State criticised for immoral autism case

THE State’s defence of a High Court case taken by the parents of an autistic boy has been described as immoral by a teachers’ union leader.

At the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) annual convention in Sligo, its president Michael Freeley said every child must be given the opportunity to reach his or her potential.

He referred to the recent judgment in the case of six-year-old autistic Wicklow boy Seán Ó Cuanacháin, whose parents’ application to have the State provide a single method of teaching for him was turned down.