Parsley praises autistic children landmark ruling

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 4th Jun 2005

North Down Alliance Councillor Ian Parsley has said he is delighted about a landmark ruling on education provision for autistic children, and has called for this to be applied across the board to people with educational difficulties.

The Holywood representative stated, "It is shameful that for so long children with various conditions and syndromes -- such as Asperger's, dyspraxia and dyslexia -- have been denied appropriate education provision. Thousands of children across Northern Ireland are being denied a fair start in life, and therefore cannot reach their potential as adults to lead something approaching a normal, successful life.

"It is disgraceful that we can even attempt to deny a special needs child a proper education while at the same time throwing away millions on

over-administration and endless conferences. This is about practice of bringing up a special-needs child, not the theory of what it must be like.

"Therefore I commend the Nolan family for their campaign on behalf of their son Jonathan. Their work has highlighted an important issue of provision for autistic children, and will benefit not just him, but many others. This landmark ruling is the first step towards achieving practical, appropriate, full and fair education provision for special-needs children across Northern Ireland."

ENDS