Parents fear legal bill in fight for autism needs

PARENTS of an autistic child forced through the courts to secure her education fear being hit with a huge legal bill.

Martina and Kieran Walsh, from St Lukes, Cork city, have spent two years in the High Court fighting to get the State to pay the cost of four-year-old Sorcha’s education. Legal fees are likely be in the region of €350,000.

According to Martina, the State threatened not to meet the cost of the proceedings during a meeting she had with Department of Education officials last week.

“If that was to happen there is no way myself and my husband could meet the High Court costs. Do they want us to sell our home? We have already had to suffer the indignity of going through the courts to secure an education for our child,” she said.

Martina said her concern was if the Department of Education forced her family to pay legal costs it could have far-reaching implications for other families with special needs children.

“If we are forced to fork out, the likelihood is it will deter other parents from going through the courts to secure the same type of basic educational rights for their children.”

The Walsh family is challenging the State to pay the cost of providing home-based one-on-one tuition (Applied Behavioural Analysis) for their daughter. The case began in January 2001 and the Walshes succeeded in enrolling their daughter in CABAS, a State-funded special needs school on Boreenmanna Road, Cork city, in September, 2001. However, they have personally funded the home programme since March, 2001.

They have also forked out for an expert from Britain to travel here to diagnose Sorcha because of the crucial need for early intervention when treating autism.

“CABAS has been great for her, but we and the experts feel she will not meet her maximum potential without this extra tuition,” Martina said.

The Walshes have another daughter, eight-year-old Nicola, who has no special needs. “The irony is there is no problem with getting her an education. There are two sets of laws here, one governing the normal child and the other, the more punishing system, governs the special needs child.

“It’s a double blow to Sorcha and indeed to the principles of equality and fairness if the State punishes us further by forcing us to pay legal costs.”

The Department of Education refused to comment because the case is not yet settled. The department was involved in a huge controversy in a similar case in June, 2001, when the solicitor of Kathy Sinnott, also forced through the courts to secure education for her autistic son Jamie, was contacted by the Chief State Solicitor’s Office saying it had made an error in conceding costs in her case. A public outcry followed and Ms Sinnott was not forced to meet legal costs.