The Special Education Group has been part of the National Parents Council - Primary since its foundation and is a representative group for parents of children with special needs attending Special Schools.
The current National Representative to the NPC Special Education Group on the NPC Assembly is Ger Meagher.
For further information please contact Carmel O'Shea Information/Helpline Officer Tel 01 8874477 or email: coshea@npc.ie
Mission Statement
The Special Education Group of National Parents Council Primary believes that
- all children with Special Education Needs have a right to education which is appropriate to their individual needs and circumstances
- the State should provide and develop Special Education for all children with Special Education Needs which is specialised, innovative, of high quality and well resourced
Aims/Objectives
- To provide parents of children attending special schools, special classes and mainstream schools, a means for expression of their individual and collective opinions on matters affecting the education of their children with special education needs.
- To acknowledge the individuality, potential and worth of each child and take into account the individual child's learning needs.
- To encourage and facilitate partnership with parents, children, families, other groups and other professionals engaged in the education of children with special education needs.
- To arrange or assist in arranging and providing conferences, discussions and meetings on subjects of general or special interest in the field of special education.
- To recognise the difficulties that families face in living with a child with a disability and to enable a range of opportunities for contact and support in an open and sensitive manner.
- To actively participate in the consultation, planning and monitoring process to establish further education and training facilities and relevant services for their children when they become adults.
- To provide a forum for Parents, Teachers, other professionals, carers, siblings, the child where possible and any other relevant group or body to come together to serve the best interests of the child with special education needs.
- To continually seek to improve and provide a model of good practice.
What do we mean by Special Education Needs/Special Education?
The close relationship between special needs and special education makes it convenient to consider them together.
'A child has special educational needs....if he/she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him/her'
A child has a learning difficulty if:
(a) he/she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of his age
(b) he/she has a disability which impedes learning
A child must not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or form of language of the home is different from the language in which he/she is, or will be taught.
Special Education provision
If a child needs some kind of provision which is extra or different from that made for other children of his/her age in a mainstream school.
Special Education
Special Education, as a body of knowledge and skills, includes disciplines (e.g. psychology) associated with educational needs in a more general sense. However, the disciplines are focussed on educational needs which exceed those perceived as within the 'normal' range.
The disciplines concerned are educational philosophy, history, sociology, psychology and pedagogy. Additionally, medicine and related subjects are relevant to special education.
Special education as an activity refers to the education that is provided for a person with special educational needs.
Special Education takes place in special schools, special classes and mainstream schools.
Special Schools, are National Schools which cater for pupils from 4 to 18 years of age. The special schools cater for children with mental handicap, impaired vision, impaired hearing, physical disability, emotional difficulties and Autism who require more intensive help. There are also special schools for children from the traveller community.
A Special Class is a class within an ordinary school which provides for pupils with special educational needs (SEN). The class size is usually small. Pupils may have varying SENs but often the class comprises pupils with similar needs (e.g. moderate learning difficulties).
The range of Special Educational Needs:
Learning difficulties: Mild / Moderate / Severe/Profound and Multiple
Specific Learning difficulties: Dyslexia
Emotional and Behavioural difficulties
Physical disabilities
Sensory impairment: hearing difficulties
Sensory impairment: visual difficulties
Speech and language difficulties
Medical conditions: Heart disease, cancers, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and asthma
Conditions that may lead to learning difficulties: Asperger syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Cerebral palsy, Down's Syndrome, Dyspraxia, Muscular dystrophy, Polio myelitis, Prader-Willi Syndrome, Spina Bifida
Exceptionally able or 'gifted' children can also require special education.
If you would like more information or to be part of the Special Education Group of the
National Parents Council - Primary please contact:
Carmel O'Shea, one of NPC's Information/Helpline Officers, Carmel can be contacted on 01 8874477 Weds - Friday from 10am to 3.30pm, or email: helpline@npc.ie
Disclaimer: The information contained in this web site by the Special Education Group is presented in the spirit of keeping you informed and aware of developments in the field of Special Education.
Links
Special Education Support Service (SESS): www.sess.ie
Irish Association of Teachers in Special Education (IATSE): www.iatseireland.com
Irish Learning Support Association (ILSA): www.ilsa.ie
Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South: www.socsci.ulst.ac.uk/education/scte/index.html
National Association for Mental Handicap in Ireland (NAMHI): www.namhi.ie
National Disability Authority (NDA): www.nda.ie
Forum of People with Disabilities in Ireland: www.inforum.ie
The National Council for the Blind of Ireland: www.ncbi.ie
Irish Deaf Society: www.irishdeafsociety.ie
European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education: www.european-agency.org
Learning Disabilities Online: www.ldonline.org
Inclusion International: www.inclusion-international.org
Physical disabilities:
Irish Kidney Association: www.ika.ie
Irish Wheelchair Association: www.iwa.ie
Muscular Dystrophy Ireland: www.mdi.ie
Enable Ireland: www.enableireland.ie
Intellectual Disabilities:
Down's Syndrome Ireland: www.downsyndrome.ie
L'Arche: www.larche.ie
St. John of God Hospitaller Services for People with Intellectual Disabilities: www.sjog.ie/sjog/services/services_intell_main.html
The European Association of Societies of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families: www.inclusion-europe.org
Sensory Disabilities:
Access West Sensory Disability: www.accesswest.ie
Fighting Blindness: www.fightingblindness.ie
Irish Deaf Society: www.irishdeafsociety.ie
Irish Hard of Hearing Association: www.ihha.ie
National Council for the Blind of Ireland: www.ncbi.ie
National Association for Deaf People: www.iol.ie/~nad
Voluntary Organisations working with those with disabilities:
Community Exchange: www.activelink.ie/ce/index.html
Directory of National Voluntary Organisations Online: www.cidb.ie
National Federation of Voluntary Bodies: www.fed-vol.com
This information was taken from the INTO, "Intouch" magazine June 2004
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