Autistic kids put strain on schools

Autistic kids put strain on schools.

NEALE PRIOR and BETHANY HIATT, The West Australian April 28, 2011, 5:40 am

The WA State school system and education budget are being put under strain by a surge in students with autism and severe mental disorders.

Education Department figures show the number of students receiving extra help for autism under the Schools Plus program more than doubled to 2037 between the 2006 and 2010 academic years.

The number of students getting extra help because of severe mental disorders jumped from 64 to 410.

The department has attributed the rise in severe mental disorders, including the number of students rising by 87 alone last year, to broader social and mental health trends as well as increased awareness of mental issues.

It points to international trends in the growth of autism as well as parents and teachers being more aware of the condition as a possible explanation for what previously may have been seen as attention, behavioural or learning problems.

The confirmation of the higher rates comes as the Education Department's budget is being reviewed amid fears that it could suffer a repeat of last financial year's $67 million blowout.

That blowout was partially fuelled by the department's failure to achieve a 3 per cent efficiency dividend demanded by the Government and by a surge in staff numbers because of a rising number of education assistants, especially for special needs, and support staff.

Under-Treasurer Tim Marney last month told a Parliamentary estimates committee that staff numbers had been growing at 10 times the rate of student numbers.

The extent of the blowout and what action the Government will take will not be known until Treasurer Christian Porter releases the State Budget on May 19.

Education Minister Liz Constable said the pressure on the school system was not surprising, given the rise in students with special needs.

WA Primary Principals Association Stephen Breen said the big increase in the number of children with special needs was putting extra pressure on the Education Department's budget and on individual public school resources.

POINTS TO CONSIDER FROM MY POINT OF VIEW..........

• Western Australia has the largest number of Gold Mines In Australia:  Research has suggested the link between Autism and Heavy Metal Poisoning.
• I am not savvy to the Western Australian Special School Policy, but in Queensland the only way an Autistic child can attend is for the parents or carers to sign documentation stating their child has an intellectual disability.  Autism isn't an intellectual disability….It is a communication disability.
• Teaching in the Queensland Education System for almost 15 years, has exposed the underlying pressures placed on teachers to cater for children with extra needs. In Queensland, teachers do not received appropriate training and aide time to firstly benefit the children in question and secondly to provide quality of Education that every child in Australia has the right to.

LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER ADVOCACY ISSUE!