All local mother wants for Christmas is a school place for her child
There is only one thing that Catriona Kelly from Kinnegad wants for Christmas, and that’s a place in a specialist autism class for her son Nathan when he makes the move to secondary school in September.
Nathan and his family applied to three local schools with specialist autism classes but have failed to obtain a place for him as there are none available.
For the last eight years he has attended one of the autism classes in St Joseph’s National School, Rathwire. A bright boy with an aptitude for maths, he is one of a group of three students from the autism unit in St Joseph’s who are moving on to secondary level next year and none of them have managed to secure a place in a specialist class.
According to figures obtained by the Westmeath Examiner from the Department of Education, there are 46 specialist autism classes in local primary schools, and 23 at second level, which means it’s likely that Nathan and his classmates are part of a larger group of local children with complex needs who face the prospect of having to enter mainstream classes for the first time when they leave primary school next summer.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner this week, his mother Catriona says that unless a place becomes available in a specialist class, she could be left with no option but to try to find a home tutor for her son, something that she feels could undo much of the progress he has made during his time at St Joseph’s.
“Nathan definitely would require a special needs class, because now he wouldn’t be able to cope in a mainstream environment in a primary school setting. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be for him and our family if he was put into a mainstream secondary school setting.
“It wouldn’t be the appropriate place for him. Nathan wouldn’t thrive. He’s thrived here in Rathwire. He’s had a wonderful eight years in primary school. “The child that started here when he began his primary school journey is not the same child that he is today. He’s just blossomed.
“We just want that to continue and we know that if Nathan was in a mainstream environment in secondary school, it just would be detrimental to him, his mental health and his future.
“What my husband and I want is for Nathan to be a member of society when he comes out of secondary school, that he reaches his full potential.
“We have major concerns and worries about him [if he doesn’t get a place in an autism class in secondary school].”
Nathan’s school, St Joseph’s, has two specialist autism classes with six students in each. The principal Sé McCarthy says that while the Department of Education have invested heavily in autism education at primary level over the last decade, they have failed to adequately prepare for when the current generation of students, such as Nathan, move on to second level.
Mr McCarthy says that it is vital the more specialist classes are opened as soon as possible to meet the needs of children such as Nathan and his class-mates.
“I have three children that I deal with on a daily basis, that my staff deal with on a daily basis. I know that the three children who are leaving here need to be in a special class next year. Nothing else will suffice for these children.
“I don’t care what the data is. I don’t care what new system comes in. Are the children there to fit the system, or is the system there to suit the children?”
Nathan’s mother Catriona says that worrying about her son’s future has led to many sleepless nights in recent weeks. The thoughts of him moving to a mainstream classroom next September fills her with dread, she admits.
“He wouldn’t cope. He wouldn’t cope academically or socially. It’s just a recipe for disaster. It really is. The Department of Education aren’t thinking of the child. They’re just looking at numbers.
“They’re just looking at names. They’re not realising that this name that they have is actually related to a person. These decisions that they are making are actually going to have a direct impact on my child, and on our family, and on his future.”