A senator has told an Oireachtas committee on education that if schools built a sense of independence in "needy or attention-seeking" children, there would be less of a need for special educational supports such as SNAs in schools.
The senator's comments drew a sharp response from disability advocates who were before the committee to discuss the provision of special education in schools.
Senator Joe Conway, who is a former primary school principal and was elected to the Seanad via the Culture and Education panel, said he believed the system was producing "a situation where there is an untoward gravitation towards supports and it may not always be necessary".
"Lots of children will present in a classroom as being needy or attention-seeking, and teachers are overworked," he said.
Referencing his experience teaching for 19 years in a rural primary school, Mr Conway said: "If you have needy or attention-seeking children it can be very very fractious, and so you try to build a sense of independence in students.
"The more you build confidence the less deferment there will be for supports."
Emily McPhillips-Sheridan, a 21-year-old autistic student advocate responded by saying: "That’s not right. Children have needs, it's not that they are attention-seeking."
Responding to the senator’s comments the CEO of autism charity AsIAm Adam Harris, who is also autistic, said there was "an expectation that we should conform to an environment that treats us as 'misbehaving children’ as opposed to meeting our needs and centring our rights".
The senator’s comments came towards the end of the session, during which the committee had listened to submissions from a range of disability advocates who called for more and better targeted supports for children.
Earlier Ms McPhilips-Sheridan had told the committee that she was there because she knew first-hand how education shapes the lives of autistic students.
"When vital educational supports are not available or are delayed the consequences can be significant. When the right supports are in place autistic students can thrive," she said.
