion of their school from talks for formal Government recognition.

Fine Gael is attacking the Government over the amount of taxpayers' money being spent fighting court battles against parents seeking educational help for children with special needs.

There are just 1,000 more autistic children receiving educational support in the Republic of Ireland than in the North despite having around four times the population.

Politicians, teachers and health professionals from both sides of the border are to attend a special all-Ireland conference on autism today.

China says it will put the Lhasa rioters on trial and reopen Tibet to tourism by May, underscoring the government’s drive to close the book on recent unrest well before the summer’s Beijing Olympics.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin has announced plans to hold a cross-border conference on autism at Croke Park next month.

NONE of the pupils who were at Star of the Sea National School when a new building was promised are still attending classes there.

EMBATTLED Education Minister Mary Hanafin was last night attacked for failing to seek advice from an expert body on the row raging over the needs of autistic pupils.

EDUCATION Minister Mary Hanafin was last night accused of a “lack of compassion” towards pupils with autism as she faced a showdown with Fianna Fáil backbenchers on the issue.

A SPECIALIST pre-school operation has produced figures to support calls for Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) for all autistic children.

EDUCATION Minister Mary Hanafin has come under further pressure to amend her strict policy on how autistic children are taught from her own party colleagues.

POLITICIANS should be allowed to vote with their conscience rather than having to slavishly follow the party line on important issues, Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter has said.

THE Rehab Group has decided to take on the educational crisis facing autistic children in Limerick.

THE Green Party has upped the pressure on Minister for Education Mary Hanafin after meeting parents embroiled in a battle with her over services for autistic children.

Senior members of Fianna Fáil are to hold a special meeting next month to discuss the controversial issue of ABA education for autistic children.

Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has rejected criticism of her department from her Fianna Fáil colleague Mary O'Rourke.

DEMANDS for wider services for children with autism are likely to be raised with the Taoiseach by Fianna Fáil TDs and senators following this week’s Dáil debate on the issue.

Fine Gael says Mary O'Rourke's comments in the Dáil last night show the depth of opposition among Fianna Fáil members to the Government's approach to educating children with autism.

EDUCATION Minister Mary Hanafin is “ignorant to the point of pigheadedness” about the value of ABA education for autistic children, claimed Labour last night.

EDUCATION Minister Mary Hanafin was accused last night of “bullying” parents of autistic children who are attempting to secure specialist education for their youngsters.

The difficulties faced by parents of children with autism are due to be raised by Fine Gael during private members' time in the Dáil tonight.

Fine Gael says it will be tabling a private-members' motion in the Dáil this week demanding a massive increase in state funding for children with autism.

UP TO 60 children are to be taught in what is believed to be the country’s first large special school dedicated to pupils with autism.

THE Government “does not force” any parent into court to get special education for their children, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern insisted yesterday.

TAXPAYERS’ money should be spent providing education for children with disabilities instead of the €11 million paid in legal fees of families going to court to seek services, the Labour Party said yesterday.

THE mother of a young autistic boy wept outside the Four Courts yesterday after the High Court issued a ruling that could force her to sell their family home to meet a legal bill estimated at more than €2 million.

WHILE his parents await an appeal in the Supreme Court, Seán Ó Cuanacháin is continuing to thrive at his specialist autism school in Co Wicklow.