Family attacks tuition offer for autistic boy as ‘joke’

A CORK family who have been unable to secure a secondary school place for their 12-year-old autistic boy yesterday slammed a Department of Education offer of nine hours’ home tuition a week as “a joke”.

While others of his age are well into their third week of post-primary education, Rory Mulcahy from Douglas in Cork remains at home all day, his mind unstimulated and his social skills stagnating.

“He’s actually getting depressed,” said mother Norma Mulcahy yesterday afternoon.

“He still in his pyjamas and trying to motivate himself — you just feel so sad for him.”

Rory has an intelligent, enquiring brain, but suffers from Asberger’s Syndrome, a complex condition which demands special educational attention. Among the symptoms are an obsessive, compulsive nature, a lack of social communication and interaction ability, and an overwhelming need for routine and repetition.

His situation was highlighted by the Irish Examiner at the beginning of this school term and again last Monday. Three days later, parents Norma and Frank received a letter from the Department of Education offering Rory nine hours per week of home tuition.

“It’s just not good enough,” said Ms Mulcahy yesterday. “When you think about how many hours a normal 12-year-old would be in school, it’s a joke.”

However, Rory has already been denied entry to two special post-primary schools in the Cork area and, while his parents have appealed one of those refusals, a decision may not arrive until the start of November at the earliest.

In the meantime, the 12-year-old remains at home where he is more than capable of using a computer, reading and writing, but needs help with some of the most basic of tasks such as adding a couple of numbers.

With no other immediate option, his parents will avail of the department’s offer of nine hours a week.

“It’s not ideal, but he’s becoming very reclusive already,” said Ms Mulcahy. “When he gets a chance to socialise now, he’s forgetting how to socialise. We won’t turn anything down, there will be something for him — it’s just not enough. But it will give him some motivation in the mornings to get dressed.”

Rory was diagnosed with Asberger’s Syndrome in 2001, at the age of six, and has attended a primary-level mainstream school and a special school in the past. His need for routine was reinforced just this week when he went to a horse-riding centre and enjoyed himself so much that his parents brought him back the following day. However, the instructor present on the first day had gone to college and he refused to go out with a new instructor.

England has been suggested to the family as an option for Rory’s schooling but, according to his mother, Rory’s problems mean “you couldn’t even think of sending him to England”.