'My son should get the help he needs'

An Athlone mother has angrily hit out this week at the "injustice" of government cuts to Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) for children with disabilities, which she fears could force her son out of mainstream schooling altogether if they are not reversed. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, Lyndsey Ratcliffe from Bloomfield Drive, Athlone strongly criticised the cap imposed on SNAs by the Department of Education, which effectively means her son, Callum O'Kane, who is six and has Asbergers Syndrome cannot get the help he needs to stay in education. "When he got diagnosed his psychiatrist suggested that he needed to have a full-time Special Needs Assistant (SNA) in order for him to function in mainstream schooling, otherwise he'd have to go into an autism unit or somewhere he has extra help," she recalled, when it first came to light 15 months ago, even though she suspected he had the condition since he was a toddler after ongoing behavioural problems. To get the diagnosis or services at all was a real fight, Lyndsey said, taking over two years in total. When Summerhill National School, where Callum attends daily, applied for the SNA at the beginning of this year, unfortunately by the time the paperwork went through the Government had already enforced the cuts to SNAs. "They've been told he will get minimum resource hours but he won't get an SNA because of the cap." "There are other children in the school with Asbergers and they have the supports because they were allowed to give the SNAs then and they're doing good. There is even another boy in his class with the same problem and he has an SNA and he's doing well. "It makes me angry that just because it went by a certain time and the government decided the cap will come in, Callum is not going to get what he needs. Other kids have what they need. Why do they get help and Callum doesn't?" she asked adding that his condition meant he has a lot of sensory issues. He also finds being in crowds difficult and can get very aggressive in social situations. "If a child comes too close to him he'll lash out at them. He can be very aggressive in school. He's not able for the noise. "When it comes to the classroom and learning, he doesn't learn the same way as average kids. He needs extra help to understand things, especially with things like languages and learning English and reading. He needs to be taught it a different way," she contends. "The social thing is the biggest problem. He has had the assessment in school and his IQ is well above average. It's not that he can't learn, it's just that he learns differently." Lyndsey, a part-time student, feels an SNA would help to control Callum when he has behavioural problems, calm him down if he has a tantrum and give him extra support needed for him to thrive. It would mean that the average kids wouldn't miss out either because of Callum, she says. Without it though, she fears her son will be forced to leave mainstream schooling, something she is reluctant to do with no full-time autism unit in Athlone or a viable alternative. "His school have been very good to me, the principal has tried his hardest to get what he needs but there is just no way that a teacher is able to deal with 30 other kids and someone with this problem. It's not fair on the teacher. I just don't know what is going to happen if he doesn't get an SNA," the mother-of-four says sadly, pointing out that what she wants and what Callum's psychiatrist wants is for him to stay in the local primary school. She has already contacted Deputy Nicky McFadden in a bid to highlight the issue, warning the powers that be that she, and the many other parents in the Midlands affected by the cuts, are not going to take this lying down. "I'm going to keep fighting until I get an answer and get some help for him. I don't feel too optimistic at the moment but I'm going to keep going until I get something for him," she vows. Lyndsey believes that politicians need to educate themselves about these disorders before they make cuts that affect children's lives. "It would be such a pity for him to lose out because he can't get what he needs. The school is just as frustrated as I am, they've very good to Callum. They've done things they don't have to do. Really, they could say sorry we can't have him any more but they're trying their hardest. It may come to a point where they say we can't cope any more," she admitted. She said getting another school to take him in would be very difficult and the nearest full-time autism unit is in Mullingar. This, though, is not feasible for her and husband Daniel with three other daughters ranging in age from three to nine to look after. "I think it's such a shame that you have to fight so hard to get what you need for a child with disabilities. It wasn't just this; you have fight every step of the way to get what he needs. It's not fair," the Athlone mother continued, pointing out that she doesn't understand the government rationale at all. "I don't understand what their reasoning is, and what they are going to do in years to come when these kids are causing problems because they haven't had the help they needed where they were growing up. "But I believe if you keep fighting you'll get there eventually," she concluded.