Tipperary family face almighty battle to find a school place for their autistic son

A  Cahir family is enduring levels of enormous stress as they battle to secure a school place for their son.
The desperation of the Barrett family has been exacerbated by the ten letters of refusal they have received from primary schools all over Tipperary.

Tina and Michael Barrett are looking to place their son in an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) unit next September and are now quickly running out of options. As the letters of refusal from schools whose ASD units are full to capacity and have long waiting lists mount up; the case has been raised in Dáil Eireann by Tipperary South TD, Seamus Healy.

“We are absolutely shattered, every letter that comes through the door is a rejection. Our whole life revolves around this now. We just don’t know where to turn now,” said Michael’s distraught mother.
“As a family we are just broken by all of this. You sleep it, you breathe it, the worry of it all never leaves your mind,” said Tina.
She said Michael had made enormous progress in playschool.

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“Michael is now in his second year in playschool. If we can’t get a place for him in a primary school ASD unit we are afraid he will regress and might stop talking again,” said Tina.

Grandmother Pauline said the uncertainty was causing untold trauma to the family.
“Michael is a lovely little boy. This is just heartbreaking. He has come on so much in play school, he only had a few words before he went in there and he desperately needs to move on now to primary school this September,” said his grandmother.

Signs that Michael may be autistic were noticed shortly after his first birthday.
“We noticed his hand flapping, and he was walking on his tippy toes, and his speech just stopped. I knew the signs as I have cousins with autism. We rang the public health nurse and the doctor, and they identified seven red flags for autism. We then started on the process of getting a diagnosis. We were told there would be a waiting list involved for two years, but we were not prepared to wait, and we had a diagnosis fairly quickly,” said Tina.
Tina said they did not think they would have such a battle to get Michael a place in an ASD unit in a primary school.

NIGHTMARE
“It is a nightmare, and we are not the only ones in this situation. It is happening to a lot of families. I did not think it would happen to us as we are only a few minutes away from a new school with two ASD units,” said Tina.
“The ASD units in Bunscoil Na Cathrach, which was built three years ago, are just amazing. There is no place there for Michael, even though we live only a short distance away,” she said.

Tina explained that the principal of the school has been very helpful and supportive to the family.
“But like the principals in the other schools, their hands are tied.
“The places are just not available,” said Tina.

Tina said she did not begrudge any child a place in these units as every child was deserving of a place.
“There are local kids in the units in Cahir, and they also travel from other parts of the county, but we have been told there is no place for Michael,” said Tina.
“The principal in Cahir has been amazing to us. He told us if he had four or five more ASD units he would fill them all,” said Tina.

The Barretts have received letters stating they were unable to take Michael next September from ten schools.
Primary schools in Cahir, Clerihan, Fethard, Moyglass, Ballylooby, Burncourt, Bansha, Ardfinnan, Ballygriffin and Powerstown have told the family they would not have a place for Michael this September.
“We personally went out to the primary school in Newcastle the other day, and they would not even take the application,” said Tina.

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She explained that the absence of an ASD unit in the town of Clonmel was a big part of the problem.

ASD UNIT
“There is a playschool ASD unit in St Mary’s in Irishtown, but there is no ASD unit in a primary school in the town,” she said.
“Michael should not have to go outside the county to get a place in a primary school ASD unit. It would be too much for him. He just could not cope with travelling in a bus or a taxi for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to and from school. It would be way too long for him,” said Tina.

At the moment, Michael spends reduced hours in the playschool in Cahir and he is very happy there and making progress.
“He needs a routine. He needs to be familiar and sure of where he is and who he is going to be with and being close to home is a huge help,” said Tina.