No school place in the county for Co Kildare boy

A Co Kildare mother whose two sons have Autism is shocked at the difficulty in accessing a school place for her youngest.

Newbridge couple, Elaine Sears, and her husband Brendan, had themselves prepared for the possibility that Noah (6) and Daragh(5), could have Autism, but they were not prepared for the lack of services.

Their son Noah is now attending a mainstream Educate Together school in Kildare town. However, the likelihood of his brother Daragh joining him looks uncertain, and no other school in the county has a place.

Daragh is currently attending pre-school at St Conleth's and it appears that he will have to spend another year there.

Speaking to KildareNow, Ms Sears said: "Daragh is very intelligent. He is bored and wants to move on from pre-school."

Ms Sears is concerned that her son is getting 'frustrated' at remaining in pre-school and is 'lashing out.'

She said:  "He is a very loveable boy, he needs to be in school now."

According to Ms Sears her son Noah is doing 'absolutely brilliantly' as a result of attending primary school.

She recalls how when Daragh was the age of 18months, he was referred to a speech and language therapist.

Ms Sears said: "He was not engaging, he had poor eye contact.  He had crawled and was walking."

Both Noah and Daragh underwent an assessment.

She said: "Daragh was a lot more obvious than Noah. We had prepared ourselves, it did not come as a shock. But it was still a punch in the stomach. I did not think it was going to be as hard as it is to find a school place."

According to Ms Sears, Kildare Educate Together would be happy to take on Daragh, but can't due to lack of resources.

Ms Sears is appealing for the school to be given the necessary resources so that her sons can attend school together.

Fianna Fáil Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin said: “I have now been contacted by four families in South Kildare.That’s four children with varying special needs who cannot be accommodated within the primary education system in Co Kildare. The first day back to school is a major milestone in a child’s development but not for these children."