By Carl O'BrienCORMAC Rennick says the provision of autism education is like a fire-fighting service as officials try to douse the flames of an inferno.

 

As the Government sets up individual schools and services here and there, he insists they are missing out on the bigger picture.

 

 

"There seems to be an unwillingness to confront what is an epidemic. Unless they start planning for the future, they will find themselves in big, big trouble."

 

 

His autistic daughter Catherine is six-years-old and is now making good progress, but it has been a tough battle to get this far.

 

 

Unlike the emergency response special needs children get in countries such as the US, the wheels of the system grind slowly in Ireland.

 

 

After a lot of searching, Mr Rennick secured 12 hours of therapy per week in a classroom where the teacher was struggling to deal with other special needs children.

 

 

On top of this, there were Catherine's associated bowel problems, common in autistic children, which made it difficult, if not impossible, to learn.

 

 

"She wouldn't go to the toilet for seven or eight days and was walking around in pain. You can't expect a child to learn if they're walking around in pain."

 

 

Barriers facing autistic children from reaching full potential can be solved by listening to parents and implementing a few simple steps:

 

 

Children should have a needs assessment to identify what services they need, and conducted independently.

 

 

Provision of services should be underpinned by legislation to ensure children get what services they need.

 

 

Parents should play a key role in deciding what education is best.

 

 

An independent appeals process should be established if parents are unhappy with the service.

 

 

Teachers should be properly trained for the therapies they teach.