Parents to appeal autistic education ruling
Wednesday, 20 June 2007 15:51The parents of a seven-year-old boy with autism have lodged a Supreme Court appeal against the High Court's decision not to compel the State to provide him with a particular type of education.
Cian and Yvonne Ó Cuanacháin say their son, Seán, needs a type of education called Applied Behavioural Analysis or ABA.
However, the High Court ruled that the alternative form of education being offered by the State was appropriate for him.
In a statement issued today, the Ó Cuanacháins said it was 18 months since they first stepped into the High Court and time was not on Seán's side.
They said they were bewildered and devastated that the department provided special help by way of ABA education to children all over the country but had withheld that help from Seán.
They said they were required to appeal the judgment of Mr Justice Michael Peart but it placed an untold burden on them as a family.
They said they hoped the Government would afford them the opportunity to abandon their appeal by committing to ABA funding for Seán.
