Families 'petrified' at summer without supports

Monica Leydon with her daughter Kayla, holding a picture of her son, Calum.

“Every summer, I am absolutely petrified as to what it is going to bring for us as a family. I cannot sleep because I am worried about how I will keep my son safe.” 

That’s how Monica Leydon, a mother from Roscommon, describes facing the school summer holidays.

Her son Calum, 16, has a diagnosis of autism. He is non-verbal and has a severe intellectual disability. 

Part of his disability means he suffers from self-injurious behaviour, Monica told the Irish Examiner. 

Two weekends ago, he ended up in hospital as a result. 

“The extent of his head injuries was so bad they actually thought there could be a possible bleed to the brain and a possible fractured skull.” 

This stemmed from a change to his routine involving a gap of two days in school. 

He really was struggling to make sense of the world around him because we have had persistent lockdowns which have proven to be detrimental for him.

When Calum finishes school for the summer, the main support available is this year's summer programme, tuition offered to students with special educational needs, and those at risk of disadvantage. 

Despite an expanded scheme due to the pandemic, parents who spoke to the Irish Examiner this week fear their children will not be able to access appropriate tuition this summer. 

School-based programmes are run on a voluntary basis, and home tutors can be hard to find. 

Calum attends the local Edmund Rice Autism Centre, which is not running school-based provision this year due to concerns around staffing. 

Home tuition is not an option. Monica parents on her own, and also has a younger daughter, Kayla. 

I’m expected to keep Calum safe for three months, a job that at the best of times takes three staff.

A spokesman for the Department of Education said it met this week with advocacy groups as well as the National Parents Council and a number of parents to listen to concerns. 

It has addressed concerns previously raised by providing funding for a Programme Overseer, faster payments of staff, and eased the admin burden on schools, he added. 

Schools can register on the department website, and the closing dates have not yet passed so schools are continuing to, he added. 

Staffing ratios for children with complex needs in special schools and special classes remains the same. In mainstream, schools can seek additional teachers and SNAs where it is one teacher, and one SNA to 12 students. 

Parents would like to see greater use of non-educational staff including students, healthcare professionals, and care workers, the spokesman added. 

"The meeting agreed to further review the summer programme in autumn to consider these issues for future years.”