The State is engaged in "constructive" talks with parents about funding a school for autistic children in Galway city, the High Court heard yesterday.
The Abalta school at Knocknacarra, which opened last year, was set up by parents and is primarily funded by parents. It caters for six children.
To facilitate the talks, Mr Justice Lavan granted an application by Mr John Gleeson SC, for a four-year-old autistic child, Colum McNabb, to adjourn for a week Colum's legal action against the Minister for Education and the State.
In the case, which has been running for four weeks, Colum, suing through his mother, Nicola, of Moycullen, Co Galway, is seeking a declaration that the State has failed to provide appropriate education for him to date and orders requiring the provision of such education now and in the future.
Colum has been attending the Abalta school since last September and the court heard that he was making good progress there. The school operates according to the system of Applied Behaviour Analysis, which involves a one-to-one pupil/teacher ratio.
Seeking the adjournment, Mr Gleeson said that the State had outlined a detailed proposal to fund the school and there had been two further meetings between parents and Department officials, which had been constructive.
Mr Patrick McGinley, chief executive officer and director of services with the Brothers of Charity, Galway, who is also a qualified teacher and psychologist, outlined a range of services provided by the Brothers for some 1,000 persons, including children, in the Galway area. Fairlands operated the TEACH methodology and had experienced and qualified staff. He said that TEACH was autism-specific while the ABA system was not.Mr Gleeson outlined the services provided for Colum from September 1999 to summer 2000, during which time, he said, Colum had received some seven hours of speech and language therapy and no occupational therapy.
Mr McGinley said, for a child that young, intervention in relation to speech and language therapy should be through parents and family as far as possible, with inputs from professionals.
Pressed by Mr Gleeson, he agreed thathe would have liked to see some additional speech and language therapy. He also agreed that there should have been additional tuition and psychological intervention.
He disagreed that what Colum had received was "totally inadequate" but agreed it was "inadequate".
