‘Bryn is being failed 100 per cent – I’m devastated’

‘Bryn is being failed 100 per cent – I’m devastated’

23 December 2015

A RAHOLP mum believes education officials are “failing” her special needs child.

Lisa Ross has been waiting for her three year-old son Bryn to start nursery school at Knockevin Special School’s new Dundrum campus since September.

Bryn has developmental delay after being deprived of oxygen at birth and requires speech, language and occupational therapy, physiotherapy and the services of a dietician, which he has been unable to access while awaiting the opening.

While disappointed Bryn has been deprived of such therapies since September, Lisa said she had been hopeful he would “make up for lost time” when the school opened in January.

She said she was therefore disappointed to learn the opening has been postponed by a month and horrified that once it opens the provision will be almost halved.

Lisa, who had expected Bryn to attend 4.5 hours per day, is urging education officials to rethink their decision to cut the service to 2.5 hours, which she said would affect children with the most severe learning difficulties.

She said she believes Bryn and his classmates particularly deserve full provision after losing out on five months of education.

“If they are starting in February that is fine but please do not be cutting their hours,” she said.

“Let them have their hours and try and make up some lost ground. It is absolutely vital to these children, this is not just about this year, it is about them getting the best start in life.

“I think Bryn is being failed 100 per cent and the only word I can use to describe how I feel is devastated.

“To take five months of education off him when he is at the prime age to develop his skills — how do  you justify that?

“Bryn’s therapies should have been part of that education so he has also missed that. That is what I am really struggling with.

“He will now have a long bus journey from Raholp to Dundrum and yet will only stay there for two-and-a-half hours. By the time he gets settled in the classroom and is ready to learn it will be time to come home again.

“Somebody in an office has decided my son is not worthy of an education. Yet he has more complex needs than most and needs this education more.

“If you give these children a full education and access to all their therapies at this age there are so many possibilities for them. They will achieve so much more because early intervention is crucial.

“For some reason those needs have been pushed to the side.”