Schools ‘need help to support special needs children’

SCHOOLS must be given greater information and confidence to help them include children with special needs, a support group said yesterday.

The National Parents’ and Siblings’ Alliance (NPSA) said all of society faces a challenge of understanding the life it creates for people who are different and trying to create a society which respects and welcomes all. The group was formed in 1998 by parents and siblings of people with an intellectual disability to represent the views of others like them living and working with people with an intellectual disability and autism.

NPSA director Seamus Greene said the Department of Education must begin to implement the National Council for Special Education plan, published a year ago to implement laws on education for those with special needs.

“But it must also include proper ongoing support for teachers. With such training and support, teachers will embrace inclusion not just with enthusiasm but also, and most importantly, with confidence,” he said.

The NPSA yesterday launched a DVD for teachers to help them understand attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). The project was done in partnership with the Daisychain Foundation which works to support families living with children with special needs, offering respite care to allow them take hotel breaks.

The groups focused on these two disabilities, as they are among the most difficult to understand and work with in schools.

People with ADHD or AS often have communication difficulties which can sometimes be disruptive at school.

“Our objective was to help society and, in particular teachers, to recognise, understand and help children with symptoms of these conditions and to give them some tools to cope with the challenges within the classroom,” said Daisychain Foundation founder Frankie Whelehan.

The DVD outlines key symptoms of ADHD and AS, using a mixture of case studies and general information from educational psychologist, Dr David Carey, and illustrates the success that can be achieved in helping people with disabilities and their families.

The DVD will initially be distributed on request to 300 schools, with the DVD contents available soon on the alliance’s website, www.npsa.ie.