Cutbacks forcing special needs children out of school system [Independent.ie]
- Published: 01 June 2011
KILSARAN NS pupil, Jamie Monaghan is only 12 but he probably has less than a year of formal education left because he is autistic.
His dad, Phil, says he is 'caught between a rock and hard place' because Jamie will have to leave the purposebuilt special classrooms in the mainstream Kilsaran school.
'The best I can hope for is that he will be allowed to stay until he is 14. After that, he will go to Drumcar, which does brilliant work. But Jamie will move from a mainstream environment into one which is for adults with disabilities,' Phil said.
Today the mid-Louth rural school has 180 mainstream and 23 special needs children with four special needs classrooms – for severe and profound disabilities, non-verbal autism, verbal autism, and early intervention class for children starting school.
Jamie's condition – Mosaic Trisomy 9 – means he is in a wheelchair and depends on people to look after him.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
