Has special needs education been forgotten about in the pandemic?

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Has special needs education been forgotten about in the pandemic?

The government’s U-turn on in-school classes for 6th years has garnered a lot of attention, but the other significant change was removing the provision of special needs education. It’s a complicated issue - moreso than the Leaving Cert in some ways - because families and the students themselves thrive in these environments, and are likely to regress without their time in school. However, the teachers and SNAs involved in their care say it’s a challenging environment to teach in because the students don’t wear facemasks and often can’t maintain social distance. So what needs to happen to get services back up and running? Kieran spoke to Adam Harris, CEO of AsIAm, the charity advocating for people with autism, and Andy Pike, Head of Education with Forsa Trade Union who represent the SNAs.

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Has special needs education been forgotten about in the pandemic?