Irish Family Faces Special Education Funding Cuts | Cerebral Palsy

In Swords, Ireland, an important change is about to take place. Due to lack of funding, a 10 percent cut to special education hours is looming before the start of the next school year. Although the percentage may not sound that high, it is likely to have a significant negative impact on families like the Liebenbergs, whose 7-year-old son Finn has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and is non-verbal.

Finn is currently attending a mainstream school, a feat that he was able to achieve two years ago through his own determination and that of his mother, Alicia, and his resource teacher. He is a bright boy who has to try harder than most children to learn due to his physical limitations, but he has benefitted immensely from being in a typical classroom with others his age. It is something that would not be possible without the assistance of his full-time resource teacher, Alicia says. Finn?s entry into the mainstream classroom was not without some bumps, and it was his resource teacher who realized first what the problem was and how to correct it. She is their liaison with the educational psychologists, speech therapists, and other specialists who are needed to help Finn make the most of his time in school. Alicia worries that when his resource teacher?s hours are cut, she will be unable to fully help Finn as she has been doing.

As she says, ?It?s easy to say on a piece of paper that we are cutting resource hours across the board, it?s not going to affect anybody. But it?s not just a few kids that have a little problem with learning, it?s a lot of kids that really rely on resource teachers to enable them to stay in mainstream and to stay up to date with their work and get a proper education.?

The Liebenbergs, and other parents in their situation, will doubtless advocate for their children while hoping to get the cuts reversed so that they have one less daily battle to fight. Unfortunately, for the near future at least, the cuts are going to be defining their son?s school experience.

Source: http://www.cpinfo.org/special-education-funding-cuts/

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